Lili Business Checking Review 2023

If you’re looking for a business checking platform that can help you lessen the load of business paperwork, consider Lili, a business banking and bookkeeping platform. It offers four types of business checking accounts:

1. A free plan with basic banking features.
2. A $9 option with basic bookkeeping features.
3. A $20 plan with streamlined bookkeeping and tax preparation tools.
4. A $35 option that has everything above plus priority customer support.

All accounts offer free debit cards, early payments through direct deposit, and integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and Wave. All of the paid plans come with a 30-day free trial; however, only sole proprietorships, limited liability companies (LLCs), S corporations (S-corps), general partnerships, and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are eligible to open accounts.

How Lili Stacks Up With Its Competitors

*Third-party operator fees may apply.

^†Lili is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Choice Financial Group, Member FDIC.
^†Found is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Choice Financial Group, Member FDIC.
^†Bluevine is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Choice Financial Group, Member FDIC. 

When Lili Is a Good Fit

• You want access to savings tools: All Lili plans provide auto-saving tools, which let you set a fixed amount of money to transfer from your main checking account income to an emergency bucket or savings account automatically. Paid Lili plans also offer 4.15% APY on savings accounts on balances of $100,000 or less.
• You need access to affordable bookkeeping tools: Lili connects to QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and Wave. Its paid plans also include built-in bookkeeping solutions, which let you categorize and add receipts or notes to banking transactions.
• You need digital tax preparation assistance: Lili Pro, Lili Smart, and Lili Premium provide a dedicated tax bucket, which you can use to save for taxes automatically. Their bookkeeping tools help you track tax deductions. Lili Smart and Lili Premium use your transaction data to help you auto-fill business tax forms, including Form 1065, Form 1120, and Schedule C.

When Lili Is Not a Good Fit

• You make cash deposits frequently: Lili only allows cash deposits through Green Dot retail locations, which charge a $4.95 fee. If you need affordable cash deposits, Bank of America offers a fee-free cash deposit allowance of up to $7,500 per month. Read our Bank of America business checking review for more details.
• You want fee-free access to tax preparation tools: You can only access Lili’s digital tax preparation tools through the provider’s paid plans. Meanwhile, Found offers tax preparation assistance features, including automated tax savings, real-time tax estimates, and write-off tracking through its fee-free basic account. For more information, refer to our review of Found’s business checking.
• You want fee-free access to invoicing tools: Lili’s custom invoicing tool is only available to Lili Smart and Lili Premium users. A more affordable alternative would be Novo, which charges no monthly fee and lets you send unlimited free invoices. Our Novo vs Lili comparison can help you decide which suits you better.
• You work with wire transfers regularly: You cannot send or receive wire transfers through Lili. If you want a fintech that provides affordable wire transfers, choose Mercury, which charges zero wire transfer fees. Learn more about the provider in our Mercury business checking review.

See our list of the best small business checking accounts for additional recommendations.

Lili Business Checking Overview

Lili Business Checking Requirements

To open a business checking account, you will need to provide the following information:

• First and last name
• Phone number
• Email address
• Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Personal (physical) address

Certain business entity types may be required to submit additional documentation. Click on your entity type to see which documents Lili requires.

LLCs

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General Partnerships/LLPs

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S-Corps

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Lili will reach out to you if it needs any additional documentation. See our article on how to open a business bank account for a downloadable checklist of documents banks typically require.

Lili Business Checking Features

Mobile & Web Banking

Available in all plans

You can perform the following banking transactions through the Lili website and mobile app:

• Deposit checks via mobile check deposit
• Send and receive ACH transfers
• Send and receive money through PayPal, Cash App, and Venmo
• Link your account to payroll software (only compatible with Gusto, OnPay, Paychex, Rippling, ADP RUN, and TriNet)
• Transfer money to and from a linked external account
• Transfer money in and out of your emergency bucket or Lili savings account
• Transfer money in and out of your tax bucket (for paid plans only)

You can check out Lili on Google Play and Lili on App Store.

The mobile app’s reviews skew positive on both the App Store (4.7 out of 5) and Google Play (4.4 out of 5). Users praised its unique features, particularly the expense tracker, invoice software, and automated tax bucket. Customers also like the lack of hidden fees and easy app navigation. However, some had issues with depositing checks, leading to lower ratings.

Payroll Software Integrations

Available in all plans

You can connect your Lili account with Gusto, OnPay, Paychex, Rippling, ADP Run, or TriNet and use your Lili deposits to pay employees.

