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Found Business Checking Review: A Free Account Built for Freelancers

Found has lots of bells and whistles for gig workers and e-commerce businesses.
By Kelsey Sheehy
Last updated on January 12, 2024
Edited byRyan Lane
Fact checked and reviewed

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Our Take

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.

Found Small Business Banking

Checking
Deposits are FDIC Insured
Monthly fee
$0
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 and free incoming domestic wires.
  • Free, built-in invoicing, bookkeeping and tax-planning features.
  • Integrates with popular business apps, including Stripe, Etsy and PayPal.

Cons

  • Phone support only available during business hours.
  • 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 $2,000 per week; $4,000 per month. A $2 service fee applies.
  • No bill pay feature.

How does Found compare?

Found Small Business Banking

Deposits are FDIC Insured

Lili Basic Business Checking

Deposits are FDIC Insured

at Found

at Grasshopper Bank

at Lili

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

Launched in 2019, Found — a fintech company — partners with Piermont Bank to offer an FDIC-insured full of freelancer-friendly features like automatic tax withholding, built-in invoicing and integration with popular gig working apps.
But this is only available to sole proprietors and other single-owner businesses. And it comes with pretty stingy deposit limits — each week you'll be limited to $3,000 via mobile check deposit and $2,000 in cash (and the monthly cash limit is $4,000).
In 2023, the company introduced 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 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 .

Found business checking is best for small-business owners who:

  • Own e-commerce businesses.
  • Work as rideshare drivers or via other app-based gigs.
  • Are freelancers, sole proprietors and single-member LLCs who want a one-stop shop for checking, invoicing, bookkeeping and tax planning.
Want a high-yield business checking account with no fee? 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

Single-owner businesses can open a Found business checking account on the Found website or via its 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 . Most banks ask for formation documents, like a business license or registration, and you open the account in your business's name.

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 and use a virtual card while you wait.
Ready to fund your Found account? 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 from Green Dot, a service used by several online business checking accounts to enable cash deposits.

Found customer support

Found offers live customer support via phone and chat during normal business hours: Monday through Friday from 8 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 side side hustlers and 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.
Business owners looking for more accessible assistance should consider or , both of which offer 24/7 customer support. The key difference: Axos supports cash deposits, while American Express does not.

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 , 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

Multi-owner businesses cannot apply: Found's business checking account is currently only available to businesses with one owner, including sole proprietors and single-member LLCs. Partnerships, multi-member LLCs and other corporations cannot open a Found business account at this time.
Most other business accounts accommodate multi-owner companies, including , and .
Limits on deposits, transactions: Found doesn’t cap the number of transactions you can make per month, but it does cap the dollar amount in some cases.
Daily and weekly limits apply to money going into and out of your account:
  • Mobile check deposits: $3,000 per day.
  • Cash deposits: A maximum of $2,000 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.
There is no limit on direct deposits, wire transfers 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. , for example, allows up to $10,000 in debit card purchases and $2,000 in ATM withdrawals per day. 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 and withdrawals at 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).
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 higher 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 earns up to
2.25%
, depending on your balance.
Neither account has the tax-planning tools available with Found, but may help fill that gap.
Found is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Piermont Bank, Member FDIC. The funds in your account are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor for each account ownership category. 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.
Found's core features are free. They also offer a paid product, Found Plus.

Learn more

at Found, Deposits are FDIC Insured

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