Why this matters
Unlike most personal accounts, business checking still commonly carries monthly fees, transaction caps, and cash-deposit limits. Skipping the fee schedule can cost hundreds a year in avoidable charges; ten minutes of reading before signing beats surprises on statement three.
What "done" looks like
- You've read the actual fee schedule, not the marketing page
- You know the monthly fee and the exact waiver condition
- You know the free transaction and cash-deposit allowances and per-item costs beyond them
- Wire, overdraft, and ATM fees are written down, and your expected activity fits the free tiers
How to do it
- Download the fee schedule PDF for each shortlisted account, every bank publishes one, usually in fine print.
- Check the waiver math. Chase Business Complete Banking, for example, is $15/month, waived by maintaining a $2,000 minimum daily ending balance or through other qualifying activities. Ask whether you'll reliably qualify.
- Count your transactions. Many traditional accounts include limited free teller and paper transactions, then charge per item; estimate your real monthly volume.
- Check cash-deposit allowances if you take cash, big-bank accounts commonly cap free monthly cash deposits, then charge by amount.
- Total a realistic month, including wires, overdrafts, and ATM use, and compare accounts on that number, not the headline fee.
Common mistakes
- Assuming "no minimum to open" means "no minimum to avoid fees"
- Ignoring transaction caps until a busy month generates per-item charges
- Treating a waivable fee as free when your balance will dip below the waiver line
Real-world examples
- Chase Business Complete Banking's $15 fee with defined waiver conditions is a typical big-bank structure.
- Online providers like Mercury and Bluevine advertise no monthly fees or minimums, the documented trade-off is limited or no cash-deposit and branch access.
From a founder's point of view
A fee schedule is a bank telling you exactly how it plans to charge you. Reading it once is the highest-hourly-rate work you'll do this week.
Rule of thumb
Before signing, you should be able to predict next month's total bank fees to the dollar. If you can't, keep reading.
