Latest responses to “Depositing a Business Check Into a Personal Bank Account” Copyright 2013, MoneyBlueBook.com 469950 2011-03-17T21:45:13-07:00 Robsta I always thought that the laws governing commercial paper superceded bank rules (like cashing third party checks and business checks into personal accounts). If there is such a law then i do believe the bank lobbys probably pushed it down the throats of Washington Legistlatures. 410070 2010-12-20T20:40:21-08:00 dyc Great info, however, I would like to ask what can be done with a business check (payable to the company name) received after a DBA business account has been closed? The check was for services rendered prior to the company closing, but received after the company and bank account has been closed. 410060 2010-11-13T11:21:44-08:00 Jessica I work for a large bank. If you were to come see me with this predicament, here's what I would suggest: Open a sole proprietorship account. As long as your last name is included in the business name/title on the account, you do not need documentation. Have the banker add in a message with an AKA and the actual business title which does not include your last name. So, if I own a business called 'Mountain Crafts' and my last name is Smith, the account would be called 'Smith's Mountain Crafts, AKA Mountain Crafts' you can deposit checks payable to either, or to yourself as an individual. Once the paperwork comes through from the state, you can either change the name of the account or close this one and open a new in just the business name without your last name. Make sense? Good luck. I'd find a banker who is interested in helping find solutions/solve problems rather than telling you what you can't do. 410090 2010-10-29T19:24:58-07:00 tamu Thanks, Raymond. I think that's what I'm going to have to do. Unfortunately the company that issued the check has been really hard to get money from so I had to wait for this last check 10 months. To get them to reissue another with my personal name included might mean another long wait, so I'll probably just do as you suggest & open a business account. Like you, I've just always liked the convenience of putting my infrequent business checks directly into my personal account, but I've been looking for a reason to get away from Bank of America anyway, so maybe this is a good excuse to open this business account at another bank. I've been looking for a more small-town bank with still the convenience of online banking & such. I found one that I think will work, so guess it's just a matter of doing it now :-) 410110 2010-10-23T16:13:08-07:00 Lydell E. This thread reminds me of why I keep separate accounts for personal and business funds, though I'm sure this will be followed by conspiracy theories against doing so and flames for even bringing it up. Regardless, I just find that to b a simpler method of keeping track of business expenses related to the business without the headaches of what is or isn't legal or what a bank will or won't do. A lot of small business bank accounts function as personal accounts already (free to open, small opening deposit, etc.), so why not keep those funds separate? 410100 2010-09-14T17:46:06-07:00 Sam Some banks require a trade name certificate for DBA's, but others do not. It depends on the size of the bank or if the bank has ever had issues with it in the past. Another solution for DBA's is to put on your invoices for all checks to be made payable to your name. This keeps you from having problems with the bank. A trade name certificate should be fairly easy to get. It is issued by the county clerks office or your city hall. Find the website for your town and see if they have the form easily printable. 409950 2010-08-26T14:49:19-07:00 Stephen FYI for Bank of America customers, I just ran into exactly this issue (I have a sole proprietorship but in the past have always gotten checks with personal name rather than business name), and BoA told me by phone I would have no problem depositing to my personal account in a branch in person, as long as I brought a business card and/or other docs showing that I am doing business under the company name. She said they'd add the DBA to my personal account and I'd have no problems in the future. 410080 2010-07-06T14:05:25-07:00 Matt Thanks Joey Z, that was a great detailed explanation. I"m looking for a solution for future business checks to my sole proprietorship, so i'll just go in and change the acct name to add DBA "..". Thanks again! 410000 2010-03-15T15:30:38-07:00 Joey Z Looks like this post has been going on for a while. I'm bored so I'll add my 2 cents. I work at a small local bank (not as a teller). From what I understand from asking our Teller Manager, Federal Law (might be the Uniform Commercial Code) requires that a check made payable to a business entity be deposited directly into an account belonging to that business entity. A sole-proprietorship isn't technically a business account, it's just a personal account (registered under the owner's SSN) that has the words, "Doing Business As" or "DBA" followed by the business name. Being a personal account, it's treated as normal. Depsoit it, cash it, sign it over to a third party, etc. If the business is a Partnership, Corporation, Non-Profit Org, etc, the check can only be depsoited. It can't be signed over to a third party, can't be cashed, and can't be desposited into any account other than one owned by a business named in the payee line. I imagine this is to prevent shady usage of business funds by account signers, and to help the IRS have a paper trail for all of the funds moved out of the account. Money laundering and tax-evasion often attempt to use business accounts to hide the origin of the funds. If a signer on a business account wants to withdraw cash, they must write a check payable to their own name, or simply to "cash". That way if the issue ever comes up, the bank can say, "Look, Mr. John Doe signed this check authorizing the business to give him money." Then John Doe is responsible for it. So to recap: If you have a check written to "Joe & Bob's Lawn Care", it can be cashed if the bank has an account including "Joe Smith, DBA 'Joe & Bob's Lawn Care'" or something close to that. If Joe & Bob's Lawn Care is actually Joe & Bob's Lawn Care, Inc (i.e., Joe and/or Bob provided documentation to the bank proving the government has incorporated that business itno it's own entity) the check can only be deposited, nothign else. If Joe or Bob wants cash, they need to write a check. 409870 2010-02-10T15:44:38-08:00 toead Looks like Lynn's thought process has run a muck. As sole proprietor, I have and will continue depositing checks made out to my company into my personal checking account. I know - should have turned on spell check and grammar. Have a nice Day!!!