Sub-accounts: organise your spending and saving

We love helping you get organised and spend less time doing financial admin. Did you know that sub-accounts are a smart way to organise your income, spending and saving?

Maybe you already have a joint account with your partner for home expenses. Or a savings account for holidays or emergencies. Perhaps you set up a kitty when you go on holiday. If so, you’re already familiar with paying into a separate pot of cash, putting money aside for a particular purpose.

That’s what Tide sub-accounts are for. How they work can transform how you do your business banking. 

Let’s take a look:

What’s a Tide ‘sub-account’ and what are they for?
What are sub-accounts NOT for?
Who can open a sub-account?
Does a sub-account have a different account number?
Can you get a statement for a sub-account?
How many sub-accounts are you allowed?
How much does it cost to open a sub-account?
How do I open a sub-account?

What’s a Tide ‘sub-account’ and what are they for? 

It’s part of your Tide account where you can keep some money separate from your main balance. It’s like a jar or a piggy bank – just a much safer digital version.

You can open a sub-account instantly in the Tide app – it doesn’t require any additional checks or verification.

Some banks have accounts with features similar to our sub-accounts, called ‘vaults’ or ‘pots’.

Here are some examples of what you can do with sub-accounts:

Transfer between your accounts instantly 🔁

Make one-off transfers or set up regular payments, for example to make sure you have enough to pay your team’s wages. There’s no cost to transfer to your sub-accounts – all transfers to/from one Tide account to another are free and don’t affect your transaction limits.

Make and receive payments 💷

You can make payments directly from sub-accounts. And Tide sub-accounts have a unique account number so if you like, you can send invoices from and get paid directly into a sub-account. 

Order Expense Cards 💳

You can use sub-accounts to create a separate pool of money for your co-workers’ Expense Cards. This is a handy way to set aside money for expenses, to manage spending and protect your main balance.

Just like for your main Tide account, you can order Expense Cards for each sub-account. To do this, you need to set up the sub-account then order an Expense Card (or Cards) for the sub-account. 

Choose name 📝

Easily view and use your sub-accounts by giving them a name that says what it’s for. You can have up to three sub-accounts on a main Tide account so you could have sub-accounts set up like this:

• Expenses
  Pool of money to use for spending on Expense Cards
• Tax
  Set aside money to pay your VAT, Corporate Tax and business rates 
• Wages
  Transfer in funds to pay your team

What are sub-accounts NOT for?

You must not use a sub-account for the purpose of running another limited company. 

Instead, you need to open a separate Tide account for each limited company you operate. This is because, under UK anti-money laundering regulations, we’re required to verify each limited company that signs up for an account with us.

See also: Does a sub-account have a different account number?

Who can open a sub-account? 

Tide sub-accounts are available to limited companies. They’re not yet available to sole traders.

Does a sub-account have a different account number?

Yes. With Tide sub-accounts, you get a separate account number so you can pay directly into a sub-account. This is different from some banks, where sub-accounts don’t have a separate account number.

Even though a Tide sub-account has a different account number from the main Tide account it’s part of, the sub-account is not classed as a stand-alone business bank account. We treat all money in your Tide account and its sub-accounts as belonging to the same business: the limited company named on the Tide account. This is one of the reasons why you must not use sub-accounts for another limited company or to hold money belonging to your customers. 

Can you get a statement for a sub-account?

Yes. If you download a statement for a sub-account, it will show the account number of the sub-account and the name of your company – not the name you chose for the sub-account.

How many sub-accounts are you allowed? 

You can open up to three sub-accounts for each main Tide account you have. 

How much does it cost to open a sub-account? 

Nothing – it’s free!

How do I open a sub-account? 

It’s easy:

• Log into your Tide app
• Go to More  > Accounts > Add Account
   
• Set up a sub-account and give it a name

When you’ve opened a sub-account, you can view the sub-account and switch between sub-accounts and the main account via the ‘Accounts’ tab. 

Have your say

Are you already using Tide sub-accounts? Let us know what you think and how you use them via LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

If you’re not already using them, what are you waiting for? Hop into your Tide app and get started today.

By Ali Shokir and Suzanne Worthington
Photo by heather mckean on Unsplash