Found

Found is a fintech company that caters to freelancers and self-employed individuals. Business owners can take advantage of the company’s business checking accounts and debit cards, which are provided by Piermont Bank, Member FDIC.

Found also offers invoicing, bookkeeping, and tax tools and connects with other popular banking and business platforms, including QuickBooks, Stripe, Cash App, PayPal, Square, Lyft, Uber, Venmo, and eBay. Here’s what you can expect from Found and how to decide if it’s a good fit for your business.

Found Pros and Cons

Found Business Banking Overview

• Minimum opening deposit: $0
• Minimum balance requirement: None
• No required monthly fees: $0
• APY: None
• Cash deposits: Yes. Fees and limits apply
• Mobile check deposit limits: Up to $3,000 per week. Must meet eligibility requirements.
• Card limits: N/A
• Savings account available?: No

How Does Found Work?

Because Found is a fintech company, not an actual bank, the platform partners with Piermont Bank, Member FDIC. All business accounts are offered through Piermont and are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor for each account ownership category. Piermont also manages the Found Mastercard™ debit card. Prospective customers can apply through Found’s website or mobile app on iOS and Android devices.

Found Business Banking Features

Found customers can access basic business checking features with no required monthly fees, account opening fees, or other hidden fees. That said, the platform has limits on deposits and transactions. While Found doesn’t cap the number of transactions you can make per month, it does cap the total dollar amount you deposit, transfer, and withdraw. Here’s what you get with Found:

• Online checking account: Found users can access a business checking account with no minimum balance required. However, the platform does have lower deposit and transfer limits compared with competitors, making it difficult for some businesses with larger cashflows to deposit and transfer into and from their checking accounts. For that reason, Found is not a good option for freelancers and small business owners who have larger cashflows.

• Free ACH transfers: Customers get free ACH transfers with no limit on direct deposits. However, the platform is more limited than other offerings. Customers are limited to $500 in weekly deposits from linked bank accounts and $550 in daily ATM withdrawals. These limits are much lower than those imposed by competitors.

• Business debit card: Banking customers receive a Professional Mastercard™ Business debit card and a virtual card for online use. Note, however, that purchases with the Found debit card are limited to $4,000 per day.

• Built-in invoicing, bookkeeping tools: Found’s free business checking account comes with unlimited invoicing capabilities, allowing for the scheduling of recurring invoices. You can personalize invoices by adding your company logo or a personal message. Invoices sent via Found can be settled through ACH or payment applications like Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle. If you possess a Stripe account, card payments can be accepted, albeit with an additional processing fee.

  Additionally, Found offers integrated bookkeeping tools. These tools automatically sort expenses when you make purchases with your Found business debit card. The Found app allows you to store and add notes to receipts, and generate various reports based on account activity.

• Automated tax planning tools: For self-employed individuals who are used to W-4 tax withholding through an employer, tax planning can be a significant hassle or an unexpected burden. Found seeks to make this process more straightforward.

  The Found app incorporates a tax estimate feature that updates with your earnings and expenditures, automatically reserving funds for your tax bill. It assists you in monitoring deductible business expenses and automatically generates a Schedule C for your tax filing purposes.

  Previously, Found’s free business checking allowed users to pay quarterly estimated taxes directly from the Found app (for Schedule C filers only). This feature is now exclusively available to Found Plus subscribers.

• Mobile Banking: All features of Found are accessible via its mobile app. In summary, the app allows you to:

  • View balances
  • Transfer funds
  • Get notifications for transactions
  • Create, send, and schedule invoices
  • Categorize transactions
  • View your tax estimate
  • Freeze cards
  • Generate your Schedule C form

Where Found Business Banking Lacks

Deposit and Transaction Limits: Found does not impose a limit on the number of transactions you can execute monthly, but there is a cap on the transaction amount. Restrictions are applied daily and weekly to funds entering or leaving your account.

• Transfers to your Found account (from a linked bank account): Limited to $500 per week.
• Mobile check deposits: Capped at $3,000 per week, subject to eligibility requirements.
• Cash deposits: $500 per deposit, with a maximum of $1,000 every seven days and $4,000 every 30 days.
• Debit card purchases: Limited to $4,000 per day.
• ATM withdrawals: Capped at $550 per day.
• Transfers from your Found account: Up to $5,000 per day to linked bank accounts and up to $4,000 to payment apps.

Note: No limits are imposed on direct deposits and transfers from payment apps like PayPal or Cash App.

Although deposit and transfer limits are not uncommon, Found’s are relatively low compared to competitors. For instance, Bluevine business checking permits up to $10,000 in debit card purchases and $2,000 in ATM withdrawals daily. Found's limits on certain activities will be automatically increased upon reaching specific balance, usage, and account age thresholds. For now, you can request a limit increase via the Found app, which will be reviewed by their customer support.

