Bookkeeping and Accounting Setup
Assess whether your new business has a bookkeeping system, chart of accounts, and process to keep clean records from the start.
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For founders, new owners, and anyone starting out
Business Banking and Financial Setup
Check whether you are ready to separate business finances with the right bank accounts, cards, and controls, and what documents the bank will need.
4 guided steps
Private in your browser
Official guidance links
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Your free guided checker
Answer a few quick questions below. It is private - nothing is submitted or stored - and takes about a minute.
Informational business-formation diagnostic only; not legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice. Confirm entity, tax, and state decisions with a qualified attorney and CPA.
The questions this tool walks you through
Here is what the checker asks and why each step matters. Prefer to talk it through? Contact us and we will help directly.
Does the business already have its own dedicated bank account, separate from your personal accounts?
A separate business account is the single most important step - running business money through a personal account is the classic way owners lose the liability protection their entity was formed to provide.
Open a dedicated business account now to protect the liability shield.
Official guidance: SBA open a business bank account
Will more than one person be able to sign, spend, or approve payments on the account?
Multiple signers make errors and fraud far more likely without controls; single-owner accounts need less structure but still benefit from basic limits.
Set approval controls and signer limits before funds start moving.
Official guidance: SBA open a business bank account
Do you need to accept credit or debit card payments from customers?
Card acceptance means choosing a payment processor and living with its economics - discount rates, rolling reserves, and chargeback exposure that can claw funds back.
Choose a card processor and plan for reserves and chargebacks.
Official guidance: SBA open a business bank account
Do you already have your EIN and the formation documents a bank asks for at account opening?
Banks require an EIN, formation or registration paperwork, and owner ID under their customer-identification rules; having these ready is the difference between opening in a day and being turned away.
Finalize the account with the EIN and documents already in hand. Obtain the EIN and formation documents the bank will require before applying.
Official guidance: SBA open a business bank account
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