Best Business Bank Accounts for Agencies (2026)

Holdings is the best fit for most agencies in 2026. It offers unlimited client sub-accounts, per-project expense tracking, virtual cards for ad spend, and built-in accounting — all free. Relay is a good alternative if you primarily need profit-first budgeting, but it lacks built-in accounting.

With Holdings, create a sub-account for each client. Revenue from that client deposits into their sub-account, and expenses (ad spend, contractor fees, tools) are tagged to the same client. You see real-time profit margins per engagement without any manual work.

Absolutely. Mixing retainers with operating cash is a recipe for overspending client money. Holdings lets you create a dedicated sub-account for each retainer. The money stays segregated until you allocate it to project expenses.

Yes. Holdings lets you issue unlimited virtual debit cards. Assign cards per person, per project, or per client. Set spend limits, restrict categories (e.g., only allow ad platforms), and every charge auto-categorizes to the right project.

Both offer $0 fees and sub-accounts for budgeting. Relay's strength is its profit-first budgeting system (20 free sub-accounts). Holdings' advantage is unlimited sub-accounts, built-in accounting (Relay has none), virtual cards for project spending, and auto-categorized P&L reports per client. For agencies that need accounting and project-level tracking, Holdings is the more complete solution.