Thread: Stage Name in bank account - anybody else had this problem?

Has anybody else had problems getting a business checking account as *exactly* their stage name (after properly submitting their DBA/business certificate)?

So, two weeks ago I went to city hall and registered a business certificate (i.e., DBA, "doing business as") for my stage name. i.e., I filed papers stating that Nadira Jamal is a sole proprietorship owned by (my legal name). Everything looked good, the city clerk stamped it and registered it. I'm a happy dancer.

I go to the bank and spend 45 minutes filling out paperwork to open a business account. Everything sounds great. A week later, I get a call back from the bank, who says that their legal department won't let them have an account titled "Nadira Jamal" because it's "a name". They need it to be either "Performances by Nadira Jamal" or "(my legal name) DBA Nadira Jamal", etc.

I personally don't care what variation is on the account, but the bank requires that the name on the account be exactly the business name listed on the business certificate. This means that I have to *legally change the name of my business* and get a new business certificate, just to get a bank account.

Now, they are willing to pay the business certificate change fee (since they didn't catch the problem sooner), and they swear up and down that I can still accept checks written to "Nadira Jamal" if I change the business name to "(my legal name) DBA Nadira Jamal".

However, whatever I put in that line on the form is the legal name of my business. I don't *want* that to be "(my legal name) DBA Nadira Jamal", I *want* it to be "Nadira Jamal".


I'm not sure if this normal, or if I should take my business to another bank. Is there anyone out there who has registered their stage name as a sole proprietorship who DOES have just their stage name as the name on their account? Do you have a two-name stage name, or just one? And does your stage name sound like a name ("Nadira Jamal") vs. an entity ("Crystal Waters").

I have a two name stange name, but my business is "Jemileh" I had no problem getting a business account with it and I do dba as jemileh, Jemileh Nour, or my real name, all are acceptable to the bank.

I have my business name, Ravena Designs, but my bank will take checks written to Ravena Designs, Ravena (my dance name), or my birth name with no issue. May want to look into another bank. I actually had some issues with the first bank I approached. they had some strange $$ policy. Look around before you go through all the paperwork again. Like with a doctor, get a second opinion :-)

Since I do vending, I have a business account with my dance name.
I have not had any problems with my bank.

Originally Posted by angelique2

Since I do vending, I have a business account with my dance name.
I have not had any problems with my bank.

Hmm... I'm wondering if their issue is with the fact that it's two names that could be interpreted as "firstname lastname". Angelique: is yours a one or two name stage name?

I don't think that it should matter how many names it is. If you registered your business under that name then it is a business name and that is all that should matter (I assume that you showed them the paper work). There are plenty of business' out there that do business under what could be seen as a persons full name and something tells me that they don't have to change their checks. I would check out another bank before bothering to change the name of your business. What a pain!

Former banker here (although it's been quite a while):

The bank is correct.

Your account card/signature card will have to read "(real name) DBA (business/dance name)" in order to open a sole proprietorship account. Note: by definition, this is how sole proprietorships are named; check out your fictitious name statement: your business is you doing business as Nadira Jamal, thus the bank is required to require that same ownership title.

You will be able to deposit checks made payable to your real name or your business name.

You will endorse your checks with whatever name is written by the payor, but the payee must be your real name or or your business name.

You must sign your own checks, the ones you write for business expenses as the payee, with your real name.

You don't have to go out and get a new business license; you can simply use the "DBA" one you already have.

Deborah

Originally Posted by casbahdance

check out your fictitious name statement: your business is you doing business as Nadira Jamal, thus the bank is required to require that same ownership title.

Deborah - I am so glad you're here! Can I ask you for clarification?

So, the wording on the business certificate form for my city (as I filled it out) reads:

"the undersigned hereby declare(s) that a business under the title of Nadira Jamal is conducted at (address)" and lists "owner: (legal name)"

That's what the City Clerk stamped, and my understanding is that that created the business entity "(legal name) d.b.a. Nadira Jamal".

The bank wants the account name to be exactly what is in the business title field on my business certificate, so they want me to go to city hall and *change the business title* to "(legal name) d.b.a. Nadira Jamal" (which, to me, appears redundant).


So my question is:
- is the bank just misreading the form, or
- did the City Clerk fail to properly check my title when they approved my business certificate?

Nadira, if it were me, I'd check with another bank. I'd find myself thinking, "If they're giving me this much runaround over something I've already cleared through appropriate legal channels, will they be equally difficult to deal with on other issues in the future?"

Or, if you haven't already done so, you could try asking the person you've been dealing with to let you talk to the branch manager, just in case the hassle is due to an insufficiently-educated staff member misinterpreting the rules.

