How to Shop for a Bank | Small Business

The short answer is yes! Having a business, big or small, also means you need to choose a bank that will support your business and its financial needs. You need an efficient way to take payments from customers, pay bills, keep reserved funds safe, and have access to credit and loans. 

As a small business owner, you have your own unique needs and your bank should have the right product offerings to support you. Learn what to look for in a bank and how F&M Bank supports small businesses in Middle Tennessee.

Banks for small businesses will offer products that allow you to conduct your business on a personalized scale. At F&M Bank we offer the following to all of our small business account holders access to the following benefits:

• Cash deposits
• Card transactions
• Mobile banking
• Business credit line
• Merchant research
• Beneficial ownership
• Secure night deposits
• Business checking accounts

You may not need all these features at first, but it is a good idea to make sure the bank you choose can support your anticipated needs as your business grows.

Use the following questions to help you decide what kind of small business bank account at F&M Bank is right for you.

Being a small business owner, you need quick access to your money. As a small business owner, you’re in charge of paying vendors, hiring repairmen, and paying for business expenses.

For your day-to-day expenses, you’ll need flexible access to your account so you can complete your business transactions. We recommend Business Online Banking with F&M Bank. We give our account holders access to funds through traditional, digital, and online banking. And if you’re running an online business in Tennessee, an online business banking account is a must.

Keeping a large amount of cash with you at your place of business is also a security risk. So, for security and profitability, you can store non-essential cash or funds in one of our choice Business Checking, Business Savings, or Business Money Market Accounts. With these accounts, we’ll help you earn compound interest on your funds while keeping them secure and accessible through traditional and online banking.

Besides using your business debit or credit card, we offer the same online banking services to our business customers as we do to individual customers. That means you, as a business owner, can deposit checks, transfer money, make digital payments, and review your bank statements all from our banking app.

We offer all of these handy services to our small business banking clients to help you easily manage your cash flow. If you’re worried that the size of your business is a limitation–don’t! Our choice business banking accounts are available to all of our business clients.

It should go without saying, but businesses should save a portion of their earnings. Therefore, you should make sure your bank offers secure business savings accounts with competitive interest benefits. 

We see successful businesses, both large and small, use business savings and investment accounts to secure their earnings. By saving money for your business, you’ll find it much easier to take care of tax payments, emergency events, necessary repairs, and more.

As COVID-19 has taught us, having money saved can mean the difference during trying times in the economy. It’s not enough to only save money, you deserve an account that helps you build your savings with choice interest benefits.

At F&M Bank, we offer our business banking clients choice interest-bearing bank accounts and opportunities, including:

• Business Savings Accounts
• Money Market Accounts
• Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
• Stocks
• Treasury Bonds
• Mortgage Bonds
• Tax-Exempt Investments

Another reason to choose an interest-bearing small business bank account is your interest will help your savings keep up with inflation rates. We want to help you stay ahead of the times and see financial success for years to come.

Business checking and savings accounts usually have limits to how many no-fee transactions you can make per month. You’ll also need to consider the minimum amount you anticipate in your account from month to month.

Remember that a bank is a business too, so every bank will have some form of limitations on their accounts. To help you consider the requirements, limitations, and benefits of our business checking accounts at F&M Bank, you can use our Business Account Selector Tool to evaluate which account will work best for you.

We understand that your time as a business owner is limited. The last thing you want to do is deal with manually recording every transaction. You need support from your bank so you can focus on earning profits.

To streamline the accounting process for our business customers, F&M Bank provides Direct Connect for QuickBooks business accounting software. When you sign up for Direct Connect with your F&M bank account, you can easily and automatically:

• Sync Your Transactions
• Reconcile Data
• Prevent Duplicate Transactions
• Process Fund Transfers

Even better, when you connect your QuickBooks account to F&M Bank you can access all of these processes with a direct link from your QuickBooks software.

Make sure your bank will save you time by helping you take data entry off your plate.

If you plan on taking credit card or debit card payments, you’ll need a way to accept and securely process these transactions. In fact, it’s almost essential for new businesses to accept digital transactions because when customers use their preferred payment method, like a credit card, your chances of making a sale go up. Therefore, you’ll need a bank that provides the right hardware and digital services so you can securely scan credit cards.

As a business owner, you’ll want to make sure you can process major card brands like Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express. No one likes the hassle of receiving services only to find out the business won’t take their credit card.

You’ll also need to consider your credit card transaction rates. As a small business owner in Middle Tennessee, you get to take advantage of the competitive rates we offer at F&M Bank. We help you improve your customer service and experience, while also helping you save money.

Keeping large amounts of money on hand or at your place of business is dangerous. Cash flow halts while you try and find time to get to the bank in person. You need a bank that lets you take care of deposits either remotely through deposit capture services.

But if you’d prefer to deposit the checks physically, you should look for a bank that offers secure after-hours deposits. Especially if your business hours include late nights and weekends.

You may be thinking, how can I deposit cash after my bank’s business hours? A great small business bank in Tennessee will offer secure night depository services. This service allows you to bring cash and checks to the bank at any time, day or night. Cash and checks will be credited to your business account the next day. 

Depositing straight to the bank will keep your earnings safe in a protected vault instead of on your person or on location. Access to deposit money after hours means less stress. You won’t need to find the time during banking hours, and you will have protection from theft for not only you but also your employees. 

Many of our locations throughout Middle Tennessee and the greater Nashville area offer after-hours deposit services. Call your local branch of F&M Bank to learn more about which services are available near you.

Banks need to make money too, so there will be some fees associated with your account. As a business owner, you’ll want a bank that offers low fees or some services for free. At F&M Bank we offer fee-free accounts when you open multiple accounts for your small business. That means you get more benefits when you open a business savings and business checking account at F&M Bank!

Also, if you know you can keep a high enough monthly balance in your account, we’ll waive your regular monthly service fees. So, why not keep a little extra cash in your bank accounts?

Banks for small business owners will often promote deals on the monthly maintenance fee in exchange for handling your other business needs. Review the monthly fees on checking accounts, merchant card services, and bill payment options to make sure you choose the best accounts for your business.

Hopefully, these questions have given you enough to consider what you need when shopping for a bank as a small business owner. To review, remember to ask yourself:

1. How accessible do I need my funds to be?
2. Can I get long-term savings benefits?
3. Will my bank save me time?
4. Will my bank make it easier for me to process credit card payments?
5. Can I still make deposits if I have a late schedule?
6. What kind of fees will I need to pay, and can I get fee-free perks?

As a small business owner, you have many choices to make, and choosing the right bank can help you run your company efficiently on a day-to-day basis.

If you have a business in Tennessee and are looking for banking services, F&M Bank is a great choice. We value every customer relationship we build with the business owners we work within Tennessee. We strive to be your money-smart choice!