Options for small football club bank account

[CrouchingWayne]

I help out with my children’s school football team and we are looking to open a bank account in the clubs name if possible

Has anyone any experience with this, and any recommendations?

The number of transactions is tiny and all low value so a no-frills free account would be ideal if possible

It’s been done quite causally through one of the coaches private accounts previously however we are getting a few donations from surrounding businesses who rightly want a more official bank account for transfers.

One I saw recommended on MSE was co-op (linked below) but it is from a few years ago so thought i would check with the PH:

https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/business/produc...

[The_Doc]

I opened a new account for the PTA at school,

and after A LOT of searching on what free banking there is available for small, not-for-profit, organisations and clubs, I went with Lloyds Treasurer's Account

https://www.lloydsbank.com/business/business-accou...

save yourself a lot of work and see if it meets your needs.
Most of the other banks are desperately trying to give up on these accounts. Some big banks are "de-banking" existing customers and closing them down.
This one was the sweet spot of function and hassle, whilst being free.

[i]To apply for a Treasurer's Account, you will:

Be a non-profit organisation like a charity, church, club or society
Use the account for business only
Be aged 18 or over
Have an annual turnover of less than £50,000.[/i]

[Countdown]

We're with the TSB which has always been good but I don't think they still offer CASC accounts to new customers.

What i would strongly recommend is that you identify which banks have branches close to you and then ask them in person if they offer Community / Sports Club bank accounts. We have always found that we need to visit the branch quite often (for various reasons, mainly because the Trustees aren't very techy).

[S6PNJ]

The_Doc said:

I opened a ......Lloyds Treasurer's Account

Ah, Lloyds, Hateful Bank! I have a treasurer account with them and about 1-2 weeks ago they wrote to me saying they were changing the account and it would now cost £4.50 pcm plus transaction fees. I stopped using them as my personal bank a few years back (I'd been with them 20 odd years) after they fouled up so many activities. With the 2 charity accounts I administer with them, if I had any choice I'd go elsewhere and at the moment, Metro Bank is looking like a possibility, though I'll probably have to do a few work arounds as I don't have a local branch.

[2 GKC]

S6PNJ said:

Ah, Lloyds, Hateful Bank! I have a treasurer account with them and about 1-2 weeks ago they wrote to me saying they were changing the account and it would now cost £4.50 pcm plus transaction fees. I stopped using them as my personal bank a few years back (I'd been with them 20 odd years) after they fouled up so many activities. With the 2 charity accounts I administer with them, if I had any choice I'd go elsewhere and at the moment, Metro Bank is looking like a possibility, though I'll probably have to do a few work arounds as I don't have a local branch.

Got same letter. My club was rejected by Monzo and they don’t give the reason why. I think free club accounts are getting fewer and fewer.

[chip*]

Am the PTA Treasurer for my girl's school, and we operate with a HSBC charity account / Society account.
Usual bog standard functionalities:

£5 monthly charge
Online & app banking
Dual authorisation for cheque and online payments.
Customer supports is poor / average (but ain't they all!)

Edited by chip* on Sunday 10th November 20:39

[Mr_Megalomaniac]

The_Doc said:

[i]To apply for a Treasurer's Account, you will:

Be a non-profit organisation like a charity, church, club or society
Use the account for business only
Be aged 18 or over
Have an annual turnover of less than £50,000.[/i]

I have a stupid question - what if we're an unincorporated investment club? i.e. for-profit, but voluntary membership and unit purchases? Any suggestions on who might be suitable? Thanks in advance.

[CrouchingWayne]

Thank you for all the advice - glad I was on the right lines with some of the fee charging accounts.

We now have an agreement to work with the school PTA for the time being to save doubling up on fees given the very low volume of transactions - but if it ramps up the above accounts will be back on the table!

[Vasco]

You'll probably have a few problems nowadays, many banks just don't want to know.
You could try a few Building Societies - Nationwide and a few others catered for small clubs in recent times.

[The_Doc]

Mr_Megalomaniac said:

The_Doc said:

[i]To apply for a Treasurer's Account, you will:

Be a non-profit organisation like a charity, church, club or society
Use the account for business only
Be aged 18 or over
Have an annual turnover of less than £50,000.[/i]

I have a stupid question - what if we're an unincorporated investment club? i.e. for-profit, but voluntary membership and unit purchases? Any suggestions on who might be suitable? Thanks in advance.

In my experience, "for profit" means they will ask you to open a Business account and charge you business rates. Your profit is their profit.
Just pay for banking, it is a service after all.

[deanobeano]

For simplicity, Open a Chase account and then open another account within it. OK, you can run off with the club funds, but trust has got to start somewhere.

[NumBMW]

I have a small charity trust held in a Barclays Community Account, it’s been perfect really.
Eligible for turnover up to £100,000
Dual authorisation
Online/app
Debit card (I think, although we don’t have one)
Zero fees

[chip*]

CrouchingWayne said:

Thank you for all the advice - glad I was on the right lines with some of the fee charging accounts.

We now have an agreement to work with the school PTA for the time being to save doubling up on fees given the very low volume of transactions - but if it ramps up the above accounts will be back on the table!

You have a verbal agreement with the PTA now, but things could be very different if the Committee members changes in the next year or so (and they will). I suggest getting yourself onto the PTA Committee to ensure the football related funds are spent appropriately.
Don't worry if the usual positions (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer) are filled, they can create new position such as Deputy Chair, or Co- Secretary etc., for you.