Chances are, you've already opened a business online banking account for your corporation. Using corporate online banking solutions can streamline otherwise tedious processes and help you save crucial time and money. But are you getting the most you possibly can out of your internet banking services?

Using corporate online banking solutions such as tiered security access to account information, payroll processing and multi-account management are just some of the highly convenient features offered to corporations looking to automate their finances through Internet banking. All banks offer secure and reliable access to basic services such as payment processing and automatic international currency exchange processing, but it's important for you to look into each bank's extra services - many offer very distinct online banking business services to fit your specific needs. When researching online banking business services, consider the following:

1. Tiered access to corporate financial account information is a must when it's important to track who is handling which accounts and when. It seems a bit like micromanaging, but the online environment ensures it doesn't feel that way.
2. If you're already managing your corporation's money online, why not access much-needed credit and loan options online as well? These features can help you instantly get the cash you need to keep your corporation's business running smoothly.
3. Corporations must almost always deal with multiple bank accounts for various purposes, so it's important to have a business online banking account that's equipped to deal with multiple accounts.
   

Action Steps
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Find an online bank for business that allows tiered access to corporate accounting information

Tiered access to corporate accounting information allows you to specify the information certain employees can see, helping you distinguish employees into different access levels, from full access to different degrees of limited access. These banks build this technology right into their online corporate banking technology.

I recommend: Ent Corporate Banking features tiered security allowing you to designate permissions for users, which gives you more control over transactions. HSBC also offers a similar feature that includes the ability to assign pin numbers and immediately delete credentials and passwords.

Research Internet business banking services that offer online credit and loan solutions

While you're online doing corporate banking business, being able to access a loan or line of credit for your business needs adds one more layer of convenience to performing all your corporate banking operations online. Luckily these are some banks that allow you to apply for and access credit and loans while you're online performing other bank transactions.

I recommend: Wells Fargo offers a number of online credit solutions for corporate banking, such as business credit services and customer reporting. First Commonwealth is another bank that offers access to commercial lending services online.

Find online banking services that allow you to manage accounts from multiple banks

Corporations like yours, especially those that almost routinely do business in other countries, often require the use of multiple accounts using multiple currencies. Look to these banks that offer online mechanisms for managing multiple accounts from different banks almost anywhere in the world.

I recommend: Citibank offers a multibank cash concentration service via the web that allow you to better control day to day cash flows from multiple bank accounts, while Chase allows you to link multiple accounts, both personal and business, to streamline your online banking experience.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Use your corporate online banking services to control your investments. Instantly transfer profit to investment accounts and track your savings process online.

Online banking is now a decade old, yet many small business owners have been slow to take advantage of the speed and simplicity it offers. It's not surprising that people are hesitant, but financial institutions have a huge motivator – money – to get you out of their lobby and away from costly tellers. Banking online can be a boon for small business owners who want to:

1. Save time
2. Get better deals on fees
3. Automate payments and planning

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Run the numbers

Banking online is a good deal, but how good? You should shop around for low-minimum offers that give you the best deal according to how you run your business.

I recommend: Bankrate.com had done an overall study of how much cheaper online banking can be. You'll still need to compare offers, but this is a good overview.

Your bank probably already has a plan for you

Consumers and big business were relatively quick to pick up on banking online. Now the attention is turning to getting small businesses connected.

I recommend: Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, Wachovia and Regions are all piling on with small business offerings.

Automate your record-keeping

Banks have a big interest in keeping your involved day to day so that you think of them when you want a credit line or loan. They do this in part by making it easy to download transaction records to software you likely already use.

I recommend: The three most common download formats are for Quicken, QuickBooks and Microsoft Money.

Get your payroll, taxes and retirement planning done

Thanks to broadband speed and advanced security, banks have begun to up-sell services that were once pricey extras.

I recommend: Bank of America has an extensive suite of services for small business, including payroll. Regions goes so far as to offer cash management, essentially an automated back office. Most offer business credit cards you can manage online, as well as 401(k) and pension plans.

Save even more by going completely virtual

In the late 1990s, a bunch of startup banks crowded onto the Web offering nosebleed-high rates to draw people away from bricks-and-mortar operations. Mostly, they lost, but a few battle on, and it can be a good model if you know you'll never need to walk into a branch.

I recommend: NetBank is still fighting the good fight, and E*Trade Financial has been pushing hard into the space. Traditional banks, like HSBC, Citibank, ING and Keybank, are offering super-high-rate "direct" accounts — if you work with them only online. These are more consumer-oriented but a good place to park cash.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Automatic bill paying is a blast. No stamps, no cramps. But, better keep a balance or charges will pile up.
• •  Use e-mail or mobile alerts to track when checks deposit and clear. It can keep you on top of your money when things get busy.
• •  Some banks allow you to view several accounts – even information from competitors or retirement accounts – on one Web page.
• •  If you go online, go completely online. Online banks will issue paper checks for you to anyone in the world, but if you write a check it will be virtually impossible to track online later.