Accounting Software Integrations

Available in all plans

Lili integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and Wave. This feature syncs your banking data with your existing books.

Early Payments

Available in all plans

Lili features a free direct deposit payment method that lets you receive your money two days earlier than the expected date. When the money becomes available, Lili will send you a notice through the app. With this feature, you can skip going to banks and writing checks.

You can set up direct deposits by providing your account and routing number on the app or getting a direct deposit form via email. Link your account with Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, and marketplaces to take advantage of the early payment direct deposit feature.

Visa Debit Card

Available in all plans

Your Lili account comes with a free Visa debit card, which can be used at any location where Visa is accepted. The card provides fee-free access to more than 38,000 MoneyPass ATMs. You will also receive a free virtual card along with your physical card.

Emergency Bucket

Available for Lili Basic

Lili Basic accounts come with a reserve account called an emergency bucket. When you set up your emergency bucket, Lili will let you determine a fixed amount to set aside per day. Lili will then automatically transfer that amount to your main checking account on a regular basis.

Cash Back

Available for Lili Pro, Lili Smart, and Lili Premium

If you are enrolled under any of Lili’s paid plans, your Visa debit card will be automatically enrolled in Visa’s cash back rewards program, Visa SavingsEdge. The program lets you earn cash back on qualifying transactions with participating merchants.

Savings Account

Available for Lili Pro, Lili Smart, and Lili Premium

Instead of an emergency bucket, paid Lili plans provide a savings account that earns 4.15% APY on balances of $100,000 or less. Like the emergency bucket, your savings account will also have an automatic savings feature.

Tax Bucket

Available for Lili Pro, Lili Smart, and Lili Premium

Paid Lili plans also offer a dedicated Tax Bucket, which lets you set a percentage of your income to automatically set aside for taxes.

Fee-free Overdraft Protection

Available for Lili Pro, Lili Smart, and Lili Premium

Lili Pro, Lili Smart, and Lili Premium users can enroll in Lili’s BalanceUp program, which offers free overdraft protection for debit card overdraft transactions up to $200. You will then be given 30 days to restore your balance to a positive number.

Only accounts receiving at least $500 monthly in qualifying deposits are eligible to enroll in the BalanceUp Program.

Expense Management Tools

Available for Lili Pro, Lili Smart, and Lili Premium

The Lili app lets you manually organize your expense transactions into tax categories. You can also attach receipts and notes to your expenses to add clarity to your transaction history.

Lili will then use your banking data to generate monthly expense reports.

Smart Bookkeeping

Available for Lili Smart and Lili Premium

Whenever you make transactions with your Visa debit card, you can swipe on your Lili app to categorize the transaction instantly. This saves you from having to manually transfer data from your bank to your accounting software.

Data from smart bookkeeping will also be included in your monthly expense reports.

On-demand Reporting

Available for Lili Smart and Lili Premium

You can instantly request detailed financial reports, including cash flow and profit and loss statements.

Invoicing Tools

Available for Lili Smart and Lili Premium

The Lili invoicing software lets you create, customize, and send an unlimited number of invoices for free. You can accept invoice payments through a wide variety of channels, including Visa, Mastercard, and Amex debit or credit cards, ACH, Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, and checks.

Additionally, the software lets you do the following:

• Track unpaid invoices
• Mark invoices as paid
• Auto-send payment reminders to clients
• Re-use invoices for recurring payments

Prefilled Tax Forms

Available for Lili Smart and Lili Premium

Lili Smart and Lili Premium will use your transaction data to auto-fill your business tax forms, including Form 1065, Form 1120, and Schedule C.

Priority Customer Support

Available for Lili Premium

Lili Premium users gain access to priority customer support lines.

Lili Business Checking User Reviews

Those who left a Lili business checking review on Trustpilot¹ (4.7 out of 5 rating based on 1,900-plus reviews) rated it positively for its convenient features, such as monitoring tax write-offs, organizing expenses, and providing overdraft coverage. Users also appreciate the ease of account opening and efficient customer service.

However, others mentioned that they wanted more services, such as a higher deposit limit and daily ATM withdrawal amount, live customer support, the ability to issue physical checks, and a payroll service function. Lili actively responds to each review and reassures account holders to look forward to future updates on the platform.

Bottom Line

If you want a provider that puts bookkeeping, tax preparation, and banking under one platform, Lili would be a great fit. However, most of its best features are exclusive to its paid plans, which charge nonwaivable monthly fees between $9 and $35. Fortunately, the platform offers 30-day free trials, which you can use to test whether its plans suit your needs.

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User review reference:

¹Trustpilot