Do I really need to separate finances?

TL;DR If you’re running a business, do yourself a favor: keep your personal and business finances separate. It’ll save you time, money, and a massive headache down the road. Open a business account (Meow, Mercury), get a business card (Ramp), and keep receipts. You’ll thank yourself later.

Why This Matters

Every founder has that moment: staring at a tangled mess of transactions, trying to remember if that $67 charge at Amazon was for the office or your kid’s school supplies.

Note: While many of you reading this are likely far past having made this separation (and are probably going “duh…”), we’ve peeked behind the curtain of many businesses who have raised outside capital that still don’t have this right - so it felt worth sharing regardless.

When we say separate your finances, we mean putting personal and business expenses in their own lanes—because merging them is a fast track to confusion, bad data, and wasted time. And if you’ve raised money from anyone - it’s the bare minimum you should be doing as a fiduciary of someone else’s capital.

The easiest fix? A business credit card. It keeps spending clean, makes bookkeeping easier, and unlocks perks—more on that below.

Why Separating Finances is a Game Changer

At the end of the day, separating finances isn’t about making your life harder—it’s about making everything easier. Clean data, streamlined reimbursements, and stress-free bookkeeping all add up to one thing: more time and energy to focus on actually running your business. The sooner you set up a system, the less you’ll have to worry about financial chaos down the road.

How to Actually Do This

1. Open a business bank account

Your business needs its own checking account. Every transaction, every credit card payment—all of it—should run through here.

Best startup-friendly options? Mercury and Meow. If you want an institutional account (often something folks want if they’ve raised >$1M), go with JP Morgan.

2. Get a business credit card

Most bank accounts will come with a debit card, and ones like Mercury let you open a credit card once your balance is above $20k reliably. If you use Mercury or Meow¹ , their built-in cards are great and will take you very far.

If you’ve raised substantial outside capital, we recommend getting a dedicated spend management program set up. Our favorite is Ramp - there’s no personal guarantee, they offer good AP/AR, and the cash back rewards are simple. Brex is a close second. If you want to sign up for either, send me a note - can get you a free $500. These both come with minimum capital requirements for linked bank account (Ramp’s is $25k).

✅ Business expenses only.

✅ If a personal charge sneaks in, flag it and fix it immediately. Ramp has an easy way to reject a personal expense and reimburse the business.

3. Keep receipts

Any of the banks & cards recommneded will help you keep track of receipts. Especially make sure to keep receipts for expenses >$75.

4. Keep books

Before you’ve raised capital or brought in substantial revenue, you’ll probably want to DIY. Eventually, you’ll want someone to keep your financials in check. A good bookkeeper saves you time, flags mistakes, and ensures your reports are accurate. We’ll probably do a whole other post soon on some tips here.

Separating business and personal finances isn’t just “good advice”—it’s essential. And, honestly? It just makes running your business way less stressful. If you haven’t done this yet, now’s the time. Your future self—and your future accountant—will thank you.

1  Both affiliate links - we are happy users of both internally at Dalmatian & externally with our clients.