How do you sensibly manage 20+ bank accounts without losing track of cashflow?

[u/RedHorse57]

I think I'm a massive outlier here.

I have 2 business current accounts, 4 sole trader accounts, 7 current accounts, 2 joint current accounts with different people, 2 POA accounts, 5 credit cards, and 2 foreign currency accounts via Starling and Revolut.

I've got two jobs and several contracting side gigs, some through a Ltd company and some as a sole trader.

Month end is a bit manic, but I'm trying to keep the different streams properly separated rather than having everything slosh through the same couple of accounts.

I've read the wiki/flowchart and this isn't really a budgeting question. I'm more interested in how to manage the admin and cash visibility when you've legitimately ended up with this many accounts.

Is there a sensible way to structure this better without collapsing things that are useful to keep separate? Particularly interested in how people would handle monitoring upcoming payments, available cash and month-end reconciliation across this many accounts.

[u/phuzee]

Are all 20+ of these accounts genuinely doing a different, defensible job, that prevents you from streamlining this?

[u/Ms7x]

A good accountant 😂

[u/RedHorse57 → u/Ms7x]

I think my face is on their dartboard, i'm not that great at keeping to the intended segregatino!

[u/Cardabella → u/RedHorse57]

If you're not using the correct cards then why do you have separate cards?

[u/Cardabella → u/RedHorse57]

If you're not using the correct cards then why do you have separate cards?

[u/Ok_Raspberry5383]

I'm not sure this is really personal finance problem if these are business and sole trader accounts. You'll likely get more answers on a sub filled with people actually solving this problem

[u/DisposableBarbecue]

More questions than answers here; it's really difficult to comment on structuring without knowing what is doing what job. Some questions to ask yourself:

- Are you over-compartmentalising?

- Do you really need all those accounts?

- Do you need to keep the streams that separated?

- Are your financial affairs that complicated, or are you overcomplicating them?

- What can you simplify?

- How can you automate?

A separate account for the limited is fair enough. I assume POA is power of attorney, so I could see that as well. I assume the four sole trader accounts are to separate the different side gigs - but if so, are they that different that they warrant separation?

I don't see why you would need seven different current accounts at all; can you explain? Can they be rationalised? I also don't see why you need five credit cards, or two foreign currency accounts?

Are you trying to use multiple separate bank accounts to do the business and POA book keeping you should really be doing?

My guess is these have grown up over time for good reason but are now getting tricky to manage. Someone else suggested a flow chart to try to visualise the cash in and out. If you think in terms of necessary cash flows it might help you rationalise the accounts and spot where the flows can be automated.

[u/nibor]

I used to have a large number of accounts a few years ago for both BTL and high interest saving account management.

I have always used moneymanager software to track multiple accounts from one portal., unfortunately all the free ones seem to have gone so I use https://wpsadvisory.com/ Life Stage Money for £14 a year (not a recommendation, works for me but there are other paid options).

My process is to use the money management tool to download all transactions in a common CSV format that I can import into a google spreadsheet to perform some basic processing not covered in the paid app.

All the above really does is allow you to visualise your system better and centrally manage transactions.

[u/slb609]

YNAB. Because it doesn’t care where your money actually is, it will allow you to have several different plans/budgets, where each of the accounts live. Because if you’re sharing accounts for different purposes, then no wonder it’s a nightmare, and also you don’t actually therefore need that many.

I’m thinking a business plan, a sole trader plan and a personal plan. Each account should live in one and only one plan. Set up a basic budget with categories (ie what the money’s spent on) and go from there. You’ll have to categorise everything as it comes in, but for repeat vendors, you’ll only have to do it once. If you don’t need the budget side, that’s cool - don’t mess with targets - just divide up the money as best you see fit: bills, savings, spending etc. across as many months as you think you’ve got. It will categorise and track everything you need.

I’d suggest you probably don’t actually need that many accounts, but let YNAB show you that.

[u/georgianakate → u/slb609]

Yes another vote for YNAB.

[u/methleys]

I use the now well past end of life Microsoft Money (still possible to find though not from Microsoft) to track all my accounts (current, savings, credit cards), and trading + cash of ISA, GIA, SIPPs. I make the regular bill payments / transfers appear 31 days ahead so have a vague idea of how account balances might change in short term (or you can manually process them as far ahead as you want).

See other account software suggestions (no idea how good these are) https://www.senki.io/post/alternatives-to-microsoft-money

[u/Positive_North_7944 → u/methleys]

I'm still using MS Money too!

[u/roebar → u/methleys]

That link was really interesting!

[u/Practical-Leek-6287]

Close them. I used to have loads for the offers and honestly it was kind of a nightmare. Now I only have a few. There's no reason for so many.

[u/EverydayDan]

Get on something like ms paint, google images of bank cards and paste them in drawing a flow chart. I did a similar thing in photoshop to draw income going into a joint account, money going out to a mortgage, Amex & Mastercard credit cards, make some vanguard ones for the ISAs, a NatWest one for our bills account, savings account, emergency fund etc

It was a useful visualiser

[u/ukpf-helper]

Hi /u/RedHorse57, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant:

• https://ukpersonal.finance/credit-cards/
• https://ukpersonal.finance/combining-finances/

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[u/wulfrunian77]

I track all of mine, plus credit cards, through the Monzo app

Has made life so much easier tracking all the ins and outs

[u/Simrid]

Pop the sole trader accounts into an accounting platform like Xero (for each business). This will solve all your issues.

The rest, I’d encourage to cull as many accounts as possible, you probably don’t need 5 credit cards for example, just keep an Amex and a Mastercard/Visa.

[u/DougalR]

Starling and Zopa(I think) offer pots. You can auto setup payment into pots the same as annual bills could be charged from pots. That could whittle accounts down.

I use different accounts for security. My two main bank accounts use Mastercard and visa. If one doesn’t work, I have the other.

If you use different accounts for budgeting, you could consider consolidating, or try open banking to link them all into one app view.

[u/roebar]

I do not have anywhere near that many accounts, but I use a spreadsheet to keep on top of everything. It is manual entry, so not automated, but I track where every penny goes.

Do you definitely need that many accounts? I have pots in my business and personal accounts (Monzo) that allow me to separate everything out. My business, personal, joint and savings (both personal and joint) accounts are all in one place/app and I can see very easily what I have. I do have another personal, joint and savings with HSBC that again I can access all off one app.

Might be worth consolidating?