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Since its launch in 2018, Lili Bank has offered revolutionary banking solutions to small business owners and freelancers.
For starters, Lili offers a business checking account and Visa debit card that aren’t bogged down with hidden fees or overdraft fees. There’s also no deposit required to start with Lili and also you don’t should keep a minimum balance in your checking account—which suggests you retain access to your money (accurately).
On this Lili Bank review, we dive deep into what Lili banking offers its customers, which features you must care most about, and the very best technique to start with a Lili business account.
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Visit Lili.co to Sign Up
Lili Bank Summary
In summary, the Lili Business Bank Account is an awesome option for those who are running a really small business (5 people or less) and wish an easy but powerful banking solution.
The Lili card makes it easy to manage your small business spending and the Lili app puts every little thing you would like right at your fingertips.
Basic features are free, but with a reasonable paid plan, you may also tap into some great bookkeeping and tax prep features.
Pros & Cons of Lili Bank
Pros |
Cons |
No minimum fees or overdraft fees.This is large for small business owners who need access to all their capital and shouldn’t should waste time worrying about other nuisance fees. Access to a full suite of tools.Lili’s banking tools pair seamlessly with Lili bookkeeping, invoicing, payments, and tax planning tools. Recent AI-powered bookkeeping.Leveraging the facility of artificial intelligence and auto-categorization means you spend less time managing your money and more time growing your small business. |
It’s not actually a “bank.”Throughout their site, you’ll see that Lili “bank” just isn’t actually a bank in any respect. It’s actually a fintech company. So who manages and protects your money? Alternative Financial Group out of South Dakota, USA. Limits on money deposits.If your small business heavily uses money, keep in mind there’s a day by day $1,000 money deposit limit and a monthly $9,000 limit. ACH, connected accounts, and check deposits have zero fees. Paid tiers required for premium features.While many banks offer most features to most customers, Lili Bank segments their customers with different monthly subscription plans. |
How Lili banking compares
With the intention to get a clearer picture of Lili bank when put next with the market, let’s compare just a few non-traditional banking competitors side-by-side:
As well as, here’s how Lili bank compares with just a few more traditional bank options:
Lili | Traditional banks | |
Minimum deposit | $0 | As much as $1500 |
Overdraft fees | $0 | $0-$36 |
ACH fees | $0 | $0-$1 |
ATM fees | $0 (in-network) | $0-$30 |
Foreign transaction fees | 0% | 2.7%-3% |
Incoming domestic wire transfers | $0 | $13-$20 |
Variety of transactions | Unlimited | 10000-100000 |
Top banking features
For a deeper dive into Lili, let’s review a few of their top banking and finance features you may need as you grow your small business.
Lili Business Banking
In fact, the first offering at Lili Bank is their business banking account. Below, we’ll review plans, features, and plenty more to show you how to determine if that is a very good business checking account for you.
Plans
Lili offers essentially 4 plans for your small business banking needs: Basic, Pro, Smart, and Premium.
Lili Basic is totally free. It costs $0/mo to access the features of Lili Basic. With Lili Basic, you’ll receive a basic business checking account with no monthly fees, a business debit card, and access to the Lili app and online banking. Lili Basic rewards you with a reasonably standard 1% APY on any savings you have got in your account.
Lili Pro is the following plan (by order of price) and costs $9/mo. Lili Pro gives you every little thing you get with the free Basic plan but in addition permits you to withdraw money at over 38,000 ATMs. The Pro plan also helps automate your tax savings and removes your overdraft fees (as much as $200). Plus, they double your savings rate of interest to 2% APY.
Lili Smart costs a bit more at $20/mo. Along with the entire features mentioned above, you furthermore mght get access to their Metal Visa Business Pro debit card which also means you’ll be able to earn money back rewards through Visa.
Lili Premium rounds out the list with a value of $35/mo. The most important addition here appears to be that you simply get a dedicated account specialist and priority customer support—which sounds nice, but is probably not definitely worth the extra $15/mo. It may very well be there as a price anchor.
Lili Card
If you join for Lili, you get your very own Lili Card—a Visa debit card that’s accepted anywhere Visa cards may be used (which is largely all over the place).
There’s no fee for the Lili card and, for those who subscribe to certainly one of their paid tiers, you’ll be able to even earn money back on the cash you spend using your Lili card.
Lili App
In fact, because Lili is a financial tech company, their real selling point is the Lili App. Every little thing we’ll discuss in this Lili review, you’ll be able to do directly in their app (available on iPhone or Android).
