bank account?

[FlashleyAshley]

Over the last year or so I've started doing craft fairs, commissioned pieces, selling on etsy, etc. I am transferring to a fashion program in the fall and intend to start selling much more stuff (and more expensive stuff.) I have a hard time when it comes to knowing how much money has gone in to crafts during any given time. When I make money, it goes right back in to my checking account and lord knows what I do with it there. My ideal situation is that I buy my craft materials with money I made from selling, so I don't spend all my money on fabric.

My question is this: have any of you opened a separate checking account for your crafty ventures? I could get a free checking account because I'm a student, but dealing with banking can be such as hassle. Have any of you done this? And if so, does it help keep you organized?

[smegs]

I just keep an accounting ledger for my etsy store and craft fairs. I keep all my receipts in the ledger, so I can keep track of them. All my money goes into my savings account.

[Redjln]

I opened a business checking account at a bank that offered free business checking.  Hopefully soon I will start making more deposits to it, as right now I am making deposits that I am writing to get into shows.

I am planning on doing the same thing once my business gets going.... letting it pay for itself more than me investing in it as much as I do currently.

Later,
Jen

[Mishymishy]

I use Microsoft money to keep track. Its awesome because you always know exactly how much you have and it categorizes what you spend your money on. You can make a craft category and it will show how much or your money goes towards it. (one month last year, I realized I spent $8 on groceries and $250 on bar tabs that much using this feature  )

[calzephyr]

I run my business as a sole proprietorship. It was recommended to me that I open a seperate bank account, because people can then write a check to my business name instead of me personally. I pay per transaction instead of going with monthly fees.

[iamanji]

here is a good question!
Do i have to have a business license to get a business bank account? also my hubby has a business could i put the 2 in one account like a joint account?

We don't generate allot of money, not enough to worry about mixing money like that at least

[BeccaJaneStClair]

I just use excel spreadsheets to organize things. 

I've got a template up in this forum that has the basics for keeping track of how much an item costs and how much you should charge, and on my own personal spreadsheet I added in a place to work out exact supply costs.

If you are going to open an account at a bank, one thing you could do is open a personal account as [name] DBA [craft business name], this way you can accept cheques written out directly to the crafty name as well as still do your personal banking out of it.  (DBA stands for Doing Business As) (I used to work at a bank doing accounts).  A business account will in general have more restrictions on it - sometimes you can only write a certain number of cheques, or extra fees for certain things, etc. etc.  you also would not have your name directly on the business account, you would just be a "signer" on the account, and so you would ont be able to attach the business account to PayPal unless you opened a PayPal business account.   MOST banks require a Tax ID for the business to open a business account, but opening a personal DBA account only requires your SSN.

[PinkMafia]

In Hawaii you need a general excise tax # and a FEIN (you can get one online in a few minutes). You take your GE license and your FEIN # to the bank and they can open it for you.