I'm taking an Intro to Business class and my instructor says that as a sole-proprietor I can have the name of my burgeoning company placed on my personal bank account so that if I receive a check from a customer with my business name, I can still cash/deposit it. He said that if my bank refuses to do this to go to another bank because they cannot legally refuse my request.
However, I just came from my bank and they refused to do it. They stated that I *must* open a business account with them in order to have checks with my business name cashed/depositied.
Who is right and what can I do?
2007-10-04 12:35:42 · 4 answers · asked by connachtspawn 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Small Business
The bank is right.
Things changed when the PATRIOT act was passed. You need to *prove* that the business name is yours - and in the case of a sole proprietorship, that means you have to go through the hassle of an "assumed name" filing with the state.
2007-10-04 12:39:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know exactly what you mean by "add a fictitious business name". Do you mean that you are self-employed, but do not use a business name? But then you say you need this for deposits to your company name. (Fictitious means fake and I guess that's where I am confused!) You could check with your bank to see if you could add a sub-account to your existing account. Then you would be able to have checks that have DBA on them. That's the only way I know of, without opening a totally different account and still keeping your personal account intact. Hope that helps!
2016-05-21 01:47:48 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes and no. It totally depends on the bank.
The one I'm with allows two names per personal account so I can do a business name (a DBA) on it. The other bank I was with required ANY business name to be a separate account from a normal personal account--mostly because they knew that large numbers of checks would likely be coming through it and a personal account they limit the number of checks you can deposit per month at something like 21.
Unfortunately even a small business 'business' account can cost you with fees (a fee to set it up) and it'd be structured differently than a personal savings or checking account. I didn't like how my one bank did it so I went to a different bank and didn't have any problem there.
So the answer is yes and no, depending on the bank itself and their rules.
2007-10-04 12:59:17 · answer #3 · answered by Elaine M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The bank is correct. It is a new federal law.
2007-10-04 12:42:42 · answer #4 · answered by artistagent116 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