Top 8 Business Bank Accounts for Consulting LLCs in 2026: Client Invoicing, Contractor Payouts and Expense Cards
A consulting LLC invoices a client, waits for an ACH payment or a card charge, pays the subcontractors who did part of the work, and tries to keep each engagement's costs apart. Slash is a business banking platform¹that runs that loop from one login, with invoices that accept ACH, wire or card, Bill Pay for subcontractors, and a virtual account and virtual cards for each client.
Slash also syncs both ways with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Intacct and NetSuite. Found, Relay, Mercury, Novo, Lili, Brex and Chase Business Complete each cover part of the same loop, at different fees and with different entry conditions.
Key Takeaways
- Slash gives a consulting LLC virtual accounts on both its $0 Free and $25 Pro plans, each with its own account and routing numbers, so each client can pay into the account for its own project.
- A card-paid invoice costs 2.9% plus $0.30 at Relay, and the same through Stripe at Mercury and Found, while ACH payments into all three are free.
- Found's $0 plan collects W-9s and e-files 1099-NECs, and Mercury charges $5 per 1099 filing on its $0 plan.
- Lili includes invoicing only on its Smart and Premium plans, at $35 and $55 a month.
- Brex's account requirements center on companies with equity funding of any amount, more than $500,000 a year in revenue, or a referral.
What Should a Consulting LLC Look for in a Business Bank Account?
A consulting LLC's revenue often arrives as a few large client payments, and a share of it goes straight back out to subcontractors. One $15,000 retainer can fund three subcontractors, two software tools and a client dinner. If the account can't tie those back to the engagement, someone rebuilds the split in a spreadsheet at month end.
- How clients pay the invoice. ACH, wire and card each carry a different fee, and the fee comes out of your payment.
- How subcontractors get paid. The rails available, who collects the bank details, and whether the tax form arrives before the first payment.
- Separation by client. A sub-account with its own account and routing numbers lets a client pay straight into that engagement's balance.
- A card per project. Virtual cards with their own limits keep software and travel for one client off another client's budget.
- Ledger sync. Which accounting platforms the account connects to, and whether coded transactions flow back to the ledger.
1. Slash: Invoicing, Subcontractor Payouts and a Card per Client Project in One Account
A consulting LLC runs the whole client cycle from one Slash login, with no account minimum or opening fee. The card limit rises with the cash on deposit, up to a risk-based maximum. Deposits are FDIC-insured² up to $150 million through a sweep network of partner banks.
What Slash Does for a Consulting Practice
- Invoices clients can pay three ways.Slash Invoicing sends a payment page that accepts ACH, wire or card, into the Slash account you pick. Card payments open once the LLC is approved for payment processing, and Slash shows the fee before you send.
- Subcontractor payouts.Bill Pay pays by same-day ACH, domestic or international wire, FedNow and RTP, or card. A vendor invite collects the subcontractor's bank details and can request a W-9 or W-8.
- A virtual account per client. Each virtual account has its own account and routing numbers, on both plans.
- Cards that draw from the project. Virtual cards on both plans spend from a client's virtual account, each under its own limit, merchant rules and card group budget.
- Ledger sync and more than one LLC. The accounting integration syncs both ways with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Intacct and NetSuite. A second LLC joins the same login on its own application, with no limit on entities.
"You can be profitable on paper and still not have the cash to pay your bills. It happens when you've booked revenue and you haven't collected it yet," said James Cruikshank, Marketing & Communications Manager at Slash, in a SlashGuides video.
The standard in finance
Slash goes above with better controls, better rewards, and better support for your business.
What It Costs
Free is $0 a month with up to 1.5% cashback on the Slash Visa® Platinum Card, $1 per same-day ACH and $6 per domestic wire. Pro is $25 a month with up to 2% cashback and $0 on same-day ACH, domestic wires and outgoing FedNow or RTP, per the pricing page.
Direct ACH debit, where Slash pulls the payment from the client's bank, costs 1% of the invoice plus $3 by default.
