What your business bank can (and should) do for you

It’s way more than just moving money. Plus, what the end of the de minimis exemption means for you.

In this issue

• Try this: See if your business bank measures up.

• In the news: Big tariffs on small orders.

• Today’s tip: Make templates for rote emails and calls.

Try this: Get more out of your business bank

We’re getting into the weeds today, folks.

As a small-business writer at NerdWallet, I’ve rated more than 50 business checking accounts. Every year, I check what’s changed with them and update our star ratings based on how the industry is evolving.

This year I’ve also spoken with:

• Half a dozen business owners about their banks.

• Business bankers at Five Star Bank, a regional financial institution in Northern California, and Bank of America about the role of relationships in lending.

• Fintech companies Bluevine, Lili, Mercury and Relay, who walked me through their software platforms.

No business owner should have to do this amount of work just to pick a bank.

So here’s the simplest advice I can offer: Your checking account should be one of the easiest things about running your business.

What’s that actually look like? It depends on your business, but here are some ideas. Prioritize whichever of these are most important to you.

1. Choose your checking account based on your day-to-day needs..

Business owners need to make sure they have more money coming in than going out. But how that money moves — how long it takes, how much it costs and how you can get to it — shouldn’t require much thought at all.

Here’s what I consider table stakes for a simple business banking experience:

• No monthly maintenance fee, or one that’s so easy to waive that you don’t have to think about maintaining the required minimum balance. (Here are our picks for the best free business checking accounts.)

• Access to convenient ATMs or branches if you need them.

• Customer service you can get a hold of within 24 hours, and sooner when you have an urgent problem like an account freeze.

• An online dashboard and mobile app you don’t hate.

If your bank is causing you a headache more than once every few months, it’s time to move on.

2. It shouldn’t be hard to move money (most of the time).

A little friction is OK. Two-factor authentication, fraud alerts and freezes in case of unexpected activity help keep your money safe, even if they’re not always perfect.

But in general, getting money in and out of your bank account should be painless. And for the most part, it should be free.

Look for some combination of the following:

• Unlimited electronic transactions. Most online accounts offer this, and brick-and-mortar accounts are starting to.

• No fees on at least some cash deposits and withdrawals.

• Zelle for Business, if you want it. Many brick-and-mortar banks have it; neobanks generally don’t. Here’s a list.

• Easy access to an ATM, if your business uses cash.

• Invoicing tools. These getting more and more popular. Sending your customer an invoice with a built-in payment link is convenient on both ends.

It’s normal to pay fees for wires and same-day ACH transfers, though a handful of accounts offer these for free.

3. Your banker should go to bat for you.

One big advantage of brick-and-mortar banks and credit unions: You’re much more likely to know your banker by name and develop a relationship with them over time.

That matters most when you’re applying for a business loan. Your banker can tell you where your application is weak and how to make it stronger. Internally, they can advocate for you to whoever decides whether to lend to you.

So what should that relationship look like?

Here’s what two bankers — DJ Kurtze, San Francisco Bay Area President and an executive vice president at Five Star Bank, and Cathleen Callahan, business banking Northeast region executive and managing director at Bank of America — told me:

• Invite your banker to visit your business. It’ll give them a better sense of what you do.

• Send your banker copies of your quarterly financials so they can help you proactively.

• Bank and borrow from the same place, if possible. Banks want to serve their existing customers. If you have a deposit account with a bank, they may take a closer look at your application than they would otherwise — especially if they’ve watched your business grow and understand why it’s worth their risk.

Especially at a smaller institution, your banker may personally know members of the lending team. The more they know about your business, the better they can make the case for you.

“You're creating an advocate for you with an organization that's deciding whether or not they want to take risks on you,” Kurtze told me.

4. The software shouldn’t stink.

Some business bank accounts come from neobanks. These are software companies, not banks. They partner with banks to keep your funds on deposit with FDIC-insured institutions.

Fintechs like Bluevine, Found and Relay offer digital tools that are miles ahead of many brick-and-mortar banks. Some of my favorite features include:

• Found lets you automatically set money aside for quarterly tax payments (which you’ll likely have to make if you’re self-employed).

• Also from Found: You can collect W-9s and pay your contractors from within the platform.

• Bluevine’s accounts payable tools go way beyond traditional bank bill pay. Users can import details from images of your bills, set up approval workflows, pay via ACH or check, and then sync details of the transaction with QuickBooks.

• Relay users can require company cardholders to upload photos of their receipts. It’ll even send automatic text reminders if they don’t.

If you dread logging into your bank’s online dashboard, take a look at our best online business bank accounts to see what else is out there.

In the news: The de minimus exemption has ended

At the end of August, the federal government started charging tariffs on small overseas purchases for the first time in years (or decades, depending on the size of the purchase).

Formerly, when you bought up to $800 worth of goods in a single day directly from an overseas company or manufacturer, you didn’t have to pay tariffs on the purchases. That was because of the de minimis exemption.

Now, all imported direct-to-consumer goods are subject to tariffs. That means the shipping process will probably take longer than it used to, since packages will have to go through the customs process before they can reach you.

Then there are the tariffs themselves. Duties range from $80 to $200 per package depending on the source country’s effective tariff rate.

If your typical international order costs more than $800, this change won’t impact you. But if you buy small quantities of material — maybe regularly, or maybe just when you’re developing products and exploring materials — get ready for those prices to go up.

To limit the impact of the change, buy in bulk whenever you can. And in the future, price in the cost of tariffs when you’re evaluating new international suppliers. You’ll know how much you should expect to pay and can decide if it’s worth it. We built a tariff calculator to help with that.

Tip of the month: Write scripts for calls and emails

If you feel like you’re sending the same email or making the same phone call constantly, turn it into a template. The less energy you have to spend on the small stuff, the more you can spend on the stuff that matters.

Copy the last email you sent into a Google doc or note on your desktop. Remove any names or specific numbers and add blanks in their place. You can do the same with reminder text messages. Every time you need to send one, you can manually fill these details in (or ask an AI tool like ChatGPT to do it for you).

If it’s a phone call, write a script. You can read from it every time you need to make the same call. And if writing isn’t your thing, that’s another good time to use AI.

Why not start with something like ChatGPT? You can, but read through its output carefully. Make sure it doesn’t leave out or mix up any important details (is the 19th really a Wednesday this month?). Plus, I want to believe your customers appreciate the sound of a unique voice. So rewrite at least some of it so it sounds like you, even if your syntax isn’t perfect.