Running a small business is challenging enough without the added stress of tedious essentials such as foreign currency exchange, taxes and recording bank transactions into your financial tracking software or written financial ledger books. However, a number of banks offer online banking services that automate each of these necessary tasks. Making the most of small business online banking account services can make running your business a little less tedious.

Importing and exporting products overseas requires quick conversion between currencies for optimum accuracy. Filing tax returns on time is another necessity simplified by Internet banking services. What's more, you can save precious time with the ability to upload Internet banking transactions directly into your electronic financial tracking software. When searching for these convenient online banking business features, consider the following:

1. Foreign currency exchange services offered online through your business online banking account should focus on helping you improve your bottom line with clients around the world.
2. Since businesses often have to file tax returns quarterly, automating taxes through you bank's online banking services can help you meet every deadline.
3. Downloading online bank account transactions directly to your computerized accounting software frees up more time to do other essential work.
   

Action Steps
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Look into making the most of small business online banking services for international transactions

If you do business overseas, you want transactions to take place in the right currency and make sure every amount is correctly converted every time. That takes serious money and manpower--unless you enlist in online banking services. Here are some banks that offer foreign currency exchange as a feature of their online banking services.

I recommend: Sovereign Bank offers a foreign currency exchange service online, while Key and Wachovia also offer online dynamic currency conversion services that help you better manage transactions with international clientele.

Use your small business online banking services to get your essential taxes paid

Tax reporting demands are higher on businesses, especially sole proprietors and independent contractors. Never miss another tax deadline or payment again by automating the process using these and other online banking services.

I recommend: Bank of the West offers Tax Direct, an online program that allows you to configure business taxes. Bank of America also features an Express Tax Service that enables you to pay federal, state and local taxes all in one shot online.

Connect your Internet business banking account to your financial software program

When time is money, it's important to save yourself from as much repetitive or unnecessary work as possible. One quick and easy way to free up some time is by linking your online bank account to your financial software. Many banks offer you the opportunity to directly upload online transactions into QuickBooks or other financial software.

I recommend: Commerce Bank offers a Direct Connect online service for small businesses that allows you to connect your bank information directly to QuickBooks, Quicken and other financial software. The Washington Trust Company lets you download bank transactions into QuickBooks online.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To keep yourself on an efficient schedule and free up as much money as possible at once, have your bank account deposits made in person so they immediately post to your account, or schedule deposits to fit your bank's deposit posting policies, which usually hold portions of your deposits for 24 hours or more before they post to your account in full.

Online banking is a popular way to take care of banking without having to leave home. Many consumers find online banking an easier way to pay bills and take care of other banking business. Online banking also offers a way for businesses and individuals to reduce paper waste and get quicker updates on the status of their banking accounts. There is a variety of tools that can be used with online banking that traditional banking may not offer.

Action Steps
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Access device

An access device is is a personal card or security code issued by a bank for customers to access their account. In online banking, this is usually a banking password or bill payment code to transfer funds or pay bills electronically.

I recommend: HSBC offers a device for online banking customers to generate a unique code for accessing online accounts at a particular time.

Data Encryption Standard (DES)

The Data Encryption Standard is a standard accepted by the financial industry that protects a consumer's access codes and other personal information when using online banking.

I recommend: The National Institute of Standards and Technology has posted the data encryption standard on its website.

Electronic check, echeck

An electronic check is a type of payment that can be made through an online banking account that is equal to a traditional paper check, but, because of the electronic format, it can be processed quicker.

I recommend: Electracash offers a list of benefits for offering and accepting echecks from consumers. Transact Money shows the differences between echecks and Internet checks and how they work.

Federal Reserve Board

The Federal Reserve Board is the national regulatory body that governs commercial and nationalized banks in the United States.

I recommend: The Federal Reserve Board provides regulations for electronic and online banking practices.

Digital wallet

A digital wallet is a type of software that allows consumers to complete electronic payments with some type of financial instrument, such as a credit card.

I recommend: The Digital Wallets Project from Stanford University offers information on the study of the use and characteristics of digital wallet software.

Direct deposit

Direct deposit is the process of sending a person's paycheck directly to his or her bank account. This is done through providing an employer with specific banking information.

I recommend: Electronic Payments offers an introduction to direct deposits and how this process works to benefit the consumer.