How to Open a Free Business Checking Account Online with No Deposit

Because today’s business world embraces technology, you don’t always have to visit a physical branch to open a bank account, especially a business checking account. The online versions for business checking accounts help you focus on productivity while easing your needs, including auto-payments of regular expenses and transferring funds. Keep reading if you’re wondering how to receive a checking account for a business online, especially without a deposit.

Understand Your Business Identity Comprehensively Before Opening an Account

Your business identity refers to the various characteristics by which people recognize you and your products or services. The business identity also consists of how your business is perceived by customers, associates, and media or the public. When opening a business checking account online, the process requires your name, address, and email, plus your phone number. If you operate as a single proprietor, you’ll need to provide lists of your partners’ names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails. As such, the logical thing to do when opening the account is important to understand the above information and decide whether or not you’ll use a home address or open a new one, especially for emails and other business-related services.

Revealing Personal and Highly Secretive Information

Whether you run your business as a sole proprietor or otherwise, opening a  business checking account online demands you to reveal secretive information. Such details include social security numbers and your business’s tax identification details. When working for others and opening business checking accounts for those businesses, the process requires social security numbers, mainly because they are treated as ways for deducting taxes from paychecks. The information is used to determine the salary employees get from the business. Authorities, especially internal revenue service online agents, will use this information to match the business’s net profit per year. The data is then given to the government as a presentation of the business wages.

However, if you run the business as an employee and employer, the social security number you provide is considered a way of determining your future responsibility for taxes. The government holds such information to assess your future withholding of taxes from your earnings and match the net profit to others running such businesses.  During the process, you’ll upload copies of your driver’s license and your government-issued photo identification card along with your social security details.

On the other hand, if the business you’re opening an account for is a limited liability company or a corporation, you’ll provide an employer identification number instead of a social security one. Employer identification is also known as Federal Employer Identification or a federal tax identification number that separates the identification of one business from another. It’s also a nine-digit number the same way as a social security number. The process requires your tax identification number to ensure your business checking account abides by the law by filing business taxes to avoid tax penalties. The number is also necessary to get your business to ascertain tax deductions such as office deductions and audit charges by the internal revenue service. The online business checking account keeps your tax identification number to prevent identity theft, especially when your business is doing well. It also separates your personal and business finances. Also, you won’t need to provide your business social security number to vendors and clients when this happens.

Providing Your Business Formation Documents

Besides presenting your business social and tax identification numbers, opening a checking account requires the presence of your business formation documents. These documents confirm the legality of your business before continuing with the application. Some of the formation documents needed include:

Sole Proprietorship Documents

You’ll present and upload copies of your business license and local registration forms. If you don’t have these two documents, you’ll upload copies of your business’s fictitious name certificate or statement. 

Partnership Documents

Partnership documents include fictitious name certifications or statements, certificates of business assumed names, licenses, and documents of partnership agreements. You’ll also present and upload copies of the certificate of limited partnership or contract if the business you’re opening an account for is a limited company. Other documents you’ll present are a declaration of qualification, partnership deeds, and liability partnership election documents.

Presenting Limited Liability Business Documents

To determine the business’s ability to pay and file taxes, you’ll present documents indicating whether the company is an LLC or not. Some of the documents you’ll provide for an LCC business are copies of articles of incorporation, certificates of incorporation, and certificates of formation.

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