Best Business Bank Accounts in the UK

With so many business bank accounts to choose from, it can be difficult to pick the one that best suits your needs. That's where Tommy's Tax can help you!

Here we've rounded up a guide with the best business bank accounts in the UK for sole traders and limited companies with no minimum annual turnover requirements, according to how you manage your company's finances! 

Business Bank Account Fees and Overdraft Charges Explained

Did you know that business bank accounts carry fees for many of the transactions personal current account customers are used to getting for free? 

Mainly, these are the main categories to think about when you’re looking at the list of fees and charges in the terms and conditions:

1. Account Fee
2. Automated payments (in or out) - e.g. faster payments, bill payments, direct debits, standing orders, online/mobile/telephone banking and ATM withdrawals
3. Cash Payments (in or out)- e.g. deposits and withdrawals via a bank branch and transactions at a post office counter
4. Cheques (in or out)

Be aware that other fees will apply, like foreign transactions, bulk deposits and CHAPS payments.

So what are the fees for each business bank account in the UK?

Top 5 Business Bank Accounts in the UK

1. Starling Bank - Named ‘Best British Bank’ for fourth year running

The leading digital bank scooped up three other awards, winning ‘Best Business Banking Provider’ and ‘Best Current Account Provider’ for the third consecutive year, as well as winning the ‘Best Banking App’ trophy for the first time. It's also considered the one with less fees!

2. Santander - Best Business Account for Startups

Santander is considered the best business account for startups! It offers free and discounted banking for startups and two business bank accounts.

The Business Current Account offers:

• 18 months of fee-free banking for startups (the standard monthly fee is £7.50)
• an arranged overdraft with an interest rate at 5.10 per cent EAR (variable) and an annual fee of 1 per cent of the agreed overdraft
• standard day-to-day banking with access online, at Santander ATMs and Post Office branches

The 123 Current Account offers:

• up to £300 cashback each year (the rate of cashback depends on how much money is paid into your account)
• monthly interest of 0.10 per cent on credit balances
• £5 monthly fee for startups for 18 months and switchers for 12 months (with a £12.50 monthly standard fee)

3. Yorkshire Bank - Long Fee-Free Period

If you’re a new business or even just switching to Yorkshire Bank, you’ll get 25 months of fee-free banking!

You just need to be a new business opening an account within 12 months of starting up, or a small business with a turnover of less than £6.5 million switching your main business bank account to Yorkshire Bank.

After the fee-free period you switch to the business tariff, which it’s £6.50 a month, with charges for other transactions like Direct Debits and cash paid in.

4. Barclays - Accounts for different-sized business

Barclays topped the rankings for online and mobile banking services in various surveys and has specialised products for businesses of different sizes:

The Startup Business Account:

• It's free for the first 12 months;
• You get access to Barclays’ Business Direct team, which offers support on growing your business.

The Business Account for turnover up to £400,000:

• It's for established business – there are two price plans depending on whether you use mixed payments or electronic payments only (with a £6 and £6.50 monthly fee respectively)

The Business Account for £400,000-£6.5 million turnover:

• It's for larger businesses, which also get their own relationship manager.

5. Monzo - Quickest Bank Account to Manage Firms' Finance

• Quick setup - Download the app and sign up for a business account within minutes!
• Fee-free spending at home and abroad;
• Accountancy integration - You can send invoices, store receipts and get everything organised for HMRC;
• Save for tax - Make sure you are saving enough for tax bills such as corporation tax;
• Spending alerts - Keep track of money coming in and out with Monzo's notifications.

To always have this information at hand, download the best business bank accounts in the UK table below  to know which charges are applied and to help you compare the full range of accounts currently available!  

And don't forget: we can help you claim your tax refund back! Just download our app (the process is really fast!)