Is it necessary for an individual entrepreneur to open a current account? About electronic payment systems
The law allows individual entrepreneurs to work without opening a current account. To do this, you need to fulfill the only condition - not to go beyond 100 thousand rubles within the framework of one agreement with an individual entrepreneur or legal entity. But this option has many pitfalls. Is it necessary to open a current account for an individual entrepreneur, why does an individual entrepreneur need a current account and how much does it cost? We’ll look at it in today’s article.
Do I need a current account for an individual entrepreneur?
An individual entrepreneur has the right to make cash payments and use a personal account individual. So why do you need a current account for an individual entrepreneur, which requires additional costs for opening and maintenance?
Here's why you need a bank account:
1. A current account with a connected online bank allows you to make payments anytime and anywhere there is Internet access.
2. Your clients can pay you by card or payment order.
3. When all business transactions are conducted through a current account, the tax office will not find an opportunity to tax your non-business income, because it goes to a separate, personal account.
4. The lack of a current account narrows the circle of business partners, because not everyone is ready to work with cash payments.
5. Storing cash has certain risks. When your money is in a checking account, it is safe.
Whether an individual entrepreneur needs a bank account in your specific situation is up to you to decide. We talk about why an individual entrepreneur should open a current account and recommend taking this information into account.
How much does it cost to open a current account for an individual entrepreneur?
Different banks offer different conditions opening and servicing a current account. It is profitable to open a current account for individual entrepreneurs - only half the battle.
To choose the right bank, you also need to evaluate the cost of connecting to online banking, monthly service, electronic payment and cash deposit fees. All these operations, with some exceptions, also cost money.
Opening an account – from 0 to 3000 rubles, connecting to online banking – from 0 to 2000 rubles one-time, maintenance base tariff– 750-1700 rubles per month. The cost of an electronic payment varies from 0 for the first five payments (and 250 rubles for subsequent ones) to 30 rubles for one transaction, regardless of their number.
Depositing cash into an account is subject to a commission of up to 0.3% on average, but some banks exempt amounts of up to 30-50 thousand per month from these expenses. As a result, opening a current account and servicing it for a year will cost an entrepreneur about 20-40 thousand rubles, depending on the bank’s conditions and the size of cash flows.
If an individual entrepreneur needs a current account, you should first of all pay attention to banks such as Otkritie, Alfa-Bank, RosselkhozBank, Sberbank and Promsvyazbank, Tinkoff.
How to open a current account for an individual entrepreneur
When you figure out why you need a current account, the question arises of how to open it. Most likely, you will have to visit a bank branch, unless it is Tinkoff, whose representatives will come to you themselves.
How to open a current account as quickly as possible? Some banks provide an online account reservation service. It allows you to open an account via the Internet and immediately be able to accept payments into it. But you will still need to go to a bank branch within a few days.
What documents are needed for an individual entrepreneur's current account? Take with you:
- Passport;
- Certificate of registration of individual entrepreneur;
- Extract from the state register of the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs;
- Power of attorney, if you are not opening an account in person;
- Copies of all these documents.
In some cases, other documents may be needed. If you think in advance about how an individual entrepreneur can open a current account without problems, you can check the list of everything you need on the website of the selected bank or with its employees by phone. This will save you from wasting time and nerves on additional visits to the bank branch.
Now you understand why individual entrepreneur current account, how to choose the right bank to open a current account and collect a package of documents the first time. Want to learn how to legally save on taxes when starting a business?
If you are at the stage of starting your own business, then we invite you to play our business game “Your Start”. During the game, each participant gets a chance to go through all the stages of creating a business, from finding a niche to the first launch.
The development of entrepreneurship is gaining momentum every day, and therefore the question of whether an individual entrepreneur is required to have a current account is very relevant.
It is known that an individual entrepreneur is the action of a sole manager, both in terms of conducting business and making a profit, and in terms of solving the most pressing problems and responsibility for mistakes. In addition, you will have to answer not only with the statutory funds spent on opening the business, but also with the available property (movable, immovable).
That is why an entrepreneur must be able to make the right and appropriate decision, weighing the pros and cons.
Becoming an individual entrepreneur in our country is not so difficult. It is much more problematic to obtain permission to conduct founding activities. To become an individual entrepreneur, it is necessary to collect and provide tax authorities corresponding documentation package.
Future or newly created individual entrepreneurs are concerned about many organizational and legal issues. One of them is the question of whether an individual entrepreneur is obliged to open a current account.
