Tips On Making Your Way Through The Murky Waters Of Obtaining A Business License

While there are many duties and tasks to fill your hours and days when starting a business, one of the most important tasks that should be handled early on is to obtain a business license or business permit. Unfortunately, many people overlook this necessity and end up getting in legal trouble because they failed to do what was necessary to obtain a small business license.If you aren’t familiar with the process of how to obtain a business license, we’ll provide you with a few tips below. First; however, let’s take a look at why it’s important to take care of handling your business license permit.Business permits and business licenses are required by most city, county and state governments. Depending on your situation, you may also be required to obtain a business license or business permit by the Federal government. A local business license, issued by the county or municipal government is a general license that gives you the right to operate a business within the jurisdiction of that county or city. The fees are not usually expensive. This is what you’ll need to do in order to complete a business license application.First, you’ll need to make sure that you have all of your business paperwork in order. Make sure that you have your Employer Identification Number, also known as EIN. Next, contact your county government or city hall office to find out exactly what kind of business license you need and to obtain a copy of the business permit application. After you have completed the application and filed it along with the appropriate fee, you’ll need to make sure that you stay on top of filing your business permit renewals. They do not automatically renew. This usually must be handled annually.State business licenses and business permits are required for the operation of business that provide services or products that are regulated by State law. In addition, if your business is required to meet codes or standards, you will most likely be required to obtain a business license. Below are some tips on how to get a business license on the State level.The process for obtaining a State business license is quite similar to obtaining a local business license. You will need to contact the appropriate office to determine what kind of license you need. Your local government may be able to help you with this. For example, if you are looking to obtain a California business license or business permit, you may need to contact the State of California. Beyond this, the process is exactly the same. File the appropriate paperwork and fee; then make sure you file your renewals each year.One thing to keep in mind regarding business permit and business license is that they are different. While a business license allows you to legally operate a business within a jurisdiction; a business permit regulates safety and structure. For example, you may be required to obtain a business permit to purchase wholesale merchandise for resale, to remodel or build on a commercial site, to legally prepare food in a restaurant or to operate a business out of your home. Each of these situations requires a different type of business permit. Other than this, the procedure for applying for a business permit is almost exactly the same as applying for a business license.

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Should You Use An LLC For Your Small Business? Probably — And Here’s Why

