If you are operating your business under a corporate name, you must make sure that you set up a business checking account to avoid conflicts and so you can make the checks payable to your company.

1. Preparing Your Business to Receive Payments
A lot of starting businesses are struggling to make sales but it should not only be finding
customers that you should be worried about. It is important that you prepare your business
thoroughly so that you do not end up confused and overwhelmed when sales start going up.
Listed below are some of the business basics that you should prepare your business with in
order to start accepting virtual modes of payment.
• Set up a different bank account for your business. There is no need to set up a
different bank account for your business if you are operating it under your name. You
can simply ask customers to make their checks payable to you and deposit them
directly to whichever personal account you have, whether checking or savings
account. On the other hand, if you are operating your business under a corporate
name, you must make sure that you set up a business checking account to avoid
conflicts and so you can make the checks payable to your company.
• Get a tax ID number. If you decided to open a business bank account, you will
need to have a tax ID. First, you need to request for a tax ID number from IRS.
Once approved and once they have issued you your number, you will need to obtain
a tax ID from the state where you will be conducting your business. Make sure to fill
out and complete IRS Form SS-4 and mail it to the IRS office to get your federal tax
ID number. Remember that IRS would issue you the number via mail within two to
three weeks upon the date of receipt.
• Applying for a fictitious name. Some owners decide to use a different name for
their business. This is totally possible, but there is a need to register the fictitious
name. You will need to register the name you chose with your city, country or state
because if not, your bank will not allow you to open a business account. In some
states, all you need to do is to go to your country office and pay for the necessary
fees. However, in some, you will need to announce your name in a local newspaper
which costs about $10 to $100. Furthermore, corporations are not usually asked to
file fictitious names except when they have to do business using names different
from their own.
• Apply for a merchant account. If you want to increase your sales and revenue,
you need to cater to the preferences of customers. Different customers pay in
different methods so make sure that your business is able to accept all modes of
payment to not only increase your profit but your customer base as well. To have the
ability to accept credit cards, you need to have card processing services which
include the credit card merchant account, a bank account and the terminal which
processes the payments. Apply for Online Merchant accounts make it easier for the
customers to pay for their desired items and make it simpler for the merchant to
process the transactions. The customers simply provide their information and the
merchant account will directly transfer the payment to the bank account you
designate. Start up fees are around $50 to $200 and you need to pay for the
monthly fees as well as per-transaction fees which amount to $4 to $20 and 5 to 50
cents per purchase respectively.
• Check out third party online payment systems. There are several third party
online payment systems that allow consumers to pay for their purchases to a
business’ email through their credit card or checking account. These companies offer
quick and easy sign-ups and can be a good choice for business owners who want to
start immediately. Customers only need to create their accounts and pay using them.

2. Having a start-up business takes time and effort but if you want your business up and
running in no time, you will need to keep in mind these preparations that your business
should have. If you think I missed some business basics, you are most welcome to share
them in the comments below.