Comerica Business Checking Accounts Reviewed

As you’re building your business, a crucial step to take is opening a business bank account. There are a number of benefits to separating your business’s revenue and expenses from your personal finances. For starters, it boosts your business’s professional image and is a necessity if your business is incorporated. A business bank account makes it easier to track expenses and income and to ensure everything is organized come tax season and in the event of an audit. As your business grows, your bank can serve as a trusted partner and advisor.

Of course, not all business bank accounts are created equal. Different banks’ business accounts have features and services designed to serve varied business banking needs. If you’re a business owner in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, or Texas, one option to consider is Comerica business checking. The bank has branches across these five states, including in seven of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. (Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, and San Jose). You can use Comerica’s search tool to find a banking center, ATM, or drive-through near you.

The bank offers three business checking account options for small business owners: Basic Business Checking, Small Business Checking, and Commercial Checking. Each account is designed to serve different needs, and we delve into those more below so you can find a business checking account that truly benefits you.

Choosing the Best Business Checking Account for Your Small Business

When you start shopping around for a business checking account, there are a few crucial factors to consider. These can tip you off to whether the account will align with your business’s banking needs. This is what you’ll want to take note of:

Transaction Limits

Transaction limits vary widely across business checking accounts. Before settling on any one account, it’s important to consider how many transactions your business will realistically make in a statement period. You should choose an account with a transaction limit that aligns with your expected activity level.

Comerica Basic Business Checking, for instance, is designed for businesses with lower account activity levels. It only allows up to 75 transaction fees per statement period. Comerica Small Business Checking, on the other hand, is suitable for businesses with moderate bank activity as it allows up to 300 transactions per statement period. Comerica Commercial Checking Account is specifically structured for businesses with high activity levels, as it offers unlimited transactions.

Balance Minimums

If you don’t expect to have much money sitting in your account at any given time, you won’t want to select an account that has a high minimum balance requirement. Otherwise, you’ll get stuck with paying a fee. This is why it’s important to consider balance minimums when you’re choose your business checking account.

Comerica Basic Business Checking has no minimum balance requirement, making it ideal for businesses with lower balances. Comerica Small Business Checking requires an average monthly ledger balance of at least $7,500 to waive the monthly account maintenance fee. For Comerica Commercial Business Checking, your maintained account balance will inform your earnings credit allowance, which can offset certain costs. A minimum opening deposit of $50 is required.

Fees

Last but certainly not least is fees. You’ll obviously want to consider the costs associated with your business checking account carefully. Generally, the less basic an account, the higher the fees.

Comerica Basic Business Checking, for example, has no monthly maintenance fee. For Comerica Small Business Checking, there is a monthly maintenance fee of $16 that the bank will waive if you maintain an average monthly ledger balance of at least $7,500. Comerica Commercial Checking carries a $25 monthly account maintenance fee, and there is no option to waive it.

Beyond monthly maintenance fees, you’ll also want to look at activity fees, cash deposit fees, and any other account costs.

The 3 Comerica Business Checking Accounts Reviewed

As mentioned above, Comerica offers three business checking accounts: Basic Business Checking, Small Business Checking, and Commercial Checking. The accounts are designed for varying account activity levels, and Commercial Checking also can meet the needs of business the require Treasury Management Services.

Each account has distinguishing features, but there are some commonalities among the three Comerica business checking options:

• $50 minimum deposit required to open an account
• Comerica Business Debit Card available at no charge
• Comerica Web Banking for Small Business® at no charge
• Comerica Web Bill Pay® at no charge for the first 12 months, and $6.95 per month thereafter
• No transaction fees at Comerica ATMs

Comerica Basic Business Checking

As its name implies, Comerica Basic Business Checking is best for businesses that don’t have extensive banking needs. The bank describes the non-interest bearing account as ideal for businesses that have low account activity. The account allows up to 75 transactions per month at no fee, which includes debits, deposited items, and credits. You can deposit up to $2,500 in cash per month without paying the cash deposit fee. As added perks, there is no monthly maintenance fee or minimum balance requirement associated with this account.

One enticing aspect of this account for business owners who are just starting out is that it’s easily upgradeable to any of the other Comerica business checking account options. Should you upgrade, you won’t have to change your account number or order new checks.

