Micro-enterprise: is a professional bank account mandatory?
Micro-enterprise! We hear this word a lot here and there in the mouths of young, ambitious workers. But while this legal status attracts in particular for the reduction of its administrative burdens, its opening is generally accompanied by its lot of questions.
- Is it mandatory to open a professional bank account in a self business?
- What type of bank to choose between traditional banks, Neo banks or specialised actors?
- And, besides, it is rather a current account or a professional account that must be chosen?
What is the most advantageous in the end?
Do I need to open a professional micro-enterprise bank account?
It is customary to think that the micro-entrepreneur escapes certain administrative obligations, thanks to his professional legal status apart.
Concretely, it is NOT mandatory for small low-income activities to open a professional bank account!
If, however, you want to open one, it is important to understand why it is said professional. This bank account dedicated to your activity is strictly reserved for your business operations. It should consist only of transactions carried out in the course of the independent activity. No way, using this pro account for your personal expenses!
That is what the fight against fraud is all about. If micro-entrepreneurs with a turnover of less than €10,000 have no reason to open a business account, it can still be very interesting.
The advantages of a pro micro-enterprise bank account
Opting for the opening of a professional bank account allows first of all to see much clearer in these accounts. The management of the activity is facilitated by direct and legible access to customer/supplier invoices, which also facilitates the reminders of payment of potential latecomers.
Then, during a tax audit, all transactions are thus justifiable, without being drowned in a transaction flow mixing private and pro.
Obviously, bank contributions and fees are necessarily higher in a professional bank account, and traditional banks will tend to prefer to offer a professional account to the micro-entrepreneur for the same reason. Some will even refuse to open a current account to independent, or close a current account that has been used for professional purposes.
Fortunately, today, there are a multitude of bank offers specially designed for independents.
This is also the case with Blank, Qonto, Shine and N26 online offers. These allow a quick view of a company’s financial health and also offer other advantages such as:
- Anticipating the amounts of your social contributions
- Make Forecast Budgets
- Understanding the turnover amount
- Reduce expenses to increase profitability
- Calculate easily, the compensation to be paid to keep business cash in good health.
Opening a professional bank account in a micro-maintenance business also means benefiting from offers reserved only for companies.
The arrangement of the means of payment and collection, via the establishment of a bank card or payment terminal, is thus facilitated and adapted to the activity. These offers dedicated to the professional activity are also adapted to all the specificities of a company. You therefore have the opportunity to access:
- Management by the banking institution of invoices and unpaid payments
- Greater overdraft authorizations
- Access to professional insurance
- Banking advice tailored to the needs of the entrepreneur
- A precious time saving, to be more serene when reporting turnover, whether monthly or quarterly.
How to choose the right bank account for my micro-business?
With the decision to open a professional business account, then comes the debate about the type of bank:
- Rather traditional?
- Neo Bank?
- Pro account specifically dedicated to micro-entrepreneur?
Traditional banks and micro-entrepreneurs
Even today, traditional banks are the preferred choice of self-entrepreneurs, very attached to the customer relationship, face to face. The local network and the many branches located throughout France are reassuring.
In addition, these banks provide their clients with professional accounts accompanied by a complete banking offer.
Access to a bank card, cheque and cash deposit and savings solutions are easily accessible.
As friendly as the banker on your current account may be, traditional banks can nevertheless present some major disadvantages.
Indeed, by choosing this type of bank, account fees, which are often significant, have a real impact on the turnover achieved. This may be worth some unpleasant surprise. The opening formalities are long and complex.
Finally, proximity to physical agencies can be convenient on paper. Most of the steps, however, will have to be done in an agency, which potentially wastes the independent’s time.
Online banks and micro-enterprises
Regarding online banks, also known as neo-banks, they are more adapted to the economic reality of micro-entrepreneurs. That is why they offer offers only online. The steps taken on the Internet are much faster to be processed. Especially since it is now possible to perform them directly via a mobile application.
Another important point: the rates are more advantageous than those offered by traditional banks.
But, like all good things, banks have limits, and with online banks, certain constraints also point the tip of their noses. Indeed, some online banks limit the number of transfers, make paying the cheque deposit or grant a foreign IBAN that complicates the telepayment with the administrations.
Specialized banks for micro-enterprises
Finally, those specialised in micro-enterprise business accounts may still be the best current solution on the market. They offer many advantages to their professional customers.
Take the example of TIDE PRO , a partner of Bumbizz.com. The principle is clear even in the website’s motto:
“the pro-smart account that gives the independents a bankable card”.
With specialist players like TIDE PRO, opening a professional account only takes a few minutes. The time to enter directly on the internet or via the mobile application available: its identity, the information of the micro-company until the reception of the bank card.
Last but not least, TIDE PRO is a subsidiary of the REVOLUT PRO group, the leading bank for online professionals. And, the latter has a question/answer service, accessible 7 days.
Moreover, advantageous services do not stop there:
- Business account with Visa Business credit card
- Tools to simplify accounting with the help of an available accountant 5 d/ 7 d
- Automated monthly or quarterly URSSAF reporting
- A comprehensive insurance service (hospital guarantee, equipment order guarantee, etc.)
- What gain in speed, flexibility and serenity while keeping the human side very appreciated by the independents.