Every successful entrepreneur understands the importance of choosing a bank for further cooperation. A rational decision on choosing a financial organization that will take into account all the shortcomings and advantages, as well as meet the criteria suitable for a particular business plan, will help reduce losses and even increase profits. Of course, changes in the estimate for the month will not be so noticeable. However, any businessman works for the long term, where the fruits will be much more noticeable.
Large and medium-sized enterprises almost never face the choice of a bank. Firstly, such enterprises already have their own connections and allies in the market with which they conduct business, and secondly, “older brothers” can apply for more favorable conditions and even concessions from banks.
What remains for entrepreneurs to do? How to find the best bank for small business? The market has always been a cruel environment where it is difficult to break inexperienced beginners. Mistakes are inevitable. In such conditions, it is vitally necessary to have a stable support, which will not only reduce costs, but will also be able to provide the necessary support at a critical time for business.
This article discusses in detail the criteria for choosing a bank, which are worth paying attention to before starting cooperation.
Criteria for choosing a bank
What should I look for when choosing a bank? This is the stability of a financial organization, service features, the availability of free services for entrepreneurs and additional features, the ease of opening an account, and so on. About everything in more detail below.
Bank stability
The first thing you should pay attention to in finding the best bank for small businesses is stability. Small business itself is unstable due to its “youth”, and cooperation with the same young bank or with a financial institution that has a bad reputation, obviously will not bring a good result.
In order to avoid getting such representatives into the list of applicants for the choice of a bank, it is necessary to conduct a thorough analysis of offers on the market first. Go to the bank's website, view introductory information, find out how long they have been on the market, view reviews. The latter is best done on a third-party resource, since there is a high probability of cheating positive reviews on the official page.
Convenient account opening process
Dealing with the next piece of paper before opening an account, every rational person will think more than once to give up his undertakings. Working with a bank, where only one process of opening an account takes so much effort and time, clearly does not promise to be simple. Therefore, before starting cooperation, it is worth clarifying this point separately. Especially these days, when life rushes so fast, it would be a crime to spend it on unnecessary paperwork. It is worth clarifying this issue before concluding a cooperation with a financial organization.
Features of servicing a current account
Payment for each payment separately or a separate tariff for entrepreneurs? Maybe you should find a bank with free service? It will be a great luck to find a stable bank with free service that will suit a specific business model and a specific entrepreneur. Payment is a kind of guarantor of stable work and fruitful cooperation. It remains to rely on our own rationality and, having assessed our own capabilities and needs, find our best bank for small and medium-sized businesses.
Free Services
Dealing with issues such as bookkeeping or exploring the market for days is a complicated, tedious and ungrateful process. You have to either understand yourself, or hire people. Both of these options lead to loss of time or money.
Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the services that banks provide. Most credit organizations that are focused on working with micro-businesses provide such services relatively cheaply, if not at all, for free.
Ability to work via the Internet
You can withdraw payment by swiping your finger on the screen of your smartphone. Convenient and fast. In the information age, few banks are deprived of such a function, but they exist, and checking everything in advance is simpler and easier than hanging on the phone and shaking for hours in traffic for the next payment.
Registration of IP or LLC
A cultural shock can easily cause a trip to the tax office. If the bank involves mutually beneficial cooperation, then the tax is unlikely to adhere to the same principles. But the development of the banking system brings pleasant surprises: today you can find a bank that will register an IP or LLC on more favorable terms. Saving nerves, time, money and effort. The best bank for small businesses should definitely offer such a service.
Additional features
Any business model has many features. What are these privileges? For example, free replenishment of the account, loans, guarantees, interest on the account balance and overdraft for business, free accounting for the STS and UTII, salary and corporate cards, opening a foreign currency account, various types of acquiring and online cash registers.
Rating of the best banks for small business
Small businesses are often supported by the state. In some countries, there are state-owned banks with favorable conditions for micro-business. However, here it is worth being no less alert. There are also financial organizations that serve customers specifically in the small business. With such opportunities it is difficult to make a choice. So which banks are best for small businesses? Consider several financial organizations.
Next - the top 5 best banks for small businesses in Moscow, and indeed in Russia. All of them have free connection to the tariff plan and relatively favorable conditions for cooperation.
Bank "Point"
The cost of maintaining an account ranges from 0 to 2500 rubles per month (depending on the tariff). Has a high reputation for reliability in the market. According to reviews, this is the best bank for small businesses in Moscow. A package of services is drawn up in less than an hour, there is no commission fee when making tax and budget payments, there is free certification of documents, a manager’s visit to the client.
Modulbank
The cost of maintaining an account ranges from 0 to 4900 rubles per month (depending on the tariff). An account can be opened free of charge in 5 minutes, you can manage finances from a smartphone, only a passport is required for opening an account for an individual entrepreneur, there is no transfer and withdrawal commission (exception - starting tariff).
Tinkoff
The cost of maintaining an account ranges from 490 to 4990 rubles per month. There are preferential services for two months (for IP - 6 months of free maintenance), the ability to remotely work with an account, a personal account is compatible with accounting programs, interbank payments without commission, interest on the balance.
Loko-Bank
The cost of maintaining an account ranges from 0 to 4990 rubles per month (depending on the tariff). Opening an account occurs online within one minute, the documentation is sent by courier, internal payments are free, external ones cost from 19 to 59 rubles, there is an application for managing the account.
“Sphere” (“BCS Bank”)
The cost of maintaining an account ranges from 0 to 4990 rubles per month, payment orders - from 0 to 90 rubles apiece. Transferring funds to a card without a commission (up to 400,000 rubles), accounting on a simplified tax system for free, preparing documents for issuing an IP and LLC - free of charge, electronic signature and corporate card - free of charge, instant reservation of an account.
These five banks meet the conditions for competition for the title of the best bank for small businesses. Also worth mentioning are: Promsvyazbank, Sberbank, Expert Bank, Sovcombank, Alfa-Bank, Delobank and Raiffeisenbank.
Choosing a credit institution is a responsible and difficult procedure. It is difficult to find the ideal, the best bank for small businesses, but the right choice lays the foundation for the further successful development of their business.
