Sharing Bank Account w/ Business Partner...

[joefrlawn]

Hi I have Business that i used to own 100% but since the economy is slow i decided to look for a partner to help me keep the business. Now i own 51% the New partner owns 35% and the Industrial partner was given 14%. Its been a month now and they are requesting for an ATM Bank Checking Account for the three of us and at the same time 2 signatory on the check, is this safe? should i go for it?

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum Joe.

I guess it depends on how much you trust your partners. It does make sense for there to be a bank account for the business, though you don't all necessarily need to have access to it. Are either of the partners responsible for buying things for the business? Do you buy everything? At some point I would think you'd all have access to a business account, but after a month…? I'm not really sure.

[nealrm]

Since they now own a portion of the business, they also own a portion of those accounts. The partnership agreement should have covered how and when an owner can withdraw funds from the business. In general, none of the partners, including you, should be able to pull funds for personal use on an arbitrarily bases. The partners need to meet regularly and discuss how much is available, how much is needed as working capital, how much is needed for reinvestment and how much is to be distributed to the partners.

It is a good idea to have a system in place so that 2 people need to sign the checks. Since you are the majority owner, setting it up so that you are one signature and either of the other partners can be the second.

[Evan]

If you are questioning whether they should get access and if you're comfortable with that -- you don't seem to have a lot of trust with these partners. I hope you have a partnership agreement in place, as I see things going sour quickly.

[ddhi@msn.com]

this makes sense for your partners, but lets not forget, you are the owner. If you are not comfortable with any thing business wise,
you can say no or give it some time. You have the controls?

[Harold Mansfield]

Since you are majority owner, I'd set a purchase and withdrawal limit to everyones access and I wouldn't attach any credid cards to the account. At least for now.
Seems like you have the most to loose, so protect yourself.

[joefrlawn]

Thank you for all the replies and suggestions. I am planning to include my capitalist partner as a co-signatory in our checks but i am thinking "not" to include the Industrial partner in it but i am willing to give him a limited ATM to purchase things. what do you think about this?

[vangogh]

That sounds reasonable. I think it really comes down to how much you trust each and how much access each needs. If you're having reservations talk to the bank to see how you can protect yourself.