Money & Bookkeeping

Account Setup Checklist

Companion to "Separate your money."

Starting clean takes thirty minutes; un-mixing later takes a weekend you will resent. The account gets opened this week, not after the first customer. Sorting money that already exists is archaeology; sorting money at arrival is bookkeeping.

Setup, in order

☐ Open a business checking account at a bank you already trust. Compare monthly fees and, if you will take cash, cash-deposit limits. Those two details decide more than any welcome bonus
☐ Open a second account at the same bank and name it Tax so the statement says what it is
☐ Point every payment method at the business account: card reader, invoicing tool, payment app, platform payouts, checks. All of them. No exceptions "just this once"
☐ Move business subscriptions and recurring costs onto a card or account that belongs to the business
☐ Write your transfer rule on paper: what percent of each deposit moves to Tax, and what day your owner transfer happens. Tape it somewhere visible

The transfer rule (write it here, then on paper for the wall)

Percent of each deposit moving to Tax	% (from the Set-Aside Percentage Worksheet)
Owner transfer day and amount (fixed event, reviewed monthly)	, $
Date written and taped

The money flow (draw it on a napkin until memorized)

Stage	Rule
In	Customer money enters the business account and only the business account
Split 1: Tax	A slice moves immediately to the Tax account: a holding pen for money that was never yours
Split 2: Owner pay	A slice moves to you as a transfer on a schedule you chose
Split 3: Operating	What remains runs the business: fuel, gear, insurance, software

The splits happen because the schedule says so, not because you felt generous or stingy that week.

Documents the bank may want

LLC or corporation: formation paperwork + EIN (the bank tells you exactly which when you call)	☐ Ready
Sole prop under your own name: Social Security number works, many banks prefer an EIN, which the IRS issues online free	☐ Ready

If you formed an entity for liability protection, mixing accounts is the fastest way to lose the protection you paid for. Courts that find personal and business money freely interchanged can decide the business and the person are the same thing, at which point your business debts are your debts. Separation is not just hygiene. It is part of the armor.

Crossing the line (edge cases get logged, not ignored)

Personal cash used for a supply run: recorded the same day as money the business owes you, repaid in the weekly hour	☐ Logged:
Owner transfer kept as a fixed event; paying yourself whatever is left over whenever you feel short re-imports every problem separation solved	☐ Held