Subscription required to earn interest: To earn interest at Found, customers must upgrade to Found Plus ($19.99 monthly; $149.99 annually). The interest earnings are capped as Found Plus customers earn a competitive 1.50% APY, but only on balances up to $20,000. This limitation means that subscription costs could potentially consume most of your interest earnings.

For instance, maintaining a balance of $20,000 for a year would yield $302 in interest at the current APY. However, after accounting for subscription fees, the net interest would be reduced to $152 (annual subscription) or $62.12 (monthly subscription).

There are several free business checking accounts with better APY and higher balance ceilings. For example, Bluevine business checking offers 2.00% APY on balances up to $250,000 (terms apply), and Grasshopper business checking provides up to 2.25%, depending on your balance. While these accounts do not include the tax-planning tools available with Found, they may offer complimentary bookkeeping tools to support this.

Found Plus

Found also offers Found Plus, an optional paid subscription service for $19.99/month or $149.99/year. Freelancers and sole proprietors who sign up for Found Plus get access to more advanced tools—particularly for bookkeeping. Found Plus customers earn 1.5% APY that compounds monthly based on the Monthly Average Balance of up to $20,000.

If you require additional assistance with taxes and bookkeeping, Found's Plus plan provides enhanced benefits. You will receive:

• Paying Taxes from the App: For Schedule C filers only, this standout feature simplifies your tax payment process. Found Plus can handle your quarterly tax payments, sending them directly to the IRS using the funds in your tax account. This feature ensures you won’t miss deadlines or incur IRS penalties.

• Creating Unlimited Custom Categories: You have the flexibility to create custom categories for tracking expenses, such as "client gifts" or "business coach." This option is not available for basic Found users, who can only use pre-set categories.

• Exporting Detailed Bookkeeping Information: Beyond just exporting transaction data, which is available in the basic Found account, Found Plus allows you to export categorizations, receipts, and notes linked with your transactions.

• ﹡ Earning APY on Account Balance: As a Found Plus subscriber, earn a competitive 1.5% APY on account balances up to $20,000.

• Automatically Importing Expenses from Receipts: Effortlessly manage your expenses with Found Plus’s ability to auto-import expenses from your receipts. Simply capture a photo of your receipt, and Found will extract essential details, creating an expense entry for you.

• Accessing Priority Customer Support: Found Plus ensures you get timely help with its priority customer support, allowing quick connection with a live customer service agent for immediate assistance.

Is Found Worth It?

With no required monthly fees, Found is certainly worth exploring, particularly for specific types of self-employed individuals such as freelancers, app-based gig workers, and online-only small business owners.

It proves to be particularly beneficial if you find managing taxes challenging. Found eases your burden by handling the more mundane tasks like tracking write-offs and completing tax forms.

The Found Plus plan offers even more impressive benefits. Managing your own quarterly tax payments can be cumbersome, so having Found manage them for you is a significant advantage. The relief from this stress alone could be worth the annual expense. As an added bonus, Found Plus subscribers can earn an APY bonus on their account balances.

However, Found may not be suitable for more traditional businesses due to its low limits for cash and check deposits, and the absence of a check-writing feature. If Found aligns with your needs, consider moving forward by opening an account.

How To Apply for a Found Business Banking Account

You can sign up for Found in minutes. It can be done entirely online or via the Found mobile app. Applicants can only open accounts using their name and Social Security number—not a business name. Users can add an EIN to an account after opening it and may add a company name to the front of their Found debit card.

Found does not require a credit check as part of the application process, and providing business registration, licensing, or formation documentation is not necessary. It usually takes Found cards up to seven business days to arrive, though customers can access a virtual card in the meantime.

This is what you’ll need to open a Found business bank account:

• Name, home address, and cell phone number
• Social Security number (for verification purposes only)
• Date of birth
• Basic business details, such as start date and industry
• Tax filing status and estimated business income

Found Business Banking Fees

Found does not charge fees for opening its business banking account. There is no minimum opening requirement or minimum balance requirement. Likewise, the company’s banking partner does not charge customers any overdraft or minimum balance fees.

Users may experience fees at some ATMs and for some international transactions in different currencies. Businesses are also charged a 2.9% fee by Stripe (plus $0.30 for processing) each time a client pays an invoice with a debit or credit card. Found also offers two optional paid services:

• Found Plus: Business owners who want access to more robust banking features can pay $19.99/month or $149.99/year for Found Plus. This optional add-on includes additional bookkeeping tools, photo receipt capture, and the ability to pay quarterly taxes through the platform (for schedule C filers only).

• Instant withdrawals: In addition to using the Found debit card, customers can instantly transfer money from their Found account to an external debit card. Users are limited to $4k in Instant Transfers per day. Each transfer will incur a 1.75% fee, with a minimum fee of $0.50.

