Starling Bank: business account for contractors
Join over 500,000 UK businesses, and apply for a free business bank account in minutes, from your phone.
Business account & sole trader account
We’re recommended by 82% of business customers – no other bank is recommended by more. And here’s why:
- Absolutely no monthly fees or UK payment charges
- 24/7 customer support from our UK-based teams
- Real-time integration with Xero, Quickbooks and FreeAgent
- Instant notifications when you spend or get paid
- Track spending, and upload receipts to transactions
- Saving Spaces and Bills Manager make managing money easier
- Earn 2.5% interest (AER) on savings with a 1-Year Fixed Saver
- Deposit cash at any Post Office branch for a 0.3% fee, and deposit cheques in the app just by taking a photo
- An easy-to-use app that just works, and a desktop portal too
- Access to free business guides written by experts
- Your money is protected up to £85,000 by the FSCS
Banking and bookkeeping all in one place
Starling’s Business Toolkit lets you manage invoices, bills, tax and VAT from your bank account:
- Seamlessly create and send invoices directly from your desktop. Quickly see what’s owed to you and, when you get paid, just match your invoices in a single click.
- Record VAT on your transactions, and set defaults if you’re happy to automate some of it. Connect to HMRC and submit your returns through Making Tax Digital.
- Create Savings Spaces for VAT and tax directly from Toolkit. These Spaces automatically compare your tax estimates to the amounts you have set aside for them
- Toolkit is free for your first month, and then costs just £7 a month. You can cancel at any time.
Business, euro, USD, personal, joint and even kids: we’ve got a whole host of accounts ready to go. And they’re all seamlessly managed from the same app.
![online banking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Image%20-%20in%20article%20content.png)
Connect to accounting software in real-time
Connect your Starling account to accounting software, payments platform, pension provider and more with Marketplace:
- Share your banking data with Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent securely, automatically and in real-time. For free.
- Link to leading point-of-sale platforms, Zettle by PayPal and SumUp. Get detailed summaries on transactions, fees and VAT.
- Make life easier by connecting to pension providers, HR platforms, legal help and insurance brokers.
It's showtime.
Here’s everything you’ll need to apply for an account:
- A smartphone (and signal)
- Valid photo ID such as a passport or UK driving licence
- You'll need to be a sole trader or the Person with Significant Control (PSC) of a Limited Company (LTD) or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
- About 10 minutes of your time (if you have documents which confirm the nature of your business at hand this will be easier)
- If you already have a personal account and want to open a business account or sole trader account, simply click on the button in the top right hand corner of the Starling app, select your personal account and then click ‘Open a new account’
When your account is open, use the Current Account Switch Service in app to move all your money, Direct Debits and standing orders over in one go.
![mobile banking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Image%20-%20in%20article%20content-1.png)
Business banking shouldn’t cost the Earth
We’re a paperless bank, which means we won’t send you paper statements or chunky welcome booklets and our debit cards are made from recycled plastic.
What Starling customers say:
![testimonial](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Life%20coaching%20services%20for%20contractors%20%28666%20%C3%97%20450px%29%20%281%29_0.png)