Rules
Part of Account opening: the questions that matter
An account opening checklist built for real conditions
A business account opening checklist ordered by dependency, from the two steps that wait on other people to proving the account works after approval.
A checklist is only useful if it is ordered by dependency rather than by topic. Most account opening lists are alphabetical or grouped by document type, which hides the single fact that decides how long the process takes: several steps cannot start until an earlier one has finished. Two of them depend on other people's calendars rather than yours.
What follows is sequenced. Each block names what has to be true before it can begin. The linked pages are what an application has to prove, money transfers, and banking fees, in the site's account, payment, and fee sections.
What to take away
- Two steps depend on other people. Start those first, whatever else is unfinished.
- Nothing that names the business can be finalized until the filed formation document exists, because that document sets the exact name string.
- The account is not open when it is approved. It is open when a real payment has gone out and a real payment has come in.
- Keep the checklist as a record of what you did, not a list you throw away.
Before anything: the two long poles
These have no prerequisites and the longest lead times, so they start on day one regardless of what else is unready.
Typical lead times: identification renewal 2 to 6 weeks; an institution's acceptance answer 1 day to 2 weeks.
Two long poles start day one
- Identify every individual to verify
- Ask each to confirm current ID
- Confirm industry, entity, activity accepted
- Ask in sales conversation, write down who
The two long poles
- Identify every individual the institution will need to verify, and tell them. Owners above the applicable ownership level and at least one person exercising control, at minimum. Ask each of them to confirm their identification is current and to send you the exact legal name it carries.
- Confirm the institution accepts your industry, your entity type, and your expected activity. Ask in a sales conversation, before an application exists, and write down who said it.
If either of these produces an unwelcome answer, everything downstream changes, which is precisely why they come first.
Stage one: produce the filed formation document, EIN, address proof, and ID
Make the entity provable
- Filed formation or registration document
- Federal tax identification confirmation notice
- State and local registrations, licenses
- Registered, mailing, physical addresses recorded
Stage one is finished when you can produce a filed document, a tax identification, and a written address set, and not before. The proofs each of these carries, and the substitutes institutions will usually accept, are set out under what an application has to prove.
Stage one documents:
Stage one documents
- Formation filingthe accepted articles or certificate from the state, or the equivalent.
- EINthe IRS letter, usually CP 575 or 147c.
- Address proofa lease, utility bill, or bank statement in the entity's name.
- IDa current government photo ID and proof of address for each owner and control person.
Typical formation lead times: state filing 1 day to 2 weeks online, 4 to 6 weeks by mail; EIN same day online if eligible, otherwise 4 to 6 weeks by mail.
Stage two: align every name and address across the documents
Make every document agree
- Copy legal name character for character
- Compare every document against fact sheet
- Fix mismatches at the source
- Assemble authority evidence
- Build ownership chart down to individuals
Documents to align: formation filing, EIN letter, address proof, business license, assumed name filing, and each person's ID. Every name string, address, and tax ID must match the formation filing.
This stage is where the time is saved. A mismatch is not a missing item, it is a review, and reviews run on the institution's clock.
Stage three: write your activity baseline with ranges
Write these down before you meet the form, because they become the baseline your account is monitored against afterwards.
Prepare answers before the form
- Expected monthly volumes as realistic range
- Money sources and destinations by country
- Currency and coin quantity and frequency
- Payment methods and cross-border use
- Known unusual events coming
Example answers for the usual monitoring questions:
Activity baseline with ranges
- Expected monthly deposits
- $5,000 to $50,000
- Expected monthly outgoing payments
- 10 to 60
- Largest single payment
- $2,000 to $20,000
- Countries and currencies
- United States, USD only
- Cash deposits
- $0 to $2,000 per month
- Expected monthly fees
- $0 to $50 on a basic business checking account
These are examples. Use your own figures and state a range wide enough to cover normal months.
Give the ranges some room. Being far outside what you stated attracts attention in both directions. The mechanics of the rails you are describing sit under money transfers, and the way charges attach to each of them is on the banking fees page.
Stage four: submit a complete application
Apply once, completely
- Submit one complete application
- Attach documents as asked, named clearly
- Answer follow-ups in a single reply
- Fund account promptly once approved
Application packet: formation filing, EIN letter, address proof, IDs, ownership list, and your written activity answers.
If a request for more information arrives, treat it as the whole task for that day. Partial answers extend a file more than any other single factor.
Stage five: prove the account works
Prerequisite: account approved and funded.
Approval is not the finish. Before the account carries anything that matters:
Prove the account works
- Send a small outgoing payment on every rail you will actually use.
- Receive an incoming payment from a real counterparty, not from your own other account.
- Deposit whatever you will normally deposit, including currency if that applies, and note what it cost and how long the funds took to become available.
- Add every user who needs access, with distinct permissions, and confirm each one can sign in independently.
- Export a statement and put it through your bookkeeping before you rely on the format.
- Record the support channels, their hours, and how to escalate, while nothing is wrong.
Availability timing surprises people more than any charge does. The federal rules on when deposited funds have to be made available are published as Regulation CC, and your institution's own policy sits on top of them.
Stage six: close the loop
Prerequisite: one full cycle completed.
- Reconcile the first full month and compare the charges against the schedule you were given.
- Confirm any waiver you were promised actually applied, and note the condition it depends on.
- Confirm what the deposit protection position is for the way this account is titled, from the deposit insurance material published by the FDIC or the equivalent for an insured credit union. Look at that rather than the institution's marketing.
- File the whole pack, with the fact sheet at the front, so the second relationship takes an afternoon.
That second relationship is ordinary risk management rather than distrust, and the case for it is made under business checking.
Common questions
How far ahead should I start?
Start the two long poles as soon as forming the business is decided. Everything else can be compressed; waiting for a co-owner to renew identification cannot.
Can I apply to several institutions at once?
You can, and it is reasonable when acceptance is uncertain. Keep the fact sheet identical across all of them, because the mismatches that cause trouble are usually introduced by retyping.
What if I am declined after doing all this?
Ask whether the decision was about missing information or about policy. If it is policy, particularly industry policy, applying to a similar institution repeats the result. Institutions with a different profile, including credit unions, have different appetites and are worth trying next.
Do I need every item on this list?
No. It is a superset, and a small sole proprietorship will skip several blocks. The ordering is the part to keep even when the contents shrink.