• Advanced, optional add-on bookkeeping software available with a Found Plus subscription for $19.99/month or $149.99/year. There are no monthly account maintenance fees, but transactional fees for wires, instant transfers, and ATM apply. Read more here.

When Found Is a Good Fit

• If you're comfortable with online banking: Found is noted among top online business banks. While it has no physical branches, you can manage funds through debit transactions, bank transfers, and payment apps like CashApp, PayPal, and Venmo.
• If you're seeking banking without required monthly fees: Found’s business checking account comes with no required monthly fees, minimum opening deposit, or minimum balance requirements, making it ideal for self-employed individuals, freelancers, and sole proprietors.
• If your credit history is not strong: Found allows you to open an account without a credit check.
• If you need help tracking expenses: Found is recognized for its detailed expense tracking. It automatically tracks and categorizes expenses made with the Found debit card, offering real-time, detailed reports on expenses, income, profit, and loss based on your banking history.
• If you want assistance with tax management: Found’s business checking account provides tools for expense management and tax planning, aiding in categorizing expenses and monitoring tax deductions for additional savings. This makes Found one of the top choices for small business checking accounts.
• If you frequently use wire transfers: Found offers outgoing wire transfers to other banks.

When Found Is Not a Good Fit

• If you need various banking products: Found exclusively offers business checking. For a more extensive range of online business banking services, look into First Internet Bank. They provide business checking, savings accounts, money market accounts, CDs, and lending products.

• If you want to earn interest on checking deposits: The free version of the Found business checking account does not offer interest earnings. For a high annual percentage yield (APY), consider Bluevine, offering 2.0% APY on qualifying balances up to $250,000.

Customer Support

Found provides live customer support through phone and live chat during standard business hours, Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. On weekends, customer support is available exclusively through email, operated from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT on Saturday and Sunday. There is no support available after these hours. This limitation could pose an issue for rideshare drivers and other gig workers who may require assistance outside these specified times.

If you need to contact Found by phone, you can find their customer support number (888-845-0131) on the back of your business debit card. Additionally, this number is included in the signature of every email from their customer support team. However, this contact information is not available on Found’s website or social media platforms.

For those in search of more consistently available customer support, Axos business checking is a viable alternative, offering 24/7 customer service. American Express Business Checking also provides 24/7 customer support, but this service is exclusively available to existing American Express customers.

Customer Reviews

Found has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has been accredited since April 2022.

As of 5/27/2023, the fintech company has an "Excellent" 4.6-star rating on Trustpilot based on 148 reviews and a 2-star review based on two reviews on the BBB website. Negative reviews focus primarily on limited customer service, poor dispute resolution, and slow fund processing times.

Who Is Found Best For?

Found is best for freelancers and self-employed individuals who want access to basic business banking tools like checking accounts and an invoice generator. Found is also good for E-commerce businesses, people who sell on online marketplaces, rideshare drivers, app-based gig workers, and freelancers and sole proprietors who want a one-stop shop for checking, invoicing, bookkeeping and tax planning services.

Found vs. Lili

Lili is a fintech company that offers banking to small businesses. However, Lili stands out because it provides savings and checking accounts, whereas Found only offers checking. Lili savings accounts let users automatically transfer at least $1 per day to a savings account and earn 2.0% APY. With the optional Found Plus subscription, customers earn 1.5% APY that compounds monthly based on the Monthly Average Balance of up to $20,000.

Like Found, Lili banking also comes with no monthly account fees, no minimum balance requirement, and no ACH bank transfer fees. Lili also allows cash deposits at more than 90,000 Green Dot locations, while Found's cash deposits are available via a third-party service at more than 79,000 retail locations where you can use the Found app to find the nearest location. For Found, there is a $2 fee per deposit while there is a $4.95 charge through Green Dot. Both platforms feature tools for taxes, DIY accounting, and invoicing.

Found vs. Bluevine

Bluevine stands out as a favored online business checking account, notable for its high-interest rate. It allows you to earn up to a 2.00% APY, significantly aiding in the growth of your funds.

Despite being exclusively online, it holds appealing features for small physical businesses as well. It facilitates cash deposits at Green Dot locations and provides two free checkbooks annually.

Additionally, Bluevine offers five complimentary sub-accounts, each with unique account numbers, enhancing your budget organization and management capabilities (compared to Found, which only provides one tax savings account).

However, bear in mind that Bluevine leans towards a do-it-yourself approach, lacking automated tax tools, thus necessitating personal management of your accounts and taxes.

How Found Stacks Up

Disclaimer: Found is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Piermont Bank, Member FDIC. The funds in your account are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor for each account ownership category. The Found Mastercard®️ debit card is issued by Piermont Bank pursuant to a license from Mastercard Inc.