Does my (very) small business need a business bank account?

I don't know if any of this is different in Canada, but I can answer for the way things are in the US.

If your business is a sole proprietorship, you can use a personal checking account for your business. The main reason for a "business checking" account is to get extra features that you might not use anyway. For example, at my credit union, with a business account, I could get large amounts of change every day without paying a service fee.

If you don't need the extras, and if you are the sole owner of your business, you can use your checking account if you want to, or open a "personal account" and just use it for your business.

Business Bank Account Canada

To build onto the previous answer, look around at different banks/credit unions. Not all charge fees. Also, many banks will not accept a check that is written out to something other than what is on the account, so if you receive a check made out to the business and try to cash it against your personal account, the financial institution may refuse it.

As the previous post said, if you re a sole proprietorship then you are operating under your social so a separate account isn't necessary unless you want to keep the accounts separate easier. If you are operating under a TIN or EIN then you will definitely need to open a business account.

I was wondering much the same thing