Gathering place for osteopaths
Bank account
Hello
I just graduated and i got 2 questions regarding bank accounts:
- Do we need bussiness account or just personal one?
- how can we take payment by credit cards?
Regards
Marcin
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dick Wyatt on -
No, you're not *obliged* to have a biz. account. All of your takings/outgoings can be managed from any account you wish, so choose a free one.
The bank will probably offer you a biz. account, which is packaged with some other advice and gen. twaddle, most/all of which is available free elsewhere *and* you pay a fee to keep the account running. That's rubbish.
You can also persuade a card-reader to deposit to any old account, as far as I know (any other opinions?).
I don't yet have one ('cos I'm unwilling to pay for it!) but everyone gives me cash. Very rare to get a cheque these days. I can walk to the bank in ten minutes, so that's the equivalent of what I'd be prepared to pay! (in glucose, presumably).
There's never been a problem with this. All pts arrive by appointment, so it's easy for them to bring cash. I keep a 'float' for change (which I rarely use), and that's it!
Very rarely skint individuals show up without money, but no-one's ever failed to remit by post, or whatever within a few days. These would just as likely have a card rejected, so there's nothing lost or gained there either.
Dick
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Permalink Reply by Rich Moore on -
A great idea from a friend of mine - if you have a computer in your clinic (which I think most of us do) just have Paypal open in a tab and if they want to pay by card, they can enter their details and pay it straight to your online account.
Not sure about Paypal charges but I think it's something like 2-3% per transaction... and a lot less hassle than organising Streamline.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Andrews on -
Santander do a business account with no charges and easy pay in at the cash point. Streamline is relatively easy to set up and not hugely expensive if you are a member of the BOA. Patients like paying by card in my experience and it's an added attraction if you are just setting up in practice. You also get money going into your account every day!
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Permalink Reply by Noel Adams on -
Yep, got Santander account, it is free. Cheques if you get any, you can post or deposit at cashpoint, cash is deposited at cashpoint only. I also have a streamline machine from BOA, and it is very handy. Just a tip though, taking debit cards is cheaper than credit cards, I saved a small fortune in fees when I decided to say "debit card only" to patients when pulling out the plastic. The odd one or two who only had credit cards with them, didn't object when I asked them to pay a little extra to counteract the cost to me. Next time, they paid by debit card.
The other advantage of the card payment device, is that you can take payment over the phone if you want to, which is handy for taking deposits for new patients and reduces the DNA rate.
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