Business bank account recommendations

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As no one else has mentioned it so far...

And assuming that you're also interested in building society business accounts and not just banks....

We use Nationwide and have found them pretty good.

They aren't as present in the high street as many of the others lsited above but that's OK for us because all of our transactions are electronic.

The online service isn't bad and they've been able to sort out any queries we've had very quickly.
 
Avoid Santander like the plague. I've only had a personal account with them, an ISA, but they made a right hash of that.
Just after I'd set it up they decided that I had asked them to close it down (of course I hadn't). Fortunately they managed to right the mistake but that would have been a nice way to lose a year's ISA allowance.
 
Business bank account recommendations

I'm late to this party, and never had a business account, but my accounts are with Smile (i.e. Co-Ops internet bank, use Co-Op branches) and Lloydstsb (formerly TSB, think I've migrated to Lloyds after the recent rebrand). With the caveat that no banks are saints, I've had no problems with either of then, never had need to think about moving. Online banking for both of them is fine, Lloyds slightly better than Smile.
 
The most important thing in a bank account is your manager, a good one works a bad one doesn't no matter which bank you use.

I have been with Natwest for 8 years now and pretty much have a "go for a pint" relationship with our manager, can call him 24/7 and know he will do his best to sort things out. they have always supported my businesses. I moved my personal accounts there as well for the same reason but now my personal manager has left i need to build up a relationship with my new one.

This unfortunately does not give you an answer as you need an account before you get to see how good your manager is, i suggest seeing a few of them but make sure the person you meet is the person who you will deal with; pretty much an interview with the person not the bank.

As far as i can see all banks are the same, they just want your money, so pick a manager not a bank.
 
Is suspect that companies not having a multi million pound turnover and being very successful will find it slightly harder to get to know their manager as well as you Gav
 
I'll have you know Mr Cholmondley Warner comes from a fine family of bankers, his father dealt with my uncle's accounts, and if you don't like it I'll bid goodday to you sir!
 
But you have to start somewhere Graeme and i still believe its about the manager.

I am not massively into the modern idea of changing all the time, neither with customers or suppliers, and feel that making an effort to build a relationship that goes beyond the "computer says no" scenario reaps benefits. However i agree it takes time, so find someone you feel you could get on with 1st, build from there and dont jump ship the first time they fuck up, which they will.

Work with them to get it right.

I find this works the same with other stuff that those pesky meercats keep telling us that we need to do with. Dont change all the time just ring up the company your with and tell them what you want and how much you want to pay, nine times out of ten the company you are with wont want to loose your custom so will match or beat the price/service being offered.

One thing that you need to insist on is a mobile number for your manager and next in line plus direct email. Nothing worse than those f**king queuing systems.
 
I've had a first hand glowing review about the Triodos bank. I just wondered if anybody here had any experience with them?

The man that I spoke to there was very helpful (there was even a landline number available to call rather than screwing people on premium numbers) and explained the workings of their operation. They use the next working day faster payments service now but they don't offer a debit card. Since I intend to be conducting all of my transactions via the online medium I have to say that this looks a very strong contender for me.

They have arrangements for the paying in of cash with RBS. Hmmmm....


Triodos
Their tariffs
 
Thanks for that Slackers :)

I've filed an application with Triodos and am buoyed by the conversations I've had today with two of their members of staff. I think more than anything I'm looking to deal with people whose purpose is to facilitate my business operations rather than inhibiting them. Time will tell and I'm sure I'll have some feedback in due course.
 
Re: Business bank account recommendations

Important to get a bank that's on your side, rather than just theirs....

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/26/mark-carney-rbs-deeply-troubling-serious

As disgraceful as this is, having read about a few of the cases it seems most situations could have been avoided if the clients had run their options past an independent advisor rather than just doing what the bank suggested.

In my experience, most people who work for banks in small business lending have zero clue about business and can barely read a set of accounts.

A perfect situation is as gme described but this seems extremely rare, so if you've managed to find people you can talk to reasonably already Mono, that's a bonus.
 
Can anyone recommend an account that doesn't charge for incoming foreign money transfers?

I was about to open a Co-op business account but they charge a £6 fee for processing incoming transfers. Given that the transfers I receive will usually be around £200 at a time, this seems rather excessive.

Looking for a cheap to run account that doesn't have such fees...
 
Approaching one year in, Triodos have been brilliant. There is no card facility offered which may present a problem for some but all my transfers and received payments are by BACS. Fantastic customer service, cheap fees and always somebody available to help when you need it.

For what it's worth Bubba, I'd take a look into it if the card facility is no issue. Not too sure on IBAN deets though sorry.
 
I doubt such a thing exists but let me know if you find one. Might be better to look at other options for moving the money?
 
Thanks all - unfortunately I can't change the way that the incoming payments are made (they're generated automatically by a 3rd party) but I'll have a look at Triodos and keep searching :)
 

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