Why you need a freelancer business account

Freelancers will need to spend a ton of time finding work, dealing with client requests, and ensuring they have the resources and skills necessary to fulfil those requests. Unfortunately, this means that you’ll not have much time left to run your business or manage your finances. Luckily, you can make financial management quick and easy by signing up for a business account.

This article will list a few different reasons why you might need a freelancer business account. We’ll cover a variety of topics, including:

• Separating your personal and business finances
• Create invoices easily
• Keep an eye on your profits and losses
• Make sharing data with your accountant simple
• How to open a freelancer business account

Freelancers might find it tempting to simply use their personal bank account for business, as it can seem like the simpler option. This isn’t the case: if you don’t keep your business and personal money separate, your financial records can rapidly become very disorganised. This isn’t great, as having organised records is a big part of running your business effectively.

Although it’s not a legal requirement to open a separate business account, it’s a great idea to do so. Setting up an account is usually quick and easy, and it will help you save time and money. Since your transaction history and financial information will be much easier to see and analyse, it can also help you make better financial decisions.

Another benefit of having a business account to keep your finances separate is that it makes your operation look much more professional. Freelancers don’t have a large corporation backing them, so it can be tough to appear reliable and professional if you don’t have an extensive reputation. Having a business account goes a long way towards creating a professional image. 

Many freelancers use invoices to request and receive payments, so making this task less time-consuming is a huge advantage. If you’re interested in opening a business account, look for one that has features that help you put together invoices. These might be templates that help you avoid common invoice mistakes or alerts that tell you when clients pay off their invoices.

The Countingup app, for instance, has both of these features. It’s a two-in-one product that combines a business account with built-in accounting software, making it even more useful. This is particularly true for invoicing: the Countingup app allows you to create digital invoices almost effortlessly. 

Countingup’s invoice system is quick and easy to use. Once you’re in the new invoice screen, all you need to do is enter the client’s details, the services you provided, and the payment date. Afterwards, you can send the digital invoice off with a single tap. 

The Countingup app also allows you to make an unlimited number of customised invoices, all for free. You can also add your company logo to your invoices to give them a more professional appearance or receive notifications when clients pay the invoices.

Your profits and losses might be the most important bit of financial information you’ll need to know about your business. If you don’t know much about your profits, you’ll be unable to measure the success of your business. If you don’t keep track of your losses, you’ll not know how much you can afford to spend to keep your business running.

As self-employed individuals, freelancers should also take an interest in their profits and losses. A business account allows you to view all your transactions easily, so it grants a much better idea of how much you’re earning and spending. This means that making an actual profit and loss statement — the document that shows how much money your company has made and lost over a set period — is much easier when you have a business account.

Countingup goes a step further to streamline the creation of these statements. The Countingup app shows a real-time view of your profits and losses, updating as you make transactions on the business account. This means you’ll be able to see and record your profits and losses as soon as they go onto your account. 

Some freelancers need to hire a professional accountant to help with organising company finances or completing their self-assessment tax returns. This is common because freelancers need to run their entire business themselves while still working for their clients. They may not have time to even learn how to do complicated accounting tasks, so it’s often a better decision to simply hire an accountant.

While accountants are a fantastic resource for freelancers, sending them all your relevant financial data can be a complicated and frustrating process. Even after you think you’ve sent all the necessary documents, you might receive an email or phone call asking you to send yet more information. Freelancers might struggle to find the time to deal with these requests.

With a business account, your entire transaction history will be in one digital location. This eliminates the need to email your accountant hundreds of different receipts or send them any physical files before the accountant is able to assist you. Instead, you can just show the accountant the data on your business account.

The business current account Countingup can make this process even easier with the Countingup Accountant Hub. Using the Countingup app, you can share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly by entering their email and sending an invite to the Accountant Hub. This way, you can share information without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies.

This article looks at a few of the most helpful features you can find in business accounts for freelancers. If you’re looking for an account with all of these features, try using Countingup.

Countingup is the business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

Signing up for a Countingup business account couldn’t be simpler. All you need to do is download the app and follow the steps listed. You can also click here for more information on Countingup, including how to start a three-month free trial today.