Originally Posted by *Shira*

Nadira, if it were me, I'd check with another bank. I'd find myself thinking, "If they're giving me this much runaround over something I've already cleared through appropriate legal channels, will they be equally difficult to deal with on other issues in the future?"

Or, if you haven't already done so, you could try asking the person you've been dealing with to let you talk to the branch manager, just in case the hassle is due to an insufficiently-educated staff member misinterpreting the rules.

Yeah, a stop by Bank B is already on the schedule for tomorrow morning. :)
(Unless Deborah thinks I've filled out my business certificate wrong, in which case I'll be going to the city clerk and asking them to confirm before I go back to any bank.)

The staff member I've been speaking to is the one who took my application, and she is telling me that the objection is coming from the bank's legal department, so I think the issue is higher up.

My husband had some real problems with Bank A a few years ago (and left). Maybe I should have asked for referrals before signing up. But they seduced me with their convenient locations and evening hours!

Originally Posted by jmdruadh

My husband had some real problems with Bank A a few years ago (and left).

Left the bank, not me!!!

Originally Posted by jmdruadh

Hmm... I'm wondering if their issue is with the fact that it's two names that could be interpreted as "firstname lastname". Angelique: is yours a one or two name stage name?

Mine is two names, Suhayla Soffi.

Originally Posted by jmdruadh

Deborah - I am so glad you're here! Can I ask you for clarification?

So, the wording on the business certificate form for my city (as I filled it out) reads:

"the undersigned hereby declare(s) that a business under the title of Nadira Jamal is conducted at (address)" and lists "owner: (legal name)"

That's what the City Clerk stamped, and my understanding is that that created the business entity "(legal name) d.b.a. Nadira Jamal".

The bank wants the account name to be exactly what is in the business title field on my business certificate, so they want me to go to city hall and *change the business title* to "(legal name) d.b.a. Nadira Jamal" (which, to me, appears redundant).


So my question is:
- is the bank just misreading the form, or
- did the City Clerk fail to properly check my title when they approved my business certificate?

Oy! So glad you included a copy of that business filing form -- it really helped!

My understanding with federal banking regulations is that business account ownership basically is available as sole proprietorship, partnership or varying types of corporations (incorporated businesses) and each ownership type requires a fictitious business name statement.

What you seem to have is a license to do business in a certain city, which is different than a fictitious business name statement . . . I can understand the confusion with the bank. I think the person who set up the account at the bank saw the business license as a fictitious business name statement, which it is not, at least as far as I know.

You see, my fictitious business name statement was issured by the county and includes my name, address and all that usual stuff. It also requires me to declare how the business is conducted; for example, I had to choose from ownerships options such as sole proprietorship (which is what you're interested in), general partnership, husband/wife, joint venture, corporation, etc. For a sole proprietorship, I merely had to check that the business name was not already in use in the county (a listing of all business names was made available to me) and show my driver license . . . voila! I had a business!

(please see next post . . . this one's too long!

Deborah

(continued from previous, over-long post!)

From the information found in the fictitious business name statement, the bank knows that I am a sole proprietor and that, for banking purposes, I operate as (my name) doing business as (my business name -- Market at the Casbah)

Okay, here's what I think you need to do next:

1) determine how to obtain a fictitious business name in your state; from what I can tell at this point, you do not yet have a fictitious name. The fictitious business name statements are often referred to as a DBA because that's what sole proprietor's like yourself have to be: a person doing business as something else. As I mentioned above, in California, DBAs are obtained at the county level. States are different, of course, in their requirements. Also in California, folks who acquire a DBA are required to notify the public via newspaper ads; if this is the same in Massachusetts, you might be able to call your city's/region's newspaper and have them walk you through the entire process!

2) once you have an official fictitious name statement, you go to any bank of your choosing and the requirements/acceptable practices I mentioned in my previous post apply.

What surprises me, in looking at your business license, is that the city would issue a business license without an official fictitious business name statement. Again, I'm coming from a Californian perspective, so things might be very different all the way across the country . . .

Oh! If you have a small business administration in your area, you can get help with this for free!

I think the main thing is getting the proper documentation for your fictitious name: your legal/birth/"real" name doing business as Nadira Jamal, "Nadira Jamal" being a fictitious (not your name) business name.

Good luck, and if I can clarify further for you (assuming I clarified anything already!) please let me know!

Deborah

Originally Posted by casbahdance

(continued from previous, over-long post!)

1) determine how to obtain a fictitious business name in your state; from what I can tell at this point, you do not yet have a fictitious name. The fictitious business name statements are often referred to as a DBA because that's what sole proprietor's like yourself have to be: a person doing business as something else.