2. Found: Free Invoicing and 1099 E-Filing, With Debit Cards
Found folds bookkeeping and tax tools into its checking account. The $0 plan includes unlimited invoices, contractor payments by ACH, W-9 requests with reminders, and 1099-NEC e-filing with no per-contractor fee, per Found's pricing page. Up to 20 sub-accounts called Pockets each carry their own account number, and one login covers up to five businesses. Plus costs $35 a month and Pro $80.
Clients who pay a Found invoice by card go through Stripe, which charges 2.9% plus 30 cents, and outgoing wires cost $15 below Pro. The cards are Mastercard debit cards, up to 10 physical and 20 virtual. Found keeps the books inside its own app, and its help center describes a CSV export for an accountant.
3. Relay: 2.9% Plus $0.30 on Card-Paid Invoices, 20 Checking Accounts Below Scale
Relay's invoices accept card, Pay by Bank, ACH and wire, and the money is deposited into the Relay account. Its help center lists the fee for each method. ACH transfers are free, cards cost 2.9% plus $0.30 on every plan, Pay by Bank runs 1% on Starter down to 0.5% on Scale, and each incoming wire is $5. Grow and Scale can add a card surcharge of up to 2.9% that the client pays.
A business gets 20 checking accounts on the $0 Starter and $30 Grow plans and 50 on Scale, which lists at $120 and is discounted to $90. Payees can upload their own payment details, and 1099 contractors are paid through Relay Payroll, which is in an invitation-only beta. Relay's pricing page lists QuickBooks and Xero as its accounting integrations.
4. Mercury: Card Payments on Invoices Through a Connected Stripe Account
Mercury sends unlimited invoices on its $0 plan, and clients pay by ACH or wire for free. To take cards, you connect a Stripe account, and Stripe's standard 2.9% plus $0.30 comes out before the net amount reaches Mercury. Mercury notes that Stripe applies a 7 to 14 day waiting period to the first payout.
Bill Pay includes contractor onboarding, and 1099 filing costs $5 per form on the $0 plan or is unlimited on Plus, at $29.90 a month billed annually. Mercury allows up to 100 checking accounts, and its IO credit card pays 1.5% cashback. Bank feeds import to QuickBooks Online, Xero and NetSuite.
5. Novo: $0 a Month, With Reserves Inside One Checking Balance
Unlimited invoices come with a Novo account, which charges no monthly fee. Its page for consultants describes clients paying by ACH or card into the same checking account. Card payments run through a connected Stripe, Square or PayPal account at that processor's rates, and Novo adds no markup.
Reserves earmark money for taxes, software or contractor payments, and Novo says the funds stay part of the one checking balance. Contractors are paid by ACH or by checks mailed from the app. Novo connects to QuickBooks and Xero.
6. Lili: Invoicing Starts on the $35 Smart Plan
Lili's Core account is free, and invoicing and bill management are reserved for its Smart plan at $35 a month and Premium at $55, per Lili's plan table. On those plans, an invoice can carry a Stripe Pay Now button for card or ACH, with Stripe's fees applied.
Lili connects to QuickBooks Online and Xero, and its card is a Visa debit card. The plan table lists a savings account as the sub-account on every plan, and outgoing domestic wires cost $15.
7. Brex: Account Requirements Built Around Funding, $500,000 in Revenue or a Referral
Brex's account requirements ask every applicant for a US EIN, US incorporation, US operations and a physical US address. On top of those, Brex says it focuses on companies that have taken equity funding of any amount or plan to soon, earn more than $500,000 a year, or are tech startups on that path referred by a customer or partner.
Once approved, an LLC can invoice clients for payment by ACH, domestic or international wire, or ACH direct debit, and pay bills by ACH, wire, check or one-time virtual card with no Brex transaction fees. The account holds up to 240 numbered checking accounts, and the $0 Essentials plan syncs directly with QuickBooks Online, Xero, NetSuite and Sage Intacct. Brex invoices are issued in USD only.
