Whether you’re building an agency or starting a consultancy, Mercury makes it easy to manage your finances from day one. This guide walks through the essential steps to set up your Mercury account, so you can stay organized and keep your business running smoothly. We’ll cover how to:
Before you begin make sure you have:
- Completed your application and received account approval.
- Set up 2-factor authentication and have logged into your dashboard.
Deposit funds
To start using Mercury, you'll need to deposit money into your account. You can make your first deposit by wiring funds, transferring money from another account, depositing a check, issuing a SAFE, or requesting a payment from a customer or financial platform. Simply navigate to the Move Money dropdown in your dashboard and choose Deposit.
Tips:
- The quickest way to fund your account is by initiating a domestic wire (0-1 business days) or international wire (3-9 business days). All wires in USD are free on Mercury
- Waiting for a client payment to fund your account? Send a free invoice directly from your Mercury account
- Make a transfer from your personal bank account into your new business account to start setting up your finances and expenses through Mercury
Send your first invoice
Mercury makes it easy to create and send polished, professional invoices directly from your account. You can customize line items, set due dates, and add your company’s logo and preferred color scheme, then start accepting payments via credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, wire, or ACH.
To send an invoice go to Invoicing and click Create Invoice. Add your client’s details, set your payment terms, and choose the account where you'd like the funds deposited.
Tips:
- Customize your invoice template with your company logo and color
- See payment status and send reminders for overdue payments in just a few clicks
- Set up recurring invoices for invoices you send regularly
Set up multiple accounts to separate funds
Keeping your business finances organized is critical when you’re juggling clients, contractors, and taxes. With Mercury, you can create multiple checking and savings accounts, making it easy to separate income, taxes, profit, and expenses.
Many professional services businesses use multiple accounts to prioritize profit and separate funds to ensure they always have enough for operating costs and taxes. Learn more on how to use the profit first method.
To create a new account, go to the Accounts tab and Create Account. You can name each account (e.g. Client Payment, Operating Expenses, Taxes).
Once your account is set up, you can create auto transfer rules to automatically move funds in between them. Use rules to maintain a target balance or distribute funds by percentage into multiple accounts.
Tips:
- Use auto-transfer rules to follow a Profit First approach—automatically setting aside a percentage of each payout for taxes, profit, and operating expenses. That way, you’ll always know what’s truly available to spend versus what needs to be saved
- Download the Mercury iOS or Android app to check balances and move money between accounts anytime, anywhere
Create debit and credit cards
Debit card
Once your account is funded, you can create debit cards to manage everyday business expenses like hardware, office space, or other company purchases. Virtual cards are available instantly and can be used right away; physical cards can be ordered for in-person needs.
To create a card, go to the Cards tab in your dashboard and click Create Card. You can name the card (e.g. "Software," "Advertising Spend"), choose which checking account it pulls from, and set spend limits.
Credit card
With Mercury’s IO card, eligible orgs can earn 1.5% cashback on all spend and start building business credit from day one. You can activate IO as soon as your account is funded, starting with daily repayment terms and a lower credit limit. Eligibility is based on several factors, such as your company’s size, spending patterns, and fundraising history.
Once your Mercury balance reaches $15K, you’ll unlock higher limits and switch to a monthly repayment schedule with the same great cashback and no personal guarantee required.
To create an IO card, go to the Cards tab and click Create Card. You can issue virtual or physical cards and manage spend with built-in controls.
Tips:
- Create separate virtual cards for subscriptions, ad spend, or travel
- Manage spend policies to control who can spend what, where, and how
- Use merchant-locked cards to limit purchases to a single vendor or tool
Add team members
You can invite team members and control what they can see or do, from viewing invoices to managing payments or issuing cards. To get started navigate to your Team page to invite a new user and choose an existing role: Admin, Employee, or create a Custom role from scratch.
Tips:
- Invite your bookkeeper or accountant as a custom Accountant role to streamline tax prep and reconciliations
- Give contractors a dedicated card with spend limits and vendor restrictions, without exposing your full account
Set up accounting integrations
Mercury connects seamlessly with accounting tools like QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite, so you can manage your books without juggling exports or chasing receipts. Once connected, your transactions sync automatically — saving you time and making it easier to stay organized.
To connect your accounting software, go to Settings > Integrations, select your provider, and follow the prompts to authorize the connection. Once linked, all your transactions, invoices, and payments will sync automatically.
Tips:
- Invite your bookkeeper or accountant as a team member so they can have direct access to synced transactions
- Speed up monthly close with smart, AI-powered auto-categorization and recurring transaction coding
Perks
Mercury gets you deals on the best tools for your business. Get started with our bundle of some of the most popular perks for businesses like yours, including:
- Quickbooks: establish strong accounting practices early to prevent future headaches.
- Slack: connect your people, tools, customers and partners in a digital HQ.
- Notion: run a wiki, manage projects, share documents, and more.
- UpWork: hire talent from across the blog from the world’s largest marketplace.
More resources for businesses like yours
Here are a few additional resources to help you get your business started—from setting up your finances and using the profit-first method to accessing exclusive perks to help you save money:
- How to start your own agency or consulting business
- Create professional invoices with our free Invoice Generator
- Common mistakes to avoid when starting a consulting or agency business
- Financial fundamentals for professional services businesses
- How to use the profit-first method
Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.
The Mercury Debit Cards are issued by Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC, pursuant to licenses from Mastercard®.
The IO Card is issued by Patriot Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard®. To receive cash back, your Mercury accounts must be open and in good standing, meaning they cannot be suspended, restricted, past due, or otherwise in default.
Some features are only accessible to paid subscribers. Learn more about Mercury subscription plans here.