# Open a bank account

URL: /systems/finance/open-a-bank-account · Id: `guide:open-a-bank-account`

> Say "open a bank account" and get a verified Stripe account, operating and reserve accounts with routing numbers, a card balance and daily payouts.

A [Startup](/business/nouns/startup)'s accounts open when its owner verifies and claims it: an operating and a reserve account with their own routing numbers, held on Stripe.

Needs: [Startup](/business/nouns/startup)

**Before real money moves**

- You leave the chat: Once, at Stripe: to confirm who you are and add the bank account payouts land in.

## What you get
- 1 payment account, verified once (Company)
- 2 operating and reserve accounts with routing numbers (Account)
- 1 card balance, held apart for company cards (Card)
- 1 daily payout of available cash to your bank (Transaction)
- 1 feed of every money movement, matched to your books (Transaction)
- 1 Treasurer agent that keeps a minimum cash balance (Role)

## Your agent does
**For agents**

- Guide: `guide:open-a-bank-account`, status `beta`. Page: [/systems/finance/open-a-bank-account.md](/systems/finance/open-a-bank-account.md).
- Approval: none. Run it when the founder asks.
- Leaves the chat: Once, at Stripe: to confirm who you are and add the bank account payouts land in.
- Needs first: [Startup](/business/nouns/startup).
- Run: call the steps in order, each through the API, SDK, CLI or MCP tab below; a later step passes the `$id` an earlier one returns. Each value marked example is the sample business’s: pass the founder’s own.

| Step | Verb | Inputs (type, required, this guide’s value) | Returns |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [`Startup.claim`](/business/nouns/startup/claim) (`verb:Startup.claim`) | `startup` Startup (an id), required: the `$id` of the first Startup `Startup.list` returns; `claimToken` string, required: example `"claim_7hq2x"` | `startup` Startup |

Returns: the last call answers with `startup` and its `action`, whose `status` is `done`, `pending` (waiting on an Approval or a Worker), `failed`, `canceled` or `refused`:

```json
{
  "api": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app",
  "startup": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/startups/startup_1",
    "$type": "Startup",
    "name": "Leaseline"
  },
  "action": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/actions/action_1",
    "operation": "Startup.claim",
    "status": "done"
  },
  "links": {
    "self": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/actions/action_1"
  }
}
```

Next: offer “Keep three months of spend in operating and sweep the rest to reserve”, or “Pay out weekly instead of daily”.

Calls: `Startup.claim`

Ask:

```text
Open a bank account for the business.
Give Leaseline an account to hold the money.
Set up an operating account and a reserve account.
```

API:

```bash
# Look up the Startup: Startup.list
STARTUP=$(curl "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/startups?limit=1" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" | jq -r '.startups[0]["$id"] | split("/") | last')

# Startup.claim
curl -X POST https://api.sb/leaseline.app/startups/$STARTUP/claim \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"claimToken":"claim_7hq2x"}'
```

SDK:

```ts
import { $ } from 'startup-builder'

const [startup] = await $.Startup.list({ limit: 1 })
await $.Startup.claim({ startup: startup.$id, claimToken: 'claim_7hq2x' })
```

CLI:

```bash
STARTUP=$(npx startup-builder do Startup.list --json '{"limit":1}' | jq -r '.startups[0]["$id"] | split("/") | last')
npx startup-builder do Startup.claim --json '{"startup":"'"$STARTUP"'","claimToken":"claim_7hq2x"}'
```

MCP:

```json
{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "const [startup] = await $.Startup.list({ limit: 1 })\nreturn await $.Startup.claim({ startup: startup.$id, claimToken: 'claim_7hq2x' })"
  }
}
```

## Change it
- Keep three months of spend in operating and sweep the rest to reserve.
- Pay out weekly instead of daily.
- Connect the bank account we already have.

## Under the hood
- Systems: [Treasury](/systems/treasury), [Ledger](/systems/ledger)
- Nouns: [Startup](/business/nouns/startup), [Company](/business/nouns/company), [Transaction](/business/nouns/transaction), [Entry](/business/nouns/entry)
- Events: [`Startup.claimed`](/business/events/Startup.claimed), [`Transaction.reconciled`](/business/events/Transaction.reconciled)
- Stripe objects: `Account`, `Person`, `Treasury Financial Account`, `Issuing Balance`, `Payout`

Every Startup is one Stripe connected account. Its cash sits in four places: the payments balance, the card balance, the operating and reserve accounts, and your bank. Each move between them is a [Transaction](/business/nouns/transaction) that [Treasury](/systems/treasury) reconciles to the [Ledger](/systems/ledger) within a day.