Invoicing with Lili
If you happen to already bank with Lili, sending invoices to clients could also be a bit of bit simpler but only for those who’re on the Smart or Premium accounts (see above).
You may export invoices from the Lili invoicing dashboard and share with clients or send them directly using email. Like many freelancer invoicing tools, you may also arrange client reminders and standing notifications.
Accounting & Bookkeeping
Traditionally, to do the accounting or bookkeeping to your small business, you would need to sync your bank with a tool like Quickbooks after which categorize your expenses there.
With Lili, that option still exists, but you may also auto-categorize your spending with none syncing or exporting right inside Lili which suggests less time doing all of your books and more time growing your small business—which is a definite win.
This auto-categorization is just step one in Lili’s aim to integrate AI into their toolset.
Tax Preparation
If you happen to subscribe to certainly one of Lili’s paid plans, you’ll get access to some pretty cool tax preparation features as well.
For instance, Lili can show you how to auto-save for tax time so that you’re not stuck with a tax bill you’ll be able to’t afford.
Plus, Lili can generate your tax forms with all the suitable info based on the categorization we talked about earlier.
Lili customer support
Finally, for those who join for Lili, you’ll be able to expect to be met with quality customer support. You may reach their support team directly from the Lili App when you’ve downloaded it. Just click “Help Center.”
Or you should use email ([email protected]) or their support phone number (855-545-4380).
Keep in mind, they don’t offer 24/7 support, so that you’ll should plan ahead to contact them during regular customer support hours as shown below:
For email support: Mon-Fri 9am-7pm EST and Sat-Sun, 9am-6pm EST
For phone support: Mon-Fri 9am-7pm EST (bank holidays excluded)
The right way to open a Lili account
If you happen to’re able to open a Lili account, the method is pretty easy. Here’s what you must do:
- Click this link to go to Lili.co.
- Click “Get Began” and create an account.
- Download the Lili App.
- Add funds to your account by scanning a check, connecting a checking account, or initiating an ACH transfer.
Lili Bank Review FAQ
If you happen to’re not quite able to join, listed below are just a few more questions and answers about Lili.
Q: What restrictions should I find out about when using Lili?
A: There are usually not many restrictions, nonetheless listed below are just a few chances are you’ll want to pay attention to before signing up for Lili:
- Outbound ACH Transfers: Max $10,000 per day and $60,000 per 30 days
- Lili Card Purchases: $10,000 per day
- ATM Withdrawals using Lili Card: Max $1,000
- Money Deposits: $1,000 per day and $9,000 per 30 days
- Inbound ACH Transfers: $1,000 per day and $5,000 per 30 days
- Mobile Check Deposits: $50,000 per 30 days and $10,000 per day.
- Maximum Check Value: $10,000 (you may also petition this in the app)
Q: Do I even have to download the Lili App?
A: Nope. You should use Lili’s website in order to access your account and perform most actions you’ll be able to accomplish using the app.
Q: Wait…Lili just isn’t a bank? Is my money protected?
A: Just about yes. Funds you deposit into your Lili bank checking account are managed by Alternative Financial Group which is a member of the FDIC. This implies your money is guaranteed to be protected by the U.S. government as much as $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank.
Q: Do I want an EIN to enroll in Lili?
A: Not necessarily. If you happen to’re a sole proprietor, you’ll be able to just join along with your social security number. But for those who’re an LLC, you’ll need each your social security number and your Employer Identification Number (EIN).
Currently, you’ll be able to open a Lili checking account if you have got certainly one of the next business types:
- Sole Proprietor
- Single-member LLC
- Multi-member LLC
- S-Corp
- General Partnership
- Limited Liability Partnership
Q: How long does it take to open a Lili business account?
A: Depending on how quick you’re at typing, establishing a Lili business checking account only takes just a few minutes. Just a few more minutes to download the app (either before signing up or after) and add funds to your account, and also you’re probably taking a look at somewhere around 10-Quarter-hour all-in. Depending on transfer speeds along with your current bank, it could take longer to really transfer funds to your Lili account.
Conclusion
The Lili Business Bank Account and Lili Card are an awesome, simple-yet-powerful option for freelancers and self-employed professionals. Their paid tiers enhance their offering which could also be a greater fit for LLCs or Partnerships. From what we are able to see, Lili will proceed to innovate and adapt to supply higher and higher financial tools for self-employed.
If you happen to’re in the marketplace for an easy checking account, we definitely recommend you are attempting Lili.
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