Business account or personal account as a self-employed professional?

A frequently asked question among new self-employed professionals: do I really need to open a separate business bank account, or can I just use my personal account? The answer depends on your legal structure.

Is a business account legally required?

For a sole proprietorship or general partnership (vof), a separate business account isn't legally required. In principle, you may use your personal account for business transactions. If you have a BV (private limited company), however, this is different: the BV's assets are legally separate from your personal assets, and in practice banks expect — and it's wise — to open a separate account in the BV's name for this.

Why choose a business account anyway?

Even if it isn't legally required, there are good reasons for a sole proprietorship or vof to open a business account anyway:

• Overview: your business income and expenses are kept separate from groceries, subscriptions and other personal spending, which significantly simplifies your bookkeeping.
• Time savings: for your VAT return and annual accounts, you don't have to manually untangle personal and business transactions.
• Professionalism: an account number in your business's name, often including your company name, looks more professional to customers.
• Easier during an audit: in a Tax Authority audit, a separate account is a strong signal of tidy, traceable records.
• Avoiding mixing funds: if personal and business assets get mixed together, the Tax Authority may, in case of doubt, interpret transactions differently than you intended.

Cost of a business account

Unlike a free personal account, banks typically charge monthly fees for business accounts, often with additional costs per transaction or for a debit card. Rates vary considerably by bank and package — so compare current rates from different providers before choosing, and also look at online-only banks, which are often cheaper than traditional banks.

Tax consequences

Using a business account doesn't change your tax liability: you pay income tax on your profit regardless of which account the money runs through. A separate account does, however, make it administratively easier to correctly calculate your actual profit, and it prevents discussions during an audit about which transactions were business-related.

Still unsure? A business account is, in practice, quickly worth it once you send or receive more than a handful of invoices per month — the time saved on your bookkeeping then easily outweighs the monthly cost.

How do you open a business account?

Most banks ask for your KVK number, a valid form of ID, and sometimes a brief description of your business activities. Online banks often arrange this entirely digitally within a few working days.

Connect your business account to FactuurMakenOnline and have incoming payments automatically matched to your outstanding invoices.