The company that helped me set up the LLC had a relationship with Bank of America and they were offering quite a substantial bonus package for opening a business account with them.  I hate B of A, but I was seduced by their offer.  I spoke with their representative, who filled out the application for me over the phone.  It was for a checking account and a credit card.  Well, they sent me a credit card but turned down my application for a checking account.  I have no idea why.  I sent an email to the rep who had helped me on the phone but he didn’t respond.  My original opinion of Bank of America was thus reaffirmed.

Next stop – Wells Fargo.

I already have a business account with Wells Fargo, as well as a Trust account, so I figured this would be easy.  Not so fast…

First, the business banker told me that since there were 4 owners of the business, all four would have to be present to sign the account application!  This, even though I am a 60% owner, my ex-husband is a 20% owner, and each of my 2 daughters own 10%.  I rolled my eyes and told him “That’s not gonna happen!”  They live in a different city and they all have different schedules.  One of my daughters only has Sundays off.

Then he said everyone could go to a different branch but they have to all be there at the same time and that there are some branches that are open on Sundays.

I thanked him and left to make calls to credit unions.

I really prefer working with credit unions but every one that I contacted told me they only do business accounts with local businesses and I was not local to any of them.

Made arrangements with all the family members to be available to go to the bank on Sunday morning.  Headed back to Wells Fargo.  The previous banker was out for a few days.  I sat, instead, with the Senior Business Banking Specialist.  He tells me that I don’t need everybody else to sign because I own 60% and no one else owns over 20%.

Apparently the laws have changed since I last opened a bank account and now a lot of additional documentation was required.  Ugh.

Additionally, they want to put a 10 business day hold on the funds I am depositing.  This, because it is a new account – even though I am a long-time customer.

The take-away here?  Be prepared to have your business account to take longer to set up than your corporation!

***I since found out that a new law went into effect in April,2018, that funds in new business accounts cannot be accessed for 10 business days.  If you are planning to open a business account, I would suggest that you open the account with a small amount of money until the 10 days pass. Don’t open the account with a lot of money (like I did) – especially if you know that you will need access to those funds in less than 2 weeks.