Bank Account Procedures for Corporations

The establishment of corporate checking and savings accounts should take place by corporate resolution.

Normal business records should be maintained for simple banking transactions, such as writing checks or making deposits. Ledger entries, deposit slips, and the checks themselves evidence

Significant financial transactions. Significant financial transactions will be authorized at later Board meetings and memorialized in the minutes. A corporate resolution authorizing a significant financial transaction, such as borrowing significant sums and providing corporate property as security for any loans, should be described sufficiently in the minutes to identify the specific transaction. (See the Business Forms section of AllBusiness.com, where you will find kits containing corporate forms, including corporate and Board Resolutions authorizing transactions.)

Maintain separate accounts. To assure your corporation is treated as a separate entity from its owners, the corporation must maintain separate bank accounts from its owners. This means you may not treat your corporation’s bank accounts, checking or otherwise, as your personal accounts. Resist this urge completely. This is one area that can be very tempting, particularly to a small corporation.

Also read Why You Need to Know about (Bank) Sweep Accounts.