

Having a separate business bank account can unlock business-only perks help you manage your finances more effectively. Some banks require sole proprietors and partnerships to file a DBA in order to open a business bank account. If your current line of business isn't working out, the DBA filing process can help you take your existing business in an entirely new direction without a separate legal entity or new business licenses.

If you're looking to spin off a unit of your business, introduce a new product that's unrelated to your current business name, or operate in an area where another well-known business is already using your name, a DBA name can help you make the transition, putting multiple businesses under one legal entity. If Jane Doe runs a jewelry business as a sole proprietor, she'll likely want to operate under a more memorable and searchable name that's related to her industry. However, a DBA name can be useful for a variety of reasons. Technically speaking, most businesses are not required to file a DBA in order to operate. Some states refer to the paperwork required to register a DBA as a “fictitious name filing” or "fictitious name certificate." To operate under an assumed name, companies must to submit an application indicating the name to be used and verify that another business is not already using the name. (In North America, the common designation for doing business as is “DBA” or “d/b/a.” In other countries, “trading as” is more common, with “t/a” the abbreviation.)

