Item: Found Small Business Banking
Rating: 5

Our Take

5.0

The bottom line:

Found business checking is a great banking option for freelancers and gig workers thanks to its built-in invoicing, bookkeeping and tax-planning tools. But Found’s limits on deposits and transfers could prove problematic for some business owners.

Full review

Found Small Business Banking

Checking

Deposits are FDIC Insured

Monthly fee

Bonus

$20 Requirements to qualify

Learn more

at Found, Deposits are FDIC Insured

Pros & Cons

Pros

No monthly fees or minimum opening deposit.
Unlimited fee-free transactions; no overdraft fees.
Free, built-in invoicing, bookkeeping and tax-planning features.
Integrates with popular business apps, including Stripe, Etsy and PayPal.

Cons

Weekend and after-hours support via email only.
Have to open account in your name, not business name, and use your SSN to apply. (Business EIN can be added later.)
No outgoing wires. Can’t pay by check.
Cash deposits limited to $1,000 per week; $4,000 per month. A $2 service fee applies.

How does Found compare?

Found Small Business Banking	Grasshopper Business Checking Account	Lili Basic Business Checking
NerdWallet rating Learn more	NerdWallet rating Learn more	NerdWallet rating Learn more
Monthly fee $0	Monthly fee $0	Monthly fee $0
APY N/A	APY 2.25% With $0 min. balance for APY	APY N/A
Bonus $20 Requirements to qualify	Bonus N/A	Bonus N/A

Full Review

Found is a relative newcomer to a crowded field of online business checking accounts. Launched in 2019, Found — a fintech company — partners with Piermont Bank to offer an FDIC-insured business checking account souped up with freelancer-friendly features like automatic tax withholding, built-in invoicing and integration with popular gig working apps.

New Found account features

Found beefed up its basic banking functions in June 2023, adding mobile check deposit and cash deposits to its free business checking account.

Account holders don’t automatically get access to mobile check deposit; you first need to hit certain eligibility requirements (listed in Found’s app). Once cleared, you can deposit up to $3,000 per week. That’s a pretty stingy limit — other online business accounts allow $10,000 or more per day via mobile check deposit — but it may suffice for smaller businesses and side hustles.

🤓 Nerdy Tip

Checks deposited via mobile deposit typically take five business days to clear.

Cash deposits are available via a third-party service at more than 79,000 retail locations. You can use the Found app to find the nearest location and, when you arrive, request a barcode in the app to scan at the store and make your deposit.

There is a $2 fee per deposit; however, this is less than the $4.95 charge through Green Dot, a service used by several online business checking accounts to enable cash deposits. And there are caps and restrictions on how much you can deposit (more on those below).

Also new to Found’s lineup: Found Plus, a subscription option ($19.99 per month; $149.99 per year) that turns your Found business checking account into a high-yield account that earns 1.50% APY on balances up to $20,000. Found Plus also includes a dedicated customer support line and enhanced bookkeeping features, such as customizable rules and categories, photo receipt capture and the ability to pay quarterly taxes through Found.

This review, and the corresponding star rating, are based on the features and services available with Found’s free business checking account.

Found business checking is best for:

E-commerce businesses.
Rideshare drivers and app-based gig workers.
Freelancers and sole proprietors who want a one-stop shop for checking, invoicing, bookkeeping and tax planning.

Want a high-yield business checking account?

Bluevine Business Checking

earns

2.00%

APY on balances up to and including $250,000 (terms apply). Bluevine doesn’t have the built-in tax planning or invoicing tools available through Found, but it does sync with QuickBooks Online to streamline your bookkeeping.

Found business checking at a glance

Monthly fee:	$0.
Minimum opening deposit requirement:	$0.
APY:	None.
Transactions:	No fees.
Cash deposits:	Yes. Fees and limits apply.

How to open a Found business checking account

You can open a Found business checking account on the Found website or via the app.

Found business accounts are opened using just your personal name and Social Security number, making these accounts best suited for freelancers, gig workers and other sole proprietors. If you have an EIN, you can add it once the account is open.

This is a departure from the typical process for opening a business bank account, which customarily goes in your business name and requires formation documents, like a business license or registration.

» MORE: Best business bank accounts for sole proprietorships

What you need to open a Found business account

Here’s what you need to apply for a Found business checking account:

Legal name, home address and cell phone number.
Social Security number and date of birth.
Basic business details, including industry and date started.
Estimated business income, tax filing status and total expected income (to estimate your tax bill).

