As a gig worker and solopreneur, having a good business checking account geared specifically towards people like me is important. There are a few things that I need to have when it comes to a business checking account. These include the following:
- The account must be free and have no minimum balance requirements.
- There needs to be an automatic tax savings feature.
- There needs to be some sort of income-tracking feature.
Automatic tax-savings is a feature that oddly enough, most business checking accounts don’t seem to offer. This is a very useful feature that helps me set aside a percentage of my income so that I don’t get surprised when I do my taxes at the end of the year.
For several years, I’ve used Lili – a business bank account that hit all these marks for me. Unfortunately, as often seems to happen with these fintech apps, Lili changed its business model, now charging a monthly fee to use its main features. I’m always ready to pivot though when these fintech companies make these changes, so when Lili started charging fees, I started looking for a new business checking account for my gig economy income
My research turned up two banks that seemed to fit the bill for me – Found and Indi. I ended up going with Found and so far, it seems to be working for what I need. (It’s a good thing I opted for Found because Indi ended up shutting down shortly after I considered moving to them).
In this Found Business Checking review, I’ll take a deep dive into what Found is, the features Found offers that I think are useful, and why I ultimately opted to use Found over other business checking account options.
Found Business Checking Review
So what exactly is Found? Found bills itself as an all-in-one business banking solution for the self-employed. If you’re a gig worker or solopreneur, then Found is going to be right up your alley.
Like most fintech banks, Found is technically a banking app built on top of a traditional bank. In this case, your funds are held with Piermont Bank, which is an FDIC member bank. Like with any FDIC-insured bank, your funds are insured up to $250,000. In other words, money in your Found account is safe and FDIC-insured,
Found advertises four particular features that are relevant to me. First (and perhaps most important), they have no fees or minimum balance requirements. This is a non-negotiable requirement for me. If a bank charges fees of any kind, I’m not going to use or recommend them.
Second, Found has an automatic tax-savings feature. When you set up your Found account, you’ll enter how much you expect to make from your business and your other income sources for the year. Found will then calculate what percentage you should save whenever you get paid and set that money aside for you in a separate sub-account. If you’d rather set your own savings percentage, you can do that too.
Third, Found has expense tracking, which can help track your expenses and deductions. Found will also calculate how much you save in taxes from your expenses. It also allows you to save photos of receipts if needed.
Finally, Found has an invoicing system that allows you to send invoices to customers and clients. Not everyone will need to use this invoicing feature, but it’s nice that it’s there if you happen to need it.
Like with all fintech banking apps, Found is very easy to open. You complete the account opening process via the app. It should only take you a few minutes to get your account up and running. Unlike some other business checking accounts, Found also seems to approve most people and they aren’t too picky about who opens an account.
Found Business Checking Features That I Like
For me, the two main things I care about with Found are (1) it’s free and (2) it has an automatic tax-savings feature.
When it comes to price, I firmly believe that banks should never charge you any fees or require a minimum balance. This is a principle that I will not budge on. Fortunately, Found meets this requirement. Whether it will stay free for the long term is another matter – and if history is any indication, one day, Found will probably charge fees (but I’ll cross that bridge if we get there). For now, Found is free and I’ll continue to use it so long as it stays free.
For the tax-savings feature, Found’s automatic tax-savings feature works well. There are two ways you can use the tax-savings feature. The first is to have it automatically calculate what it should set aside. To do that, you input what you expect to make for the year from your business, as well as your income from other sources. Found uses that information to determine how much it should save for you each time you get paid.
The second way to use the tax-savings feature is to manually set the percentage you’d like to save each time you get paid. This is the way I prefer to do it. I generally set aside 1/3 of my income for taxes.
The money set aside in your tax account doesn’t earn interest, so every few months, I’ll withdraw the money and move it to a sub-savings account in my Ally bank account that I’ve earmarked for taxes. That way, I’ll earn a bit of interest on the money I’m saving for taxes,
How I Use My Found Business Checking Account
Found acts as my primary checking account for all of my gig economy work. Whenever I earn money from apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Rover, etc, the money goes directly into this account. From there, 1/3 of each payment gets set aside for taxes.
I also pay myself the profit I earn from this blog, which I send directly into this account as well (all of the revenue I earn from this blog initially goes to Novo, which is another business checking account I use that is better suited for more complicated businesses).
At the beginning of each month, I pay myself a paycheck from Found that I send to my personal checking account (I use Ally for my personal checking account). While you could use Found as a primary checking account as well, I think it’s best to treat it more as a stopping point for your money. For me, money that I spend for personal reasons goes from Found into my personal checking account.
Final Thoughts
There aren’t a lot of choices for good business checking accounts geared toward gig workers that are both free and lets you automatically set aside money for taxes. At the moment, Found is one of the only fintech banks I know of that offer this feature, so that’s why I’m using them.
Overall, I think Found does what I need it to do and it fits in well with my money system. I haven’t had any issues with my Found account and I do recommend them if you’re a gig worker looking for a good business checking account. If you’d like to open a Found account and want to support this blog, feel free to use my Found referral link.
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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- SoFi Money ($325) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Upgrade ($300) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $300 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $300 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- Fifth Third Bank ($200) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Question: Why Found, when both BlueVine (2.0%) and American Express (1.3%) have interest-bearing, business-checking accounts for solopreneur that also include the same zero-fees and no minimum balances?