Current account: necessary or not?
According to the legislative side of the issue, there are no measures taken against those individual entrepreneurs who have not opened a bank account. This is some kind of request, recommendation or wish to business participants.
So, whether to open an account or not is the desire of the entrepreneur himself. It is important that before state registration The individual entrepreneur had the necessary package of documents. As a rule, it consists of:
- passports (original and photocopies);
- TIN certificates (original and photocopies);
- availability of an application for transfer to a light taxation system;
- applications for registration as an individual entrepreneur;
- presence of paid state duty;
- document - notification of opening a bank account in the name of an individual entrepreneur.
What are the benefits of opening a bank account?
Legislation allows individual entrepreneurs not to open a current account. This point remains at the personal discretion of the businessman. How can future entrepreneurs determine when opening an account is necessary and when it can be omitted?
So, opening an account is necessary in the following cases:
- Carrying out transactions worth more than 100,000 rubles. In other words, if non-cash payments by individual entrepreneurs to their counterparties or settlement transactions with clients are higher than this amount, then having a personal bank account is strictly necessary. The same applies when legal entities deposit an amount exceeding the specified amount into the individual entrepreneur’s account via non-cash payment.
- Having a bank account is mandatory if an entrepreneur plans or will make non-cash contributions to the Fund pension insurance. Another point of interaction with the Pension Fund or other funds of the Russian Federation is its registration with these authorities. An individual entrepreneur may not open an account, but transfer contributions by money transfer. The law allows this.
Do I need to open an account to obtain a seal for an individual entrepreneur?
To be able to obtain a stamp, an individual entrepreneur does not have to open a bank account.
There is no need to collect documents either.
Stamps are produced by private organizations, which do not care at all what the format of payment for services will be: cash or non-cash. Naturally, the company will need a passport, TIN certificate, as well as OGRNIP so that the data on them completely matches the imprint on the future seal. Therefore, this should be taken very seriously.
The bank has the right to require the individual entrepreneur to provide a seal, although this is an uncommon occurrence. However, you need to be prepared for any unusual situations.
What are the pros and cons of having a checking account?
First, it’s worth mentioning all the positive aspects for an individual entrepreneur who has a personal bank account:
- Unlike a legal entity, an individual entrepreneur does not need to pay the bank for cash management services. In addition, without a current account, there are no requirements for individual entrepreneurs in terms of depositing proceeds in cash to the bank. In addition, there will be no need to introduce restrictions on cash withdrawals. Thus, the work of an individual entrepreneur only with cash payments and only with physical counterparties completely eliminates the imposition of a limit on mutual settlements in cash.
- When an individual entrepreneur plans to interact financially with third-party individual entrepreneurs or firms, an advisable solution would be to open a payment line at a bank. This is beneficial not only for legal counterparties, but also for the individual entrepreneur himself: his client base will not include only those who accept and make cash payments. Moreover, cash payments are possible with a limit of 100,000 rubles. This is inconvenient for those whose transactions involve a large transfer amount. If there is no settlement line, then payments exceeding the limit will have to be “divided” in order to carry them out according to the current limit.
- Having your own current account gives an individual entrepreneur the opportunity not to purchase and use cash registers if transactions are carried out only in cash. In addition, the payment line at the bank allows you to carry out financial interactions with counterparties more comfortably and transparently. This is all thanks to clear documentation of monetary transactions with the account.
- Opening a bank account will allow you to “protect” your finances from theft. You don’t have to worry that the safe will be broken into, because the money will be kept in the bank.
There is only one downside to opening your own bank account - the need to interact with a financial institution:
- visit it to control the receipt of funds and their movement;
- pay for bank services for settlement and cash services.
However, today you can reduce your visits to the bank by connecting to the Internet banking service, which simplifies the task of mutual settlements and control of funds.
Thus, it turns out that opening an individual entrepreneur’s personal bank account carries more positive aspects rather than inconveniences and disadvantages.
Is it possible for an individual entrepreneur to use a personal account for an individual?
According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, an individual entrepreneur does not have the right to use his personal current account for business purposes. However, this is also just a recommendation, meaning there will be no punishment.
Much depends on the services of which bank the individual entrepreneur intends to use. The agreement must stipulate whether the current account can be used for business transactions. In the case where the agreement between the bank and the entrepreneur does not provide for the use of a settlement line, the clause of sanctions for non-compliance with the rules is important.
Many banks deny the opportunity to use a personal account, which will require opening a new one for business transactions.