While you can apply for an account in minutes, it can take up to seven business days for your Found debit card to arrive. Your card details are available in the app, though, so you can set up your business acccount and use a virtual card while you wait.

Found customer support

Found offers live customer support via phone and live chat during normal business hours: Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. Weekend support is only available via email — staffed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT Saturday and Sunday — and there is no after-hours support. That means rideshare drivers and other gig workers who don’t keep traditional hours could be left in the lurch if something goes awry outside that support window.

Need to reach Found by phone? Found’s customer support number (888-845-0131) is listed on the back of your business debit card. It’s also in the signature of all emails from customer support, so take note. The phone number is not published on Found’s website or social media channels.

Business owners looking for more accessible customer support should consider Axos business checking, an online bank that offers 24/7 customer support. American Express Business Checking also offers 24/7 customer support, but that account is only available to existing AmEx customers.

Where Found business checking stands out

Built-in invoicing, bookkeeping tools: Found’s free business checking account includes unlimited invoicing, including scheduled and recurring invoices. You can customize invoices to include your company logo or to add a personal note. Invoices sent using Found can be paid by ACH or payment apps like Venmo, PayPal or Zelle. You can also accept card payments if you have a Stripe account, though there’s an additional processing fee.

Found also has integrated bookkeeping tools that automatically categorize expenses when you use your Found business debit card. Plus, you can save and annotate receipts in the Found app, and create multiple reports based on account activity.

Automated tax planning tools: Tax planning can be a pain — or a full-on shock — for the self-employed, especially those otherwise accustomed to W-4 tax withholding through an employer. Found aims to simplify the process.

The Found app includes a tax estimate that updates as you spend and earn, and it automatically sets aside money for your tax bill. It also helps you keep track of deductible business expenses and automatically creates a Schedule C, which you’ll use to file your taxes.

Found’s free business checking used to offer the option to pay your quarterly estimated taxes from the Found app. This is now only available to Found Plus subscribers.

Where Found business checking falls short

Limits on deposits, transactions: Found doesn’t cap the number of transactions you can make per month, but it does cap the dollar amount. Daily and weekly limits apply to money going into and out of your account.

Transfers to your Found account (from a linked bank account): Up to $500 per week.
Mobile check deposits: Up to $3,000 per week. Must meet eligibility requirements.
Cash deposits: $500 per deposit, with a maximum of $1,000 per rolling seven days and $4,000 per rolling 30 days.
Debit card purchases: $4,000 per day.
ATM withdrawals: $550 per day.
Transfers from your Found account: Up to $5,000 per day to linked bank accounts and up to $4,000 to payment apps.

Note: There is no limit on direct deposits and transfers from payment apps like PayPal or Cash App.

Deposit and transfer limits aren’t unusual, but Found’s are low compared with competitors. Bluevine business checking, for example, allows up to $10,000 in debit card purchases and $2,000 in ATM withdrawals per day. Lili business checking allows up to $1,000 per day and $9,000 per month in cash deposits via Green Dot. And Axos, LendingClub and NBKC allow fee-free cash deposits via compatible ATMs with no strict limits.

Some of the limits on your account will automatically be increased when you hit certain balance, usage and account age milestones. Until then, you can request a limit increase using the Found app. These requests are reviewed by customer support, which Found says is typically quick to respond but keeps rather limited hours. Cash deposit and mobile check deposit limits cannot currently be increased.

Subscription required to earn interest: Found customers have to upgrade to Found Plus ($19.99 per month; $149.99 per year) to earn interest, and there’s a very low ceiling on how much you can earn. Found Plus customers get a competitive 1.50% APY, but only on balances up to $20,000. At that rate, your subscription costs eat up most of your interest.

If you maintain a balance of $20,000 for a year, for example, you’d earn $302 in interest at that current APY. But the subscription fees would cut that to $152 if you pay annually — and just $62.12 if you opt for the monthly subscription.

Several free business checking accounts offer a better APY and a much higher ceiling. Bluevine business checking, for example, earns

2.00%

APY on balances up to and including $250,000 (terms apply). And Grasshopper business checking earns up to

2.25%

, depending on your balance. Neither account has the tax-planning tools available with Found, but free bookkeeping tools may help fill that gap.

Found is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Piermont Bank, Member FDIC. The Found Mastercard ®️ debit card is issued by Piermont Bank pursuant to a license from Mastercard Inc. and may be used everywhere Mastercard debit cards are accepted.