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Need a business account to start a business in Germany? Using our comparison of the top companies offering business bank accounts, we have answered many frequently asked questions about the opening of business accounts. Here you can learn what documents you need, who needs to be present at the bank to open a business account, and what services are needed to open a business account.
When you start a business, you open a business bank account, known as a Geschäftskonto, that is independent of your personal bank account. From this account, you conduct Business transactions. By consolidating all business transactions in one place, a business bank account simplifies the Tax filing process. Send invoices, receive payments, make purchases related to the business, and pay your salary using the business bank account.
Maintaining an organized record of your company’s finances is ideal when filing taxes. In addition to that, it will allow you to set aside some income for future taxes. As part of the share capital (Stammkapital), you may be required to maintain a business account depending on your company’s legal form. You can open a business account at a bank with a branch network (branch bank) or at a direct bank (a purely digital bank).
Do you require a business bank account?
In general, freelancers, self-employed individuals, and small businesses should have two separate bank accounts, a Geschäftskonto (Business bank account), which should be used for business, and a Privatkonto (Private bank account), which should be used for private purposes.
Having an additional account can be beneficial for all business matters in order to keep track of things. For capital companies such as GmbHs or UGs, keeping business accounts is mandatory.
Key points to look- Business Bank account?
It is important to check the fees and costs involved before you open your business account. To compare your business accounts, you can use the following checklist:
- Costs for opening an account (Kontoeröffnung)
- Fees for account management (Kontoführung)
- Costs for individual bookings (Einzelbuchungen)
- Amount of interest on credit balances (Guthabenverzinsung)
- Line of credit (Kreditrahmen) including at short notice and the fees for it
- Distribution of ATMs and the possibility of withdrawing money from third-party ATMs
- ATM withdrawal fees
- Costs for EC/credit card
Documents Required
- The European ID card or passport
- Address of official registration in Germany
- German Tax ID number (Steuer-ID)
Comparison of Business accounts
We’ve put together a summary of what business owners can expect to pay for an account in Germany.
|
Providers |
Branch/ Direct bank |
Management fee |
No of users |
Debit/ Credit card |
Withdrawal fee |
Legal forms
|
Available languages for customer service |
|
Direct |
Free |
1 |
Virtual/ Free |
2.00€(Domestic/Eurozone)
|
All |
English and German |
|
|
Direct |
Free |
2 |
Virtual Debit card/ Free |
Withdrawals are free up to 3 or 5 times per month, then € 2 each additional withdrawal |
Sole proprietorship, freelancer |
English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian. |
|
|
Direct |
9€ (One month free trial) |
2 |
Free/ Free |
2% charge per withdrawal with a € 2 min. at Mastercard vending machines Worldwide |
All |
English and German |
|
|
Branch |
€ 9.90 (First 6 months are free) |
1 |
Free/ € 79.90 per year |
Cash group ATMs charge a withdrawal fee of €1 |
All |
German |
|
Documents required to open a business bank account:
When opening a business account for an individual or partnership, documents required vary, but a SCHUFA and Anmeldung are usually not needed (unless the bank provides an overdraft service).
Freelancers It is only necessary to provide proof of identity to freelancers (Freiberufler). Business owners need to submit a certificate of incorporation and, if needed, the extract from the commercial register and a trade license.
Sole Proprietors A sole proprietorship (Einzelunternehmen) only needs proof of identity in order to open a business account; your driver’s license or passport is sufficient. Depending on the institution, a trade license may also be required. Usually, this is not available at the time of account opening, so it must be submitted later.
Partnerships, Generally speaking, partnerships (Personengesellschaften) fall into two categories, either a company under civil law (GbR) or a general business partnership (oHG).
For a civil law company (GbR), the only requirement is proof of the identities of all partners, along with the articles of association (Gesellschaftsvertrag).
The requirements for a general commercial partnership are the same as for a GmbH; however, a Handelsregister extract, a partnership list, and an appropriate trade license (if applicable) must be included.
List of Documents
In order to open a business bank account, companies such as GmbH, UG, or AG will need to submit a long list of documents.
- Proof of identity of all founders
- Business registration (Gewerbeanmeldung)
- Articles of association (Gesellschaftsvertrag)
- List of shareholders (Gesellschafterliste)
- Account authorization for shareholders (Kontovollmachten für Gesellschafter)
- Excerpt from the commercial register (Handelsregisterauszug)
- Certificate of incorporation (Gründungsurkunde)
To sum it up
Every bank comes with its pros and cons which end at it being your resposibilty to choose to right bank according to your expectations and the best fit one for your business. Hope this blog helped you understand more about the German business accounts.
