Business banking basics for SMEs
Learn why SMEs keep business and personal money separate, what banks may ask for, and how accounts and records support day-to-day operations and finance.
Scene 1 of 8
Separate business and personal money
If you run a business, here's the most important money habit of all: keep business money and personal money apart. When sales and school fees come from the same account, you can't tell if the business is really making a profit.
Pausing on some devices restarts the current scene when you resume. Next and previous move one scene.
Read instead: full lesson text
Separate business and personal money
If you run a business, here's the most important money habit of all: keep business money and personal money apart. When sales and school fees come from the same account, you can't tell if the business is really making a profit.
Clear records help explain your business
And when you go to borrow, a lender can't tell either. A business account fixes that.
Documents a bank may ask for
To open one, banks usually ask for your business registration documents, such as your CAC certificate in Nigeria or your Registrar-General's documents in Ghana, plus ID for the owners, and proof of address. Requirements differ from bank to bank, so check before you go.
Compare account features and charges
When comparing business accounts, look at the monthly maintenance fees, transfer charges, the minimum balance, and the tools that come with it: point-of-sale terminals, payment links, online banking, and statements you can download.
Keep receipts and transaction records
Now, records. Every sale, every purchase, every expense. Keep receipts. Use your account statements. Even a simple notebook or spreadsheet helps.
Use records to understand the business
Good records show you which products make money and which don't. They also unlock finance.
Steady records can help lenders assess you
Lenders want to see steady money coming in over months. A business that runs its sales through its account, and can show its records, is far easier to lend to than one that runs on cash alone.
Pay yourself a salary
And pay yourself a salary. A fixed amount from the business to your personal account each month. It keeps the business healthy, and keeps your household budget honest.
Check what you learned
3 questions. Get all right to earn the lesson badge. You can try again as often as you like.
Go further on Afiwe
General education, not financial advice. Amounts shown in illustrations are examples only.