6 Reasons To Separate Your Business and Personal Bank Accounts

Many business owners start by funding their businesses from their personal savings. As they progress, it’s not uncommon for them to continue using their personal bank accounts and credit cards for business purposes. In practice, maintaining separate business and personal bank accounts is always a good idea. While it requires only a small adjustment, creating a business bank account offers considerable benefits, such as tax efficiencies and building a business credit score.

Since you’re not legally required to open a separate business account unless you operate as a corporation, sole proprietors don’t always see the point of having separate business and personal bank accounts for several reasons:

• Setting up a business bank account takes time
• Sole proprietors pay personal income tax to account for business net income 
• They don’t have separate legal status from their business, so they assume any risks associated with it.

These 6 reasons for keeping business and personal bank accounts separate can often outweigh any drawbacks.

Why You Should Keep Your Business and Personal Bank Accounts Separate

1. Organized Bookkeeping

Using your personal credit or debit card for business expenses can make it challenging to distinguish between business and personal transactions on your bank statement. 

Setting up a separate bank account lets you easily track your business transactions so you can:

• Keep your bookkeeping accurate and up-to-date
• Avoid sifting through months of statements and receipts to separate your business and personal expenses come tax time
• Get caught up on year-end bookkeeping faster

You can even connect your business bank accounts to cloud-based accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero to record your revenue and expenses in real time. 

2. Efficient Tax Returns

Maintaining separate business and personal bank accounts won’t just save you time during tax season; it will help you file more accurate tax returns.

Going through every line on your bank statements when business and personal expenses are mixed can take hours or even days and increases the chance you’ll include or exclude the wrong items. 

Using separate accounts streamlines your record-keeping by easily identifying taxable benefits and deductions.

Fun fact: Did you know the bank fees incurred to operate your business or process payments qualify as tax-deductible business expenses?

3. Clear Audit Trail

One of the upsides of being a sole proprietor is that you get to run your own show. One of the downsides is that you’re more likely to get audited. 

Small business owners raise more red flags than people who work for someone else because employee T4 slips clearly show annual earnings, deductions and taxes withheld.

Using a separate bank account won’t guarantee fewer audits. However, separating out your business transactions and providing a clear audit trail will make the process less painful.

4. Accurate Cash Flow Management

While your bank balance is by no means the complete picture when it comes to your cash flow, separating business and personal finances makes it easier to manage and react to your current cash situation.

If you notice, for example, that your balance is running low, you can perform a quick cash injection. If you notice there’s too much money lying dormant in your account, you can put it to better use elsewhere. This financial clarity becomes even more important when your business has more than one entity such as locations.

Maintaining separate business and personal bank accounts makes it easier to demonstrate your financial position. The clearer your financial records, the simpler it is to apply for funding from a lender or credit provider.

5. Business Credibility & Professionalism

Whether you run a consulting firm or coffee shop, maintaining business credibility is essential. 

While many small business owners accomplish this by creating branded logos, websites, and marketing materials, keeping your business and personal accounts separate is another way to demonstrate professionalism. 

Using a business bank account to make and receive payments directly through your business establishes greater trust with suppliers and clients.

6. Business Credit Score

Using a separate business account helps build your business credit rating. Similar to your personal credit rating, your business credit score is a reflection of your company’s creditworthiness. A strong credit score can help you secure better terms for business loans and reduce the cost of business insurance. 

At Enkel, we advise all our clients to keep separate business and personal bank accounts. While our team focuses on streamlining your bookkeeping and delivering accurate financial statements, you can focus on growing your business. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you keep your books organized.