Filed the articles, got the certificate, EIN in hand. Thought I was done. Then the bank comes back asking for "proof of business activity" and a "purpose statement." It's a one-person consulting LLC, I haven't even started yet. What do they actually want here?
LLC Banking
My Georgia LLC was approved, but the business bank wants more documents
Honestly what the bank wants depends entirely on the banker. I've had one branch ask for a lease and another just glance at my articles.
Yeah this is a classic "our compliance dept made a new checklist" thing. For a consulting LLC with no revenue yet, a simple one-pager describing what services you'll offer, and who your clients will be usually satisfies it. They're not auditing you, they're checking a box.
"Proof of business activity" for a business that doesn't exist yet. Gotta love it. Next they'll want a notarized letter from your future customers.
lol not far off. Worth asking the banker directly which documents are hard requirements vs nice-to-have. Half the time they're just reading off a form and can't tell you either way.
Is this the bank you'll actually operate out of, or one of the online ones? Online banks are way pickier about document stacks in my experience — they can't just call a branch manager to vouch for you.
You don't have to use the first bank that approved the account, by the way. Smaller local banks and credit unions tend to be way less bureaucratic for sole-member LLCs. Took me two tries to find one that didn't want a business plan haha.
I went through three banks before one would take me seriously as a one-person shop. The whole process is just tedious.
The branch manager said they'd accept a one-page purpose statement, so that's what I'm drafting tonight. Fingers crossed that's the end of the back and forth.