“Good fences make good neighbors,” according to the neighbor in Robert Frost’s poem, Mending Wall.  Nowhere is this adage truer than in the realm of small business banking.  Erecting a fence between your business and personal banking makes good business sense.  Unfortunately, too many new and part-time small business owners fail to do so. 

Running their small business out of personal checking accounts small business owners seek the holy grail of simplification.  Comingling personal and business funds, however, unnecessarily complicates your life and subjects you to avoidable risk.  It makes separating business transactions from personal ones at tax time a nightmare.  This in turn increases the likelihood of missing business deductions.  In addition, you risk the IRS declaring your business a “hobby” and invalidating your business expenses.  And if someone should investigate your records (may it never be), you have a very poor audit trail.  And, let’s face it.  It just doesn’t look professional to use a personal checking account when interacting with customers. 

If you want a good business, take the time to erect a good fence by opening a business checking account to record your business transactions.  Arvest offers a variety of business checking accounts designed to grow with your business.  There are four non-interest bearing checking accounts:

1.  Free Small Business - A basic account with no monthly service fee for small businesses that write few checks, deposit few items, and primarily need an account to separate business transactions from personal ones.

2.  Small Business - For the small to moderate-sized business that has limited needs and is a checking alternative that has a simple fee structure - a flat monthly maintenance fee.

3.  Small Business Club – Offers the advantage of special Club rewards, exclusive to qualifying Small Business Club customers including a waived monthly service charge.

4.  Business Checking - For the moderate to large-size business, Business Checking offers the potential to save money through an earnings credit.

There are also two Arvest business checking accounts that earn interest.  These either require either a minimum dollar amount ,(Business Money Market), or charge a monthly fee that is offset by the interest that you earn, (Business Interest Checking.)

To help you determine which account fits your business best, Arvest’s website includes a feature called "Account Chooser" that walks you through the various options.  Or you can locate and contact an Arvest Small Business Banker in your local area through the Small Business Resource Center.  You will also find numerous free resources like articles, interactive workshops and business calculators at the Small Business Resource Center. 

If you want a good business, you need a good fence.  Do yourself and your business a favor, make sure the appropriate fence exists between your personal and business accounts.

To fully understand tax implications for your situation, please consult your tax advisor.