Everything you need to start your business right away. Take the Firstep to becoming your own CEO with Firstep Business Solutions.
There are a number of ways to file your paperwork. You can go to the Secretary of State’s office, fill out the paperwork, pay the filing fee and wait for processing. Many states also allow forms to be mailed, but some do not. Most states allow online filing making a streamlined service like Firstep available to save you time.
Your child’s lemonade stand may (or may not) be free of the worries of debt and litigation, but if you plan to do any significant business, then you probably will want to operate as an LLC or some other form of registered structure to protect your personal assets from the liabilities of the company. If you are still not sure, consult an attorney or accountant.
Cost varies by state and what exactly you need. See our Pricing Page for more details.
You don’t generally need an attorney to start a business. Especially the filing can be handled by a service like Firstep to help you streamline the formation process, and save you a great deal of time, effort, and money. If your business is complex or you can’t decide on a structure based on general information found on our site or have specific tax questions, we would recommend you speak with an attorney or accountant.
An LLC (Limited Liability Company) is a form of organizing a business such that the debts and liabilities of the business do not pass through to the individual(s) or entities that own and run it. It has versatility in the way that it is taxed to fit most small business structures, and is the preferred choice of most small business owners.
Your child’s lemonade stand may (or may not) be free of the worries of debt and litigation, but if you plan to do any significant business, then you probably will want to operate as an LLC or some other form of registered structure to protect your personal assets from the liabilities of the company. If you are still not sure, consult an attorney or accountant.
More Details"This depends on your situation. If your business will operate under the name of your LLC, that satisfies the requirement from the bank (although many banks also require an EIN or Federal Tax ID).
If however, you operate under a different business name than your LLC, you will need a DBA (or Trade Name, Assumed Business Name, or Fictitious Name depending on the state) to transact business under that name.
Example: You file your LLC for “Vicky’s Baked Goods, LLC” and that is the name of your store and your bank account. The Articles of Organization (LLC filing paperwork) take the place of a trade name/DBA.
If however, you want to operate the business as “Baked Delights”, you would need a DBA"
"A tax ID is often required for business reasons beyond filing with the IRS. Vendor accounts, bank accounts, and many other transaction types require a tax ID of the parties involved. Without an EIN, that ID will be your Social Security Number.
Having a Federal Tax ID for the business allows you to transact business in all the same ways without using your SSN directly, but rather the EIN."
There are a number of ways to file your paperwork. You can go to the Secretary of State’s office, fill out the paperwork, pay the filing fee and wait for processing. Many states also allow forms to be mailed, but some do not. Most states allow online filing making a streamlined service like New Business Filing available to save you time.
An LLC is an actual business entity that is formed in order to protect its owners (known as members) from personal liability from the operation of the business. A DBA, often referred to as a trade name or fictitious name, is nothing more than an alias used by an individual/sole proprietor an LLC or a corporation. A trade name offers no protection, has no tax implications, but is linked to the operations of the person or entity using it for identification and other purposes.
All formal business entities, including LLCs, are required to have a Registered Agent on file with the state at all times. The agent may be an individual or company with a physical address located in the state of incorporation. Agents must be available at all times during standard business hours (9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday). The role of a Registered Agent is to receive any and all of communications from the government to the business. The agent’s name and address must be disclosed as part of the company’s public record.
Your company name cannot be the same as, nor deceptively similar to any other business name. Your name cannot be intentionally misleading about the services you offer. Most states require an identifier or more commonly a signifier that says the business is an LLC. States differ, but these signifiers are commonly LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Co. Etc. Hopefully, you’ll be using this name for a long time, so put some thought into it and choose something that both serves the business and that you like!
LLCs are typically taxed like sole proprietorships or general partnerships on what is called “pass-through” taxation. This means the owners’ personal tax returns will reflect the profit and loss of the company, that those profits are “passed through” to the individual. Alternatively, LLCs may elect to be taxed as S corporations to potentially reduce the self-employment taxes imposed on the owners. To address your tax issues, check with an attorney or certified public accountant.
All income from the business is considered personal income and will be reflected on the owners personal income tax return
Corporations can be taxed as S-Corps or C- Corps. There are advantages to both in different circumstances. You should consult a CPA or tax attorney to determine your best options for corporate taxation.
Partnerships are taxed as personal incom for the partners. All the profit of the partnership is plit between the partners according to their individual interest in the partnership, and filed on their personal tax returns.
"A PLLC is a form of an LLC for professionals. Some states prevent physicians, dentists, lawyers, accountants and other professionals from operating as limited liability companies. There should be no misunderstanding that these types of business cannot shield an individual from malpractice or fiduciary irresponsibility.
That does not mean most states don’t allow those businesses to exist. They just fall under a slightly different category that still allows for the tax versatility of an LLC, and that is the PLLC. If you carry malpractice insurance or have a legal fiduciary responsibility to your clients, you’re likely in need of a PLLC. If you are still not sure, consult an attorney for guidance."
We can still help. There is generally some penalty fee, and even reinstatement fees depending on how overdue the renewal or report is.
"An operating agreement is a document that defines the relationship between the members (owners) of an LLC and the LLC itself. It lays out who makes decisions for the LLC, who can do banking, allow other members to join, what happens if a member leaves or passes away. It also reiterates the protection of personal assets bestowed by the state to the LLC.
Some states require an operating agreement, some banks will require it even if the state does not. Even if an operating agreement is not required in your state or by your bank, if you are ever sued, it is a wonderfully valuable document to show you are not personally liable for the business activity.
Operating agreements can cost between $500-$3000 from an attorney, but we can provide a basic OA for much less."
Corporations generally are required to have a board of directors that make the major decisions for the corporation. One of those decisions is to appoint the officers (president, vice president etc) that will run make the day to day decisions for the corporation.
"An annual report is a document filed every year for an LLC, Corporation or Nonprofit in order to stay in compliance with state law. It generally ensures that the information the state has on file about the business is up to date, but some states simply want to know the business is still active and dont allow changes to busienss information on the report.
If an annual report is missed, the state will dissolve the business, and any protections the business had from their registration will be void until the business files the report, pays any late fees, and potentially reinstates. Each state is different."
A trade name by definition is a name different than the legal name of the entity under which you would like to do business. The point of registering the name is to let the state know you intend to use that name for business. If you are just using your own name, the state already knows your name, so there is no need to register it.
The easiest way is to have us retrieve it for you. Call us at 888-701-6450 and we will discuss the process and fee. You can also try to call the IRS yourself, but the hold times are generally over an hour and if any of the information you provide is inaccurate, they will not give you your own EIN.
Before we have actually started processing your order, you can cancel with a just a phone call to our customer support at 888-701-6450, or email us at cs@newbusinessfiling.org. Once an order has begun process, we are paying state fees that you asked us to pay, and the state does not refund those fees, so we are unable to issue refunds once processing has begun. See the refund details in our Terms of Service.
You can always sign up for our various services. Please note, different services have different minimum lengths of contract. Registered Agent service for instance, is a one year minumum, and yearly renewals.
Everything you need to start your business right away. Take the Firstep to becoming your own CEO with Firstep Business Solutions.