Accountants and attorneys love limited liability companies. But do limited liability companies?LLCs for short?really make sense for small business owners. Probably. And for two almost unknown reasons.The Big Legal Benefit of an LLC: Limited Liability?The big legal benefit of an LLC is that limited liability companies provide all the same liability protection as a corporation?but with much less red tape. A regular corporation, for example, requires regular stockholders meetings, a board of directors, regular board meetings, and of course records of all these activities and bodies. But a limited liability company doesn?t.This legal liability protection provided by an LLC can be extremely valuable. One local attorney I often collaborate with, for example, tells his clients that an LLC protects business owners from the worst case scenario?which in his mind is a ?slip and fall? accident on the business property.With an LLC as the business owner, so says my attorney friend, the ?worst case scenario? is liquidation of the LLC. That liquidation means the people who own the LLC wind up with nothing?which isn?t good. But all the owners lose is what they?ve invested in the LLC.In comparison, without an LLC, the business owner?s ?worst case scenario? if there?s a ?slip and fall? accident is that the owner can lose almost everything they own. In other words, the business owners could lose not only their investment in the business but many other assets as well.Let me issue a caveat here, however. You may not get as much legal liability protection from an LLC as you want or hope. Say, for example, that you?re repairing the roof at the business location and that, unfortunately, you happen to drop a hammer onto a customer?s head during the roofing project. Your LLC probably won?t protect you from that sort of tort liability. In other words, the customer can probably look not only to your LLC for payment of damages related to the dropped hammer but also to you personally.And here?s another example, which unfortunately makes things even murkier. What happens if someone working for you, one of your employees or subcontractors, drops a hammer on the customer?s? The LLC may offer you some protection in this case. But you may still be personally responsible. The customer might reasonably argue that you should have done a better job managing the employee or subcontractor, for example.If you?re extremely concerned about the asset protection features of setting up and operating an LLC, get an attorney involved in your business planning. An attorney knowledgeable in LLC and business law can help you increase the liability protection that you gain from using an LLC for your business. And this consultation doesn?t need to be particularly expensive. You may be able to buy an hour or two of time from a good local attorney and get all your LLC- and liability-related questions answers.The Big Tax Benefit: Enormous Tax Flexibility?A second benefit of LLCs relates to the income taxes that business owners pay on profits and capital gains. A limited liability company can be almost whatever tax entity it wants to be for income tax purposes. A limited liability company that is owned by one person can be a sole proprietorship, a C corporation, or an S corporation. A limited liability company that is owned by two or more persons can be a partnership, a C corporation, or even an S corporation (if the LLC meets the S corporation eligibility requirements). This second benefit of the limited liability company means that an LLC can choose to be taxed in whatever way is most favorable to the business.For example, a very small real estate business with a single member (LLC owners are called ?members?), might decide to be treated as a sole proprietorship for federal income tax purposes. This decision to be treated as sole proprietorship would keep the business?s accounting very simple?and it would also mean that unique tax planning opportunities available to sole proprietorships can be used.A larger business operation?perhaps one with several partners?might decide to operate as a C corporation or as an S corporation in order to take advantage of some of the unique tax planning advantages of these entity choices. A C corporation, for example, often lets businesses provide rich tax-free fringe benefits to employees including shareholder-employees. And an S corporation often lets a business dramatically reduce the self-employment, social security and Medicare taxes paid on the owner?s profits.While a limited liability company is not difficult to set up by yourself?you can have the paperwork done less than a quarter hour from now?you should be aware that paying a few hundred dollars to an accountant to pick the right taxation for your new LLC might be the best investment you ever make. It?s common that the right taxation choice for a new LLC can save the owner or owners of a small business $10,000 to $20,000 annually.The Drawbacks of the Limited Liability Company ChoiceWhen you consider the two big benefits of a limited liability company?limited liability but with less red tape and tremendous tax flexibility?you have almost the perfect business entity choice. So an obvious question is ?Why wouldn?t every business use an LLC or limited liability company??Perhaps predictably, there are some costs and headaches associated with operating as an LLC.An LLC may increase your banking, accounting and insurance costs. For example, while the bank account for a sole proprietorship or informal partnership may be free if you keep a large-enough balance, the bank account for a limited liability company probably won?t be free. The bank may charge $10, $20, even more each month.While a sole proprietorship can keep its bookkeeping and income tax return preparation very simple, an LLC probably needs to file its own tax return if the LLC operates as a partnership, a C corporation or an S corporation. And this LLC tax return may cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars annually.Finally, it?s worthwhile to note that an LLC may involve several hundred or even a few thousand dollars of startup expense. For example, you may spend money on publications. You may buy the services of accountants and attorneys. You will need to print new letterhead, business cards, and envelopes (if you use these) that use the new LLC?s name in order to show the world that you?re now operating as a limited liability company.So where does all this leave you? How should you balance the big benefits of forming an LLC with all the costs and drawbacks? Unfortunately, I can?t give you a one-size-fits-all answer. You?ll need to carefully consider the benefits and costs as they add up in your specific situation.I will share these thoughts, however. In my opinion, an LLC is uneconomical for very small businesses?such as the very parttime, home-based business.On the other hand, any time you?ve got a business that?s the way you?re making a living, an LLC economically reduces business risk and as an added bonus can even save the owners thousands of dollars a year in income or payroll taxes.

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Top 7 Work At Home Small Business Ideas

Here are seven great businesses that you can operate from your home.1. Affiliate MarketingAn affiliate or associate program is a method of selling products on the internet through commission sales. When someone you refer to a website buys, the company you are an affiliate of pays you a commission. In many cases, it is also possible to make money from the efforts of people that you introduce to the affiliate program. You can expand your product line by joining and promoting more than one affiliate program. Finally, you can operate your own affiliate program to promote the sale of your own products and services.2. Internet Auctions Many thousands now make their living or fortune from selling products and services on eBay and similar auction sites. So can you!3. Drop Shipping Drop shipping is a method of selling products without stocking inventory yourself. When you make a sale you contact the manufacturer or authorized distributor who ships it to the customer with your invoice and shipping label. Advantages include no warehousing, shipping, or inventory costs.4. Finder’s FeesFinder’s fees are paid for finding money (loans, equipment leasing, et cetera), equipment (mining, construction, et cetera), personnel, companies for sale, locations (fast food franchises, vending machines, et cetera) and just about anything else that people are willing to pay for.Simply match sellers with buyers and you can earn finder’s fees.5. Self-Publishing A self-publisher creates, produces, and sells information products. Information