Banking
Opening a business bank account
A banking relationship is part of clean books, and clean books are part of a smooth application. Here is how we approach it, what a Canadian bank will ask you for, and one Alberta-based bank worth a look.
Where Everna stands
No partnership, no commission, no application on your behalf
We are naming a bank on this page, so the terms of that are worth stating plainly before anything else.
We are a bookkeeping firm, not a bank
Everna does not open accounts, hold funds, issue cards or make credit decisions. Banking decisions belong to the bank and to you.
No commissions, no referral fees
Everna is not currently affiliated with any bank and receives no fee, commission or referral payment from any institution named on this page.
You apply directly to the bank
Every application goes through the bank's own website and its own review. We never ask for your banking password and never submit an application on your behalf.
We name DC Bank because it is a Canadian, Alberta-headquartered bank that publishes its business terms openly and suits digital-first businesses. Naming an institution here is information, not an endorsement or a recommendation, and it is not a comparison of every option available to you.
The bank
DC Bank at a glance
The details below are taken from DC Bank's own published pages. Fees and terms change, so confirm them on the bank's website before you apply.
A licensed Canadian bank
Digital Commerce Bank (DC Bank) is a fully licensed Canadian bank, regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, a member of Payments Canada, and a principal member of Interac, Visa and Mastercard.
Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta
The bank is based in Alberta, the same province Everna operates from, which is why we are looking at it closely rather than only listing large national banks.
Deposits protected by CDIC
Certain deposits held at DC Bank are eligible for CDIC deposit protection, subject to the applicable coverage rules and limits.
A published corporate account
DC Bank publishes its corporate account terms openly: a $49.95 monthly fee, no minimum balance requirement, no bill payment fees, no credit checks to open an account, debit cards or prepaid Visa or Mastercard, and included mobile, web and online statement access.
What the bank asks for
Have these ready before you apply
DC Bank's own application checklist asks for the following. Incomplete applications are the usual cause of delay, and the bank reviews submissions over one to three business days.
- Proof of business, such as corporation registry documents or a partnership agreement
- Shareholder register, where the business is a corporation
- Trade name registration, if you operate under a name other than the legal name
- A flow of funds diagram showing where money comes from and where it goes
- Resumes for every beneficial owner holding 25% or more
- Identification details for beneficial owners, directors and signing authorities: full legal name, full address including postal code, date of birth and occupation
- A banking resolution naming who may operate the account
- Financial statements for the business
Every bank does its own identity and compliance review, and every bank decides for itself. Everna cannot influence an outcome, promise an approval, or speed up a review.
Where bookkeeping helps
What we can have ready for you
We stay out of the banking decision. Where we are useful is the paperwork a bank asks you to produce.
Records the bank will ask to see
Corporate applications commonly ask for financial statements. If your books are current, we can have the statements ready to hand over instead of reconstructed at the last minute.
A clear flow of funds
Because we maintain your ledger, we can help you describe where money enters the business and where it goes, which is one of the items a bank's due diligence checklist asks for.
Day one reconciliations
Once an account is open, it is reconciled from the first statement, so the new banking relationship lands in your ledger correctly rather than as a backlog.
Compare before you choose
Questions to ask any bank, including this one
Work through these with any institution you are considering. They matter more than a headline monthly fee.
- Monthly fee, and exactly what is included in it
- Transaction, bill payment and Interac e-Transfer fees, and any limits
- Minimum balance requirements and penalties for falling below them
- How and where you deposit cash and cheques, and what that costs
- Card options for staff, and what each card costs
- Multi-user online access, permissions and approval controls
- How statements reach your bookkeeper, and whether the account feeds into Sage or QuickBooks
- How long approval takes, and what pauses an application
Partnerships
This page will grow as relationships do
We are actively exploring Canadian banking relationships, including with Alberta-based institutions, so that account opening and bookkeeping can fit together more closely over time. Until an agreement is actually in place, nothing here should be read as a partnership.
Already have a bank and need the books to match?
If the account exists and the records are behind, that is bookkeeping work we can quote. Tell us the software, the volume and how far behind things are.
Email clients@everna.comSetting up banking alongside your books?
Tell us where you are starting from. We will help you keep the records a bank will ask you for.