Small business owners are constantly looking for opportunities to streamline their business operations. By choosing the right bank account, you can optimize a big chunk of your business finances.

While most banks charge monthly fees for business checking accounts, free business bank accounts do exist, and they can be a great value.

In this article, I'll explain the advantages of opening a free business bank account, and explore some of the best options currently available.

Why You Need A Business Bank Account

As a small business owner, it's important to have a dedicated bank account for your business transactions, to keep them separate from your personal finances. Trust me, your accountant and the IRS will thank you.

But every business has different needs when it comes to banking. For example, if your business handles a lot of physical cash, it will influence the type of bank account you decide to open.

Fees are another important consideration. If you're not in the correct service plan, you may end up spending far more for banking transactions than you should. The last thing you want is for your banking account to become a drain on your finances.

The Best No-Fee Business Bank Accounts

Clearly, a business bank account with no fees is ideal, as long as it has all of the features you need. To help you find the right account, I've compiled the following list of five banks and fintech companies that offer no-fee business checking accounts.

Novo

Novo offers a free business bank account with additional features built-in. Notably, you can use Novo to create, send, and manage invoices through your checking account. By streamlining your invoicing process, you can work more efficiently.

Novo also makes it easy to get paid, by providing several options. You can connect to Stripe, Square, or PayPal to get paid via Venmo, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or credit card.

If you want to set some of your funds aside, you can do it with Novo Reserves. For example, you can separate out your payroll amount to avoid overspending in other areas. For more information, check out our full Novo review.

Bluevine

Bluevine doesn’t charge any monthly fees and no minimum balance is required. The account includes unlimited transactions and free ATM access with the MoneyPass network.

It's also an interest bearing account. At the time of this writing, you can earn 2.0% APY on your balance of up to $250,000. There is a catch, however. You must spend $500 per month with your bluevine Business Debit Mastercard or receive $2,500 per month in customer payments.

Bluevine also gives you the choice of separating your funds into sub-accounts. This can be helpful if you like to visualize your earmarked funds. For example, you might separate out your estimated tax payments into a sub-account for safekeeping.

Read our full bluevine review here for more information.

Found

Found's no-fee business checking account is geared to freelancers and solo entrepreneurs who are used to a balancing a never ending to-do list. They will benefit from the many tools built directly into the Found Business checking.

You can automatically track expenses through the account, and Found provides a series of helpful visuals to help you understand your business bookkeeping. You can set aside money automatically for your tax bill or to help you avoid overspending.

You can also send an unlimited number of invoices directly through Found. And the bank supports multiple payment methods to make it easy to get paid. You can read our full Found review here.

Relay

Relay makes it possible for small business owners to share the monitoring of banking transactions with multiple team members.

If you have a growing business, the ability to delegate some of the banking tasks can be incredibly helpful. As the account owner, you have the option to provide multiple team members with varying levels of access to the bank account.

While Relay's account offers unlimited fee-free transactions, there is no way to deposit cash, which is a drawback. Read our full Relay review here.

nbkc Bank

nbkc Bank offers a free business checking account with no overdraft protection, online banking, or incoming domestic wire fees.

Unfortunately, nbkc Bank doesn’t offer streamlined integration of any invoicing or bookkeeping tools. However, you can make free cash deposits at bank branches, which are scattered through Kansas City. But if you don’t live in the area, this perk might not be very useful. Check out our full nbkc Bank review here.

A Comparison Of Business Banking Options

The following chart breaks down some of the key features offered by the accounts covered in this article.

Choosing the Right Bank for Your Small Business Needs

The right business bank account can make a big difference for your small business. Before you explore your options, decide what factors are most important for your financial management.

Of course, picking a fee-free account is often a top consideration. But it’s not the only thing to keep in mind. For example, you might prioritize a bank account that allows you to delegate some of the responsibilities to your team. Or you might opt for a bank account that automatically earmarks your tax obligations in a sub account.

Once you determine what you are looking for in an ideal bank account, it’s easier to nail down the best bank account for your situation.

Final Take

When you find the right business bank account, your financial management tasks might start to feel more streamlined. As you transition into the new bank account, take advantage of the perks that sparked your interest.

If you didn’t find an option that works for you on this list, scope out the top business checking accounts today.