Monthly fees and limits:

• $50 opening deposit
• No account maintenance fee
• 75 transactions per statement period (includes debits, deposited items, and credits); a $0.55 per item fee applies to additional transactions
• Up to $2,500 in cash deposits per statement period; a $0.18 per $100 or part thereof fee applies to additional cash deposits

Best for:

• Businesses with low account activity
• Business with a low average account balance
• Business owners who have basic business needs for now but might want to upgrade later

Comerica Small Business Checking

Comerica Small Business Checking is essentially the next step up from Comerica Basic Business Checking. This non-interest bearing account is geared toward businesses that have moderate account activity. Its transaction limit is four times higher, allowing up to 300 transactions per statement period at no fee. The cash deposit limit is also much higher. You can deposit up to $5,000 in cash per month with no cash deposit fee. Beyond these higher limits, Comerica Small Business Checking has all of the benefits that Comerica Basic Business Checking does.

This account does have a monthly maintenance fee though. You’ll pay $16 per month unless you meet the average monthly ledger balance of $7,500.

Monthly fees and limits:

• $50 opening deposit
• $16 monthly maintenance fee (waived for accounts that have an average monthly ledger balance of $7,500)
• 300 transactions per statement period (includes debits, deposited items, and credits); a $0.55 per item fee applies to additional transactions
• Up to $5,000 in cash deposits per statement period; a $0.18/$100 or part thereof fee applies to additional cash deposits

Best for:

• Businesses with moderate levels of account activity
• Businesses that expect to maintain an average balance of $7,500

Comerica Commercial Checking

Comerica Commercial Checking is specifically designed for businesses that have a high level of transaction activity and require Treasury Management Services. This Comerica business checking option is structured slightly differently than the previous two account options, as there is not a set transaction limit. Instead, there are the following set fees for each type of transaction:

• Debit: $0.25/item
• Credit (electronic): $0.25/item
• Credit (paper): $1.50/item
• Item deposited (each paper item): $0.20/item

For comparison, Comerica Small Business Checking and Comerica Basic Business Checking charge $0.55 per transaction, exceeding the accounts’ respective limits.

Unlike the other two accounts, this account does not have cash deposit limit. It charges at the same rate as the other accounts for all cash deposits. If you expect to deposit a lot of cash, this is worth noting. However, there is an earnings credit allowance based on deposit balances that can offset some of these fees.

Comerica Commercial Checking does have a monthly maintenance fee, which is $25 per month. Unlike with Comerica Small Business Checking, there is no option to waive this fee if you meet a certain balance requirement.

Monthly fees and limits:

• $50 opening deposit
• $25 monthly account maintenance fee
• Activity fees:
  • $0.25 per debit
  • $0.25 per credit (electronic)
  • $1.50 per credit (paper)
  • $0.20 per item deposited (each paper item)
• $0.18 per $100 cash deposited
• $38 each NSF (return of unpaid items) and paid overdraft

Best for:

• Businesses with high transaction activity
• Businesses that need Treasury Management Services

Who Are Comerica Business Checking Accounts Right For?

Comerica business checking accounts are best for business owners who are located in one of the five states in which Comerica has branch locations: Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Texas. Note that the bank has significantly fewer branches in Arizona and Florida than it does in the other three states. It does have ATM and other presences beyond these states, including in Canada and Mexico.

Comerica’s three account options are designed to meet a range of business banking needs. Basic Business Checking is good for businesses with low account activity and low average account balances. It has a low limit of 75 transactions per statement period, and no monthly maintenance fee or minimum account balance. Small Business Checking is ideal for businesses that have moderate levels of banking activity, as it has a comparatively higher transaction limit. However, business owners will have to maintain a minimum average monthly ledger balance to avoid the $16 monthly maintenance fee.

Comerica Commercial Checking is structured for businesses with high account activity that require Treasury Management Services. Although there’s no option to waive the monthly maintenance fee, the account does offer an earnings credit that can offset certain fees.

Choosing between these three Comerica business checking accounts—or any business checking account, for that matter—boils down to considering what your business really needs. By choosing an account with a fee structure and transaction limit that align with your business’s financial activity, you’ll find an account that can serve your business both now and into the future.

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