There are cases when the tax inspectorate is interested in the flow of funds from a personal account and back in larger amounts than before. This may raise the question of whether these finances have anything to do with running a business. The individual entrepreneur will either have to provide significant evidence about the nature of the transfers, or ultimately open a new current account for the business.
In any case, before going to the bank and opening a third-party account to conduct business, you need to calculate its relevance and necessity. There are banks that are ready to offer small businesses quite favorable conditions for opening a payment line. Don’t be afraid that the amount of settlement and cash services will be high.
The first thing is to choose the right bank. It is important that the conditions interpreted by the institution fully comply with the requirements and capabilities of the individual entrepreneur. When the conditions are met, you must immediately start applying for a bank card. This will allow you to withdraw funds from your account when needed.
Registration of an individual as an individual entrepreneur includes not only the collection required package documents, but also requires resolution of other issues. One of the questions that arises in initial stage business development, for example, whether it is necessary to open a current account for an individual entrepreneur in a bank. What are the advantages of having a current account for conducting transactions and is its absence punishable by law? Let's explore this topic in more detail.
Is an individual entrepreneur required to open a current account?
To carry out his business activities, an individual entrepreneur is not required to open a current account. Moreover, he does not bear any responsibility before the law for this. However, in in this case, there are many nuances that an individual entrepreneur must remember.
The legislation of the Russian Federation does not regulate the mandatory opening of a current account for individual entrepreneurs. However, a personal bank account cannot be used as a financial instrument for doing business. The only exception is the case when this nuance is stipulated in the agreement with the banking institution. However, taking such a condition into account will be quite problematic.
Why should an individual entrepreneur open a current account?
Opening a current account for an individual entrepreneur is advisable if:
- Individual entrepreneurs carry out financial transactions with counterparties in amounts that exceed the limit of 100 thousand rubles. That is, if an individual entrepreneur intends to pay clients in non-cash form (or receive payment from them), then opening a current account would be very advisable.
- The individual entrepreneur is going to repay mandatory contributions to the Pension Fund directly by bank transfer.
A current account with the Bank has a lot of advantages, some of them:
- the ability to remotely carry out individual entrepreneur transactions related to his business from home (office) when connecting to the Internet banking mobile service;
- convenience and efficiency of implementation financial settlements with counterparties. guarantee of transparency of all financial transactions;
- no need to purchase cash register equipment (provided that the individual entrepreneur does not intend to conduct transactions).
Can an individual entrepreneur do without a current account and what are the consequences?
As you know, the law does not provide for the use of an individual’s personal bank account (provided there is no current account) for carrying out business activities. However, there are no penalties for violating such a rule. Everything depends solely on the chosen banking institution and the terms of the agreement regarding the use of a personal account for doing business.
An individual entrepreneur must be prepared for the fact that the bank will refuse to make financial payments related to commercial activities through his personal account. Thus, there will be a need to open a current account. In addition, there is a huge risk that the tax service may count other income to the individual entrepreneur’s personal account as profit from commercial activities. To avoid such consequences, it is necessary to open a bank account to which funds received exclusively from running a business will be credited.
Before making a decision regarding opening a current account, you should take care of making the right choice The bank, in particular, should pay attention to the terms of customer service and attractive tariffs for individual entrepreneurs.
Nevsky Bank offers a wide range of settlement and cash services, provides prompt opening a current account for individual entrepreneurs, and also provides favorable conditions for servicing small business clients.
Very often, after opening an individual entrepreneur, entrepreneurs wonder whether they need a bank account. Or can you do without it?
And if you don’t open a bank account, then how to work with money? What can they be punished for? Etc. and so on. And with this short article I am opening a new section on working with money for individual entrepreneurs.
So do you need an account for an individual entrepreneur?
By law, an individual entrepreneur is not required to open a bank account at all. He can make payments through cash (also headache, but more on that later). But in fact, I can’t imagine how it’s possible to work as an individual entrepreneur now without an account at all.
For example, most of my income ends up in my bank account. I pay taxes, insurance premiums, etc. from the account.
I have long compiled standard templates in the Internet bank for carrying out such operations, and each payment takes no more than 2-3 minutes.
That is, open a bank account, you won’t regret it. If you are in the mood for a long and normal work, Certainly.
How to open an account? Which bank?
Here I advise you to look at the ratings of banks, choose the most reliable ones and make a list of possible candidates. To avoid being accused of advertising, I do not give any specific names. And the situation in the country now is such that today there is a bank, and tomorrow they write in the news that the Central Bank has revoked its license.
