Growing wisely: Who should have access to your business accounts?

Giving someone access to your business accounts isn’t a decision to take lightly. Whether it’s a trusted employee, accountant or financial advisor, the right people can help your business run smoothly and securely. But granting access also opens the door to potential risks. That’s why it’s important to define clear roles, set permission levels and implement strong internal controls.

Regularly reviewing who has access can help prevent fraud, catch errors early and keep your finances on track. By carefully managing who should have access to your small business checking account, you can safeguard your financial assets and maintain operational integrity.

Why managing account access is essential

Company accounts hold the funds that keep your business running. They are the backbone of business operations, enabling essential functions such as payroll processing, bill payments and revenue management. As such, they are often prime targets for fraud and unauthorized access, making their security a top priority for businesses. The stakes are high — businesses lose an average of over $1.5 million per fraud case.

However, managing access to small business financials isn’t just about preventing fraud — it’s also about optimizing business efficiency and minimizing errors that could lead to financial losses. Striking the right balance between efficiency and security is critical for growing businesses.

Managing account access should be balanced with efficiency, security, policies and business safety.

Efficiency

Evaluate whether your financial workflow could be more streamlined. Are there bottlenecks in the process due to which payments are delayed because of limited access, or is your staff waiting on necessary supplies? Look at your own workflow as well. Are you doing financial tasks that could easily be done by someone else if they had access?

Granting account access to small business financials shouldn’t be done for its own sake. If there’s no meaningful room for improvement, expanding access to yet another person may not be necessary.

Security

Delegating tasks is important, but business banking security is equally vital. To balance efficiency with security and minimize risk, limit access to a small, trusted group of individuals that can effectively manage funds.

The fewer people you have managing funds, the easier it is to track activity and hold individuals accountable. In the event of unauthorized transactions or missing funds, you can identify the source of the issue more quickly. Monitor account activity regularly to catch any discrepancies or unauthorized actions early.

Legal and bank policies

Bank and state regulations may restrict who can access your account. Most banks will only allow an owner to open a business account. However, once the account is open, the owner can add other people to the account.

Online security

Make online business banking security your top priority. Sharing login credentials gives others full control over your account, including the ability to transfer funds. Once a transaction is made, recovering the funds or identifying the person responsible can be difficult.

To reduce this risk, always ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive account information.

Roles that may require account access

Keeping the account in your name alone can stall operations if you’re unavailable. But giving access to too many — or the wrong — people puts your business’s finances

Remember that the potential security risks are directly linked to the number of persons with access to the accounts — the more people with access, the higher the risk of unauthorized transactions. To minimize this risk, consider implementing checks and balances, such as dual authorization for large transactions.

When deciding who should have access, start by evaluating the scope of their role and whether they need full access or just the ability to view transactions. Most companies will benefit from having at least two individuals regularly review account activity to catch errors or fraud early. It’s important to match the level of access with the tasks they perform.

Here’s a breakdown of roles and the access they typically require:

• Accountant or bookkeeper: These roles focus on recording financial data, preparing reports and reconciling accounts. While they need access to view transactions and balance sheets, restricting their ability to move funds reduces risk. Using accounting software that integrates with your bank allows them to access key financial data without needing your login credentials.
• Business owner or CEO: As the head of the company, the owner often manages daily operations and needs full access to approve transactions, view reports and make financial decisions.
• Chief financial officer (CFO): Responsible for financial strategy and compliance, the CFO typically requires high-level access to monitor cash flow, oversee budgeting and approve large payments.
• Executive assistant or office manager: Depending on their responsibilities, they may require limited access to handle administrative tasks like scheduling payments or viewing balances. Ensuring their access is read-only or task-specific can help minimize unnecessary risks.
• External auditor or tax consultant: These professionals may require temporary, read-only access to financial records. This ensures they can perform their work without jeopardizing account security.
• Finance or operations manager: These roles handle routine financial tasks like vendor payments. They typically need moderate access to perform transactions within predefined limits. Establishing approval thresholds for larger payments adds an extra layer of security and oversight.
• Payroll specialist or administrator: Payroll administrators require access to specific accounts to manage employee salaries, bonuses and deductions. Limited access to payroll-focused accounts is usually sufficient.

6 strategies for managing risk

Every additional person with access to your account increases your exposure to potential fraud. Here are six practical strategies to manage risk effectively and keep your funds secure.

1. Limit access

The easiest way to manage risk is to restrict the number of people who can access the account. How many individuals is the right number? It depends on the size and complexity of your business.

For transparency and oversight reasons, it’s good to allow at least two people to access the account. As your business grows, you may need to add more people — but think hard about each person you add beyond those first two.

For larger or more complex operations, consider segmenting access by opening multiple accounts. For example, if someone needs access for payroll purposes, open a dedicated payroll account and transfer only the required funds for each payroll cycle. This ensures that an individual is limited to managing that one account.

You can also move excess cash into a business savings account to earn interest and limit the number of people who can access it.

2. Never share your login

Don’t share your username and password with anyone — not even your accountant or trusted assistant. Instead, officially add users to your account and ask your bank to provide unique logins for each person. This ensures transparency and accountability, as you’ll know exactly who is responsible for each action taken on the account.

3. Screen carefully

Before granting access to your accounts, do a credit and criminal background check through a specialist provider. You’ll need the employee’s permission, but trustworthy employees will understand why you need to run a check before adding them to your account.

4. Deposit physical checks

If your business occasionally handles physical checks, avoid using your banking app for deposits because sharing your app credentials with the staff creates unnecessary risk. Instead, deposit checks in person at your bank or consider using deposit-only ATM cards for business accounts that allow staff to make remote deposits without giving them withdrawal privileges.

If your business processes frequent check payments, invest in a check scanner device to enable secure, direct deposits without relying on an app.

5. Use credit cards

Instead of giving staff access to your checking account, equip them with business credit cards for vendor payments and purchases. Credit cards enable your staff to make purchases and pay vendors without giving them the capacity to move your funds out of your checking account.

Many business credit card providers will issue an individual card for each employee, which allows you to track each person’s spending.

6. Create checks and balances

As your small business grows and your finances get more complex, it’s smart to implement systems to ensure accountability. Assign at least two people to review accounts and verify all withdrawals regularly.

Even if an accountant reconciles your monthly statements, having an additional layer of review reduces the risk of oversight errors. Pay attention to small transactions as well — some embezzlement schemes involve small, recurring payments that add up over time.

Bottom line

Protecting your business’s financial accounts starts with knowing who to trust and putting the right controls in place. By granting access only to essential people, setting clear boundaries and regularly reviewing permissions, you can reduce risk and maintain oversight and security. It also allows you to build a system that supports accountability, transparency and long-term success.

Frequently asked questions

• How often should I review account access permissions?

• Should my business partner have full access?

• Can I track who accesses my account?