
Ask HN: Any point in opening up bank account prior to forming company? - a_lifters_life
I mean opening a business bank account prior to actually legally forming a company?
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code_Whisperer
It's likely that you won't be able to open a business account UNTIL the
company is formed. Most banks will ask for copies of your articles of
formation/incorporation, documents showing your right to do business in the
state you're in, etc.

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cimmanom
This.

On the flip side, if you're working on a side project you want to monetize but
don't want to bother incorporating until you get a bit of traction, then yes,
in the interim it can be worthwhile to keep the finances separate in a
separate personal bank account for accounting and tax purposes.

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code_Whisperer
Agreed, but caution is warranted here. (IANAL, but...) Ask yourself if you are
willing to risk personal liability at that early stage by essentially
operating as a 'sole proprietor' instead of taking the steps to create a new
entity that is separate from yourself. For some businesses this may be fine,
but it's certainly something to evaluate. For example, if you are (e.g.)
aggregating information from various places on the web and then simply
presenting it to users, that has a much different liability footprint compared
to (e.g.) a dog walking business (what happens if a dog you're walking is run
over by a bus?) or (e.g.) catering (what happens if your clients get food
poisoning?) etc. In short, it would behoove you to ask a business attorney
this question so that she can evaluate your business model and give you a
recommendation.

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cimmanom
Also a very good point!