First: thank you SO MUCH for your advice! Obviously, I don't expect any "legal" advice, but it is really REALLY helpful to get an opinion from someone with real expertise.

I'm fairly sure that my business certificate IS my DBA, based on the MSDBC's FAQ (linked from mass.gov). That's why it took me so long to register my business (I first looked into this in January):

1) Massachusetts defers to the municipality (we don't have separate county governments), so you file with your city, not with the Commonwealth.

2) Somerville doesn't have a separate DBA form, so I was searching and searching for info on "Somerville DBA". When I stepped back to look at how other municipalities in our state do it, I kept getting hits for "Business Certificate (Doing Business As)", such as in the following towns: Shrewsbury,

i.e, everything I have found refers to the "business certificate" and "DBA" as the same document.

So I'm pretty sure there isn't any additional paperwork for me to fill out. But I'm still not sure if I filled it out properly (and the bank is mistaken) or if I should have put my business title as "(legal name) d.b.a Nadira Jamal" (and the City Clerk screwed up).

The other reason I'm pretty sure that my paperwork is fine (from a legal standpoint) is that they would have accepted "Nadira Jamal Productions" as a sole proprietorship without "DBA" appearing on the form. Their only objection is that my business name *looks* like a legal name.

Regardless, I'm going to stop into Bank B on the way to my desk job tomorrow, and ask them to check into whether they can accept it.

Again: THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help so far.

I use WaMu. To date they have not been difficult re business accounts, debit cards, etc. Plus the checking account is free.

Originally Posted by jmdruadh

First: thank you SO MUCH for your advice! Obviously, I don't expect any "legal" advice, but it is really REALLY helpful to get an opinion from someone with real expertise.

I'm fairly sure that my business certificate IS my DBA, based on the MSDBC's FAQ (linked from mass.gov). That's why it took me so long to register my business (I first looked into this in January):

1) Massachusetts defers to the municipality (we don't have separate county governments), so you file with your city, not with the Commonwealth.

2) Somerville doesn't have a separate DBA form, so I was searching and searching for info on "Somerville DBA". When I stepped back to look at how other municipalities in our state do it, I kept getting hits for "Business Certificate (Doing Business As)", such as in the following towns: Shrewsbury,

i.e, everything I have found refers to the "business certificate" and "DBA" as the same document.

So I'm pretty sure there isn't any additional paperwork for me to fill out. But I'm still not sure if I filled it out properly (and the bank is mistaken) or if I should have put my business title as "(legal name) d.b.a Nadira Jamal" (and the City Clerk screwed up).

The other reason I'm pretty sure that my paperwork is fine (from a legal standpoint) is that they would have accepted "Nadira Jamal Productions" as a sole proprietorship without "DBA" appearing on the form. Their only objection is that my business name *looks* like a legal name.

Regardless, I'm going to stop into Bank B on the way to my desk job tomorrow, and ask them to check into whether they can accept it.

Again: THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help so far.

Aha! This is why I had to couch everything in "we do it this way in California" language -- states differ so much one from the other!

From what you've quoted, it does look like your business certification is the same as the fictitious name statement (DBA); it looks like you would have to add the "DBA" phrase in your certification to do business as Nadira Jamal, even though it wouldn't be necessary if you were Nadira Jamal Productions, because it Nadira Jamal is a person's name.

Good job on your research! And Good Luck! ..g.:

Deborah

Well, all is resolved.

I called the city clerk. They said I had, in fact, filled out the form correctly, but that they could change it. (The nice lady even offered to do that for free, since it was so new.)

So I went to Bank B, and they said that they could absolutely take my business certificate as-is. The account they gave me is for "(legal name) dba Nadira Jamal", which is fine by me, and didn't require any visits to city hall. (And they were really nice and very helpful throughout.)

WHEW.

Thank you Deborah (and everybody else) for your help!

Originally Posted by jmdruadh

Well, all is resolved.

I called the city clerk. They said I had, in fact, filled out the form correctly, but that they could change it. (The nice lady even offered to do that for free, since it was so new.)

So I went to Bank B, and they said that they could absolutely take my business certificate as-is. The account they gave me is for "(legal name) dba Nadira Jamal", which is fine by me, and didn't require any visits to city hall. (And they were really nice and very helpful throughout.)

WHEW.

Thank you Deborah (and everybody else) for your help!

Wonderful!!!

Deborah

I agree that it is probably the bank itself...

As I have incorporated my biz (Beledi Bay, Inc.)
but "my bank" allows me to use and sign under my legal OR dance name (even though I have not filed a d.b.a. for my dance name)

Def talk to whatever bank you do decide to go with.
There are enough (at least in large urban areas) to pick & choose amenities/service. Good luck to ya Babes!