After this, call the selected banks, or look at the website for account servicing rates for individual entrepreneurs. In general, I advise you to call immediately and don’t be shy to ask stupid questions. At the same time, check the stress resistance of bank employees. If you are treated rudely during simple consultations, then immediately cross such bankers off the list.
What should you pay attention to?
Firstly, the cost of servicing the account
As a rule, it lies in the region of 500 – 3000 rubles per month. You shouldn’t rush to a bank where they don’t charge money at all for maintaining an account. Rest assured, you will still be charged money :)
For example, on % of each transaction. Suppose you decide to transfer money from a bank account to your personal card. And suddenly, when transferring money, a commission of 1-2% appears (and you didn’t seem to read about such joy on their website =)
The percentage seems small, but if you make transfers of large amounts, then it is more profitable to pay the subscriber 3,000 rubles than 30 thousand in transaction fees, for example. Therefore it is imperative clarify such little things.
Secondly, ask how much online banking costs
If this service is a separate (paid) service, then I advise you to look for other, less greedy bankers. Do not under any circumstances open an account in a bank with poor (glitchy) internet banking. Read reviews online for the bank you are interested in.
Believe me, it is better to make a payment through a client bank than to go to the bank office every time and bother filling out a checkbook or other documents.
Third
Check to see if these conditions will always exist. It happens that the bank lures you with favorable conditions that are valid... only for new clients during the first six months. And then draconian commissions and other “premium” services.
You will grumble, but most likely you will stay. Why? Yes, because all clients are accustomed to paying using the old details, everyone needs to be notified, reminded... And in general, it’s too lazy to run around with papers. Everything has been thought out long ago by banker-marketers.
Fourth
Ask how long it takes for them to process payment orders. In normal banks, transfers from account to account take place within one business day, but no more.
Fifthly
Ask your entrepreneur friends. They will definitely tell you best solution. I'm serious - they know where and how to save a couple of extra pennies =)
Dear readers!
I analyzed all the questions that were asked to me over 5 years of blogging. And I selected the TOP 60 most common questions asked by almost all beginning entrepreneurs.
The book is small, reading time will be approximately 1 hour. Actually, I answer them in this short e-book. And that's what it's called.
Can an individual entrepreneur work without a current account 2019 - what does the law say? When starting a business, aspiring entrepreneurs have to face various questions. And you need to know for sure whether you can make payments only in cash, or use a card opened to a physical person. face. And also, in what cases an individual entrepreneur cannot do without a current account.
The right to work without a current account
The legislation of the Russian Federation does not require individual entrepreneurs to open a current account. That is, a businessman can easily work without it if he provides services or sells goods only to the public and his turnover is low.
But with large volumes of supplies, you need to make payments with partners and the amounts can be very large. In this case, is an invoice required for an individual entrepreneur? Each individual entrepreneur should think carefully about whether he can quickly pay suppliers in cash. There may also be tax implications when paying with a personal card.
Before making a decision, you need to consider the following legal points:
- legislation allows entrepreneurs to open a bank account, but does not require it;
- Cash payments under one contract cannot exceed 100 thousand rubles. This restriction does not apply to wage payments and settlements with individuals.
An individual entrepreneur may not open an account immediately after registration. At the beginning of a business, there may not be a need for this. But as the business develops, the entrepreneur will evaluate all the disadvantages and advantages of non-cash transfers and then he should contact a banking institution.
It is important to remember the legal limit of 100 thousand rubles, otherwise the businessman will face serious troubles.
Advantages and disadvantages
When making a decision, you need to understand what the pros and cons of non-cash payments are, what opportunities they provide when doing business.
Advantages:
- Possibility to make any payments. Using a personal card does not allow you to make business-related payments. The bank may block such a transaction, and questions will arise from the tax office. Even if the payment is not related to business, it will be difficult to prove this.
- No restrictions on amounts. The limit of 100 thousand rubles does not apply to non-cash payments. An entrepreneur has the right to transfer any number of payments to one counterparty in an unlimited amount.
- Possibility to carry out settlements with legal entities. For organizations, cash payments, especially large ones, are problematic.
- Individual entrepreneur clients can pay for services or goods with their card.
- Saving time and the ability to promptly pay taxes and fees to the budget (for example, timely pay for a patent or license), as well as settle accounts with partners.
- Possibility to list wages to employee cards.
