What features are most important to me?

In Step 2, you determined what common freelancing problems you relate to, helping you visualize your overall business needs. 

Keeping those in mind, take a look at common business bank account features. You’ll rate them based on importance, then use your prioritized list of features to select a bank that fits the bill.‍

This next step will gear you up to evaluate different banks. Since you’ve already gathered the info you need to complete the application process, all you need to do is pick the bank that aligns with your goals and you’ll be ready to go.

As you look at these features, consider two things:‍

1. The state of your business today: This informs what features you need now.

2. Where you see your business going: Some features may be helpful as you grow or pivot. Maybe you see yourself transitioning to an agency model, outsourcing to a virtual assistant who will have limited access to the accounts, or increasing your revenue well beyond your current projections.

Determine what banking features are most important to you

Thinking about the reasons you want a business bank account will help you determine which features will solve your business problems and help you grow.

Use this exercise as a vehicle for concretely assessing different business banking products. Your ratings will correlate to the evaluation rubric in the next step.‍

1. Go to the workbook and review the list of common banking features.

2. Reflect on how important each feature is to you while considering your business needs.

3. Rate each feature on a scale of 1–3 

1 = Must have: something you cannot do without

2 = Nice to have: anything you can do without, but would rather have if it’s an option. For each of these categories, you might end up with a few features.

3 = Not important: these may account for a minority of options.

Now that you’ve rated your features, take the time to rank them in order of priority (all the 1s and 2s—you can leave out the unimportant stuff).‍

Recap

• You thought about the state of your business now and where it may head in the future, helping you select features that serve you best.

• You used this info to rate bank account features, focusing on categories like tax, technology, human touch, and more.

• You rated banking features based on necessity (categorizing by must-haves, nice to have, and not necessary), then prioritized them from most important to least.