Business Bank Account

Mixing personal and business money ("commingling funds") is one of the fastest ways to lose the liability protection an LLC is supposed to give you — a court can decide to disregard the LLC ("pierce the corporate veil") if you never treated it as a separate entity financially.

It also makes bookkeeping dramatically easier and gives you a clean audit trail if you're ever questioned by the IRS or a lender.

Online-first business banks (Mercury, Bluevine, Novo, Relay) typically offer better software, faster account opening, and sometimes better rates — but usually can't accept large cash deposits and don't have an existing relationship for SBA lending.

Traditional banks (Chase, Bank of America, local credit unions) are the better fit if you handle meaningful cash volume, want a single relationship for both banking and an eventual SBA loan, or just prefer being able to walk into a branch.

Answer a few questions about cash deposits, transaction volume, fundraising plans, and what matters most to you, and we'll narrow down which category fits — then compare the specific options within it.