For a new entrepreneur, the role of a bank can help further the growth and development of your business. Managing your money and your accounts properly is essential to making or breaking your small business, so it's important to build a lasting relationship with a bank that will take care of you. However, given that banking institutions constantly offer different incentives (and, at times, varying interest rates), should you break away from having multiple accounts and trust just one to handle your financial needs? 

Committing to a single bank may not only build a trusting relationship between a banker and customer, but it may also open the door to growing your business and reaping the benefits of rewards and resources. As a banker, “it is important to meet with your clients regularly, and it is recommended to connect with them at least twice a year,” says Erick Silva, VP at Bank of America. “Banking products and services are always evolving, especially in digital technology. It’s important for our clients to have a good understanding of our products and services so they can fully take advantage of the essential and innovative benefits that come from having their banking relationship with us.”

Silva goes on to share that Bank of America alone goes above and beyond by offering a Small Business Resources site that provides helpful tools and information for business owners. Here are five benefits to committing to a single bank, sure to have you making a trip to the bank this week.

1. Building credit

When you’re a new small business owner, you are in the early stages of building business credit. Things like your credit score can be an indicator of how’ll handle a credit card. “A business credit card can be a powerful financial tool for your business. By using it wisely, you can keep personal and business transactions separate for accounting and tax purposes, stretch your cash flow, and build your business credit,” Silva says.

1. Sustaining responsible growth

Knowing how to business forecast and to manage cash flow is an essential trait for all business owners so that you can be prepared for your next big purchases. “It’s especially important for small businesses, which often operate on a very lean budget,” Silva says. According to an Intuit study of 3,500 companies, by Intuit and Wakefield Research, 60% of small businesses say they regularly struggle with cash flow issues, and 40% have restricted business growth because of it.

“In other words, it is important to maintain a healthy cash flow. We provide a visual example to illustrate this idea to our client by using our robust technology such as Bank of America’s Cash Flow Monitor. That’s one example of a tool that can track your business’s performance, identifying potential shortfalls in advance,” Silva adds.

1. A banker on your side

The more a banker knows about your situation, the more they can help you with specifics. Your banker may help analyze trends, discuss the current market, and prepare you for the future. “Ultimately, our goal [as bankers] is to provide our clients the tools and resources to make them competitive in the market and allow them to concentrate on doing what they do best and that’s focusing on their business,” Silva shared. Here’s how knowing your bank well helps:

• Assists you in determining how much credit you need based on your goals and priorities and offers solutions to support you

• Identifies areas for business growth and offers guidance on how to achieve the next steps, considering the stage of your business

• Uncovers causes of cash-flow problems and helps streamline your business by providing solutions that will help with managing your cash flow

• Connects you with payroll providers and subject matter experts with the knowledge to guide you

• Introduces you to new clients and vendors and shares ideas for growth that businesses in the same industry have been able to execute successfully

1. Learning from wisdom

“As we’ve helped our clients along the way, we’ve learned from them along the process. I was able to help one of my customers, the owner of Mikko Sushi Mia Davis, find stability with her new business after years of falling short,” Silva says.

“Mia came to the United States when she was 20 years old and worked nights and weekends as a server to support her family as a single mother. She not only returned to school to understand the financial side of the business after ‘failing miserably,’ but also had to learn how to use social media after opening her restaurant right before the pandemic,” Silva adds. She ultimately credits her Small Business Administration (SBA) loan with making her “American dream come true.”

1. Making access to capital easier

Lastly, banks connect entrepreneurs in the U.S. to affordable loans. Access to funding can sometimes be the biggest challenge in building a business. A relationship with Bank of America may connect women entrepreneurs with resources to gain access to affordable loans. The Tory Burch Foundation is one of them, which provides three options for funding:

• Bank of America Loan Program: Provides women entrepreneurs the opportunity to access affordable loans through Community Lenders. 

• Grants for Women of Color: Gives grants to businesses through a partnership with Fearless Fund and The Cru.

• Fellows Program: A year-long program that provides entrepreneurs with a $5,000 grant for business education, access to $0 interest loans, and a premier network of founders and advisors.