8. Chase Business Complete: $15 a Month Unless Waived, 3.5% Plus 10¢ on Card-Paid Invoices
Chase Business Complete Banking costs $15 a month, waived through one of five routes, such as a $2,000 minimum daily balance or $2,000 a month in card payments processed through Chase. Its invoicing feature lets clients pay by card, Zelle or check. Card payments cost 3.5% plus 10 cents and can reach the account as soon as the same day, and Zelle and check carry no processing fee.
Chase takes cash deposits in its branches, with $5,000 free each statement period. Outgoing domestic wires cost $25 online and $35 in a branch, and incoming domestic wires cost $15. The QuickBooks Online connection shares card-payment data, such as sales, refunds and fees, once a day.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Provider figures reflect publicly published information as of October 2026 and are subject to change.
How to Choose a Business Bank Account for a Consulting LLC
- Price the card fee on your largest invoice. On a $10,000 invoice paid by card, 2.9% plus $0.30 comes to $290.30 at Relay or through Stripe at Found and Mercury, and Chase's 3.5% plus 10 cents is $350.10. An ACH transfer costs nothing at any of those three, so the way a client pays changes what you keep.
- Count your clients, then your sub-accounts. A practice with eight retainers that keeps each client's payments apart uses eight sub-accounts with their own numbers. Novo's Reserves stay inside one checking balance, Lili lists a savings account as its sub-account, and Found stops at 20 Pockets.
- Collect the tax form before the first payment. A vendor invite, a W-9 request or contractor onboarding gets the form in before money moves, which saves chasing it in January.
- Match the ledger your bookkeeper already uses. Slash and Brex list sync with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Intacct and NetSuite, and Mercury's bank feeds cover NetSuite alongside QuickBooks Online and Xero.
- Check eligibility first. Slash opens accounts for US-registered LLCs, C-Corps and S-Corps. Found, Relay and Lili also take sole proprietors, and Brex's requirements also look for funding, revenue or a referral.
Conclusion
Found's separate balances stop at 20 Pockets, Novo's Reserves stay inside one checking balance, and Lili's sub-account is one savings account, with invoicing starting on its $35 Smart plan. Card-paid invoices cost 2.9% plus $0.30 at Relay and through Stripe at Mercury, Chase charges 3.5% plus 10 cents on card invoices and $25 per online wire, and Brex's requirements center on funding, revenue or a referral.
Slash runs the consulting loop in one account. Clients pay invoices by ACH, wire or card into the virtual account for their engagement, subcontractors are paid through Bill Pay, and project cards draw from the same balance before transactions sync to the ledger.
Talk to the Slash team about setting up client invoicing and subcontractor payouts for your consulting LLC.
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FAQs
1. Can a consulting LLC take card payments on Slash invoices?
Yes, once the LLC is approved for Slash payment processing. The control person applies from the Payment Processing page in the dashboard. After approval, you select Card Payment on each invoice, and Slash shows the processing fee and payment limits before you send it.
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2. How do I pay subcontractors from Slash?
Add each subcontractor as a vendor, or send a vendor invite so they enter their own bank details and upload a W-9 or W-8. Then pay through Bill Pay by same-day ACH, domestic or international wire, FedNow and RTP, or card, with approvals applied first if your company uses them.
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3. Can I keep each client's payments and project spending separate in Slash?
Yes. Open a virtual account for each client and put its account and routing numbers on that client's invoices, so each payment arrives in the virtual account for that engagement. Cards linked to that virtual account spend from its balance, and a card group can cap the total across them.
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4. Which accounting software does Slash sync with?
Slash syncs both ways with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Intacct and NetSuite on both plans. It imports your chart of accounts and related reference data, and you code transactions in Slash before they sync back to the ledger.
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5. Is there a minimum balance to open a Slash account?
No. Slash charges no account minimum and no opening fee, Free has no monthly fee, and Pro is $25 a month. You can open on Free and move to Pro once transfer volume makes the $0 same-day ACH and wires worth the fee.
