Global Entrepreneurs with Web Based Businesses, How Do You Handle Getting Paid + Paying Yourself?

[icecreamlover]

Hey everyone,


I have a digital web design business. I’m trying to figure out the best way to manage my business finances across the US and Hong Kong without getting hit with a bunch of unnecessary fees. Would love to hear from others who’ve dealt with a similar situation!

A bit about my situation:

• I’m a dual US/HK citizen and split my time between both places, so I need access to money in both the US and HK
  
• My business is incorporated in Hong Kong and I hire myself as a consultant. So I pay myself from the business
  
• My clients are currently 50/50 US and HK. I expect more US clients over time.
  
• I want to hold and manage both USD and HKD efficiently without constantly losing money to fees
  
• HSBC has way too many fees (even when withdrawing USD in the US), so I’m looking for better alternatives
  
• Wise seems like a solid option. I’m thinking of signing up with Wise under my business account, having clients pay me through that, and then paying myself in USD to my US personal bank when I’m in the US, and in HKD to my HK personal bank when I’m in HK. But I’m open to better solutions
  
• I also want to automate my income/expense tracking so I’m not manually reconciling payments all the time

Looking for advice on:

1. Best fintech setup for holding and moving money
   
   
   • Wise seems like a good fit, but are there better options for managing multi-currency accounts and cross-border transfers?
     
   • If you live between two countries, how do you handle getting money into the right place without crazy fees?
     
   • Any banks or fintechs that work well for this without nickel-and-diming?
   
   
2. Accounting & automation
   
   
   • What’s the best accounting software for tracking multi-currency transactions? Just want something simple.
     
   • How do you automate bookkeeping when dealing with payments in different currencies?
     
   • Any good workflows that cut down on manual tracking and reconciliation?
   
   
3. Cross-border payments & minimizing fees
   
   
   • What’s the best way to move USD to HKD (and vice versa) without getting wrecked on exchange rates?
     
   • Any downsides to using Wise for this? Or better alternatives?
     
   • Any strategies to avoid unnecessary fees when transferring between accounts?
     
     

Would love to hear what’s worked (or what hasn’t) if you've set up something similar. Appreciate any insights.

[shri]

Lot of TL;DR .. might be easier if you broke this up in manageable pieces.

Did catch something about HSBC fees. What sort of fees are you paying and why do you need to withdraw cash? Don't you have a account in the US that you can use?

Have you used their world debit card and do you have a RM at HSBC?

[PLamHK]

Are the fees with your business HSBC account or a personal one?

[newhkpr]

Odd. I don't have any fees with HSBC for US transfers. And HKD/USD rates are usually low as the currencies are pegged and trade within a narrow range.

[icecreamlover]

Are you using a HSBC Business Account? When I transfer USD from my HSBC Business Account to my personal US account, there's always a fee between HKD100-350

[shri]

Transfer locally to your HK account and then transfer to your US personal account. Try with a small transaction first or check the business acct charge sheet or your RM.

I don't recall being charged anything got USD tx from biz to pers in HK - could have changed or I could be wrong.

Personal to personal transfers are free within the HSBC network.

[muzzdang]

Airwallex will solve most of your multi-currency, accounting, automation requirements.

https://www.airwallex.com/us

[newhkpr]

Who 'trusts' Airwallex?

[icecreamlover]

So would the flow be something like: US client pays USD to my HSBC Business Account > I transfer USD from this account to my HK HSBC personal account > transfer this to my US HSBC personal account?

[icecreamlover]

I was looking into this too, good option. It’s still recommended to have a traditional bank though, right? Since Fintech services like Airwallex and Wise are just payment processors. I’ve heard some horror stories of them suddenly suspending accounts.