If the question is whether a current account is needed for an individual entrepreneur, it is worth noting that this increases the status of a businessman and inspires more confidence among partners.
The only downside is the additional maintenance costs. The amount per year is about 1000 rubles. But if you are active, this is a small price to pay and the benefits outweigh this disadvantage. In addition, entrepreneurs common system taxation or simplified taxation system, income minus expenses can include this item as expenses.
To reduce the cost of bank services, you need to familiarize yourself with the conditions offered by different financial institutions and choose the most suitable option.
How to choose a bank?
If an individual entrepreneur without a bank account decides to change his position, then he needs to carefully choose a bank. An important criterion is the reliability of the financial institution. There are a number of conditions that you need to pay attention to.
You need to ask the branch manager for the following:
- Is there a fee for opening an account, and in what amounts? Some banks do this for free;
- cost of settlement and cash services (price for each payment order sent);
- amount of payment for subscriber service;
- Is it possible to make online payments (client-bank service);
- under what conditions is it issued? bank card;
- is there free online customer support;
- the size of the limit and commissions for withdrawing cash through an ATM;
- under what conditions is it issued? a plastic card;
- deposit amount for the balance Money. Some banks offer a good percentage to cover service costs.
It is worth asking about the availability of programs for individual entrepreneurs. Some banks offer very attractive terms for individual entrepreneur lending.
Pay attention to the reputation and period of activity of the banking institution. An unreliable bank may be deprived of its license, and getting your money back will be problematic.
Opening an account
Since 2016, changes have been made to the procedure for opening a current account, which has significantly simplified this process for entrepreneurs. Until September 1, 2016, it was necessary to provide the bank with the original certificate of registration of individual entrepreneurs or a notarized copy.
Lawmakers have repealed this requirement. A bank employee can obtain such information online from a single register. Previously, for opening an account without such a document, the bank faced a fine of 20 thousand rubles.
In addition, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to open an account without visiting the office, if they already have a current account or bank card. An application is submitted online and a decision is made by the bank on the same day.
To open an account you will need the following documents:
- passport;
- license, if the type of activity requires it.
When submitting an application through a representative, a power of attorney is required.
To carry out transactions, you need to fill out the signatures of the entrepreneur or authorized representative, as well as with a seal. If you plan to make payments online, then this is not necessary.
Relations with the bank are secured by an agreement, which stipulates all the rights and obligations of the parties. In addition, an addendum with service rates is included. If the bank provides any services to the client on an individual basis, a additional agreement. Documents are certified by the signatures and seals of the parties.
Notify tax office or a pension fund is not needed, such information is provided by the bank for each client.
The question of whether an individual entrepreneur needs to open a bank account in 2019 and how to do it has been sorted out. But can a financial institution refuse a client, and on what grounds?
Yes, the bank may not accept the application for the following reasons:
- Providing an incomplete package of documents (lack of a license or power of attorney from the representative).
- The document has expired (the entrepreneur did not renew the license or the age photo was not pasted into the passport in a timely manner).
- False documents. If a forgery is detected, the individual entrepreneur is held accountable.
If, in the client’s opinion, the bank refused unreasonably, you need to write an application to provide a written explanation. If the rights of the applicant are violated, you can go to court.
Risks associated with using a personal account
Today, the Tax Code does not contain a direct prohibition on the use of a personal account for payments related to business. Although the situation was reversed before 2014, the law clearly stated that such operations were illegal.
Let’s figure out whether it is necessary for an individual entrepreneur to open a bank account in 2019 or whether you can get by with your own card.
Reasons for the ban:
- The bank may refuse to carry out a transaction related to entrepreneurial activity. This aspect is contained in the instruction of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation N 153-I.
- Admission large sum will be of interest to the security service of a financial institution. This is due to the fight against money laundering.
- Upon receipt of funds from legal entities NI has the right to charge 13% personal income tax for payment by an individual entrepreneur.
- If an individual entrepreneur operates in a mode that requires confirmation of expenses (OSNO or simplified tax system for income minus expenses), payments made from a personal card will not be recognized as expenses.
- When submitting a payment order, you must indicate the purpose of the payment. The specified agreement or account may become the basis for recognizing such a transaction as entrepreneurial. It will be difficult to prove otherwise.
- If the tax office considers that cash flows related to the business, may charge taxes on all transactions carried out.
These are quite serious risks leading to administrative and even criminal liability.
Opening a current account has a lot of advantages that allow you to save time and conduct business openly. This will save you from clashes with regulatory authorities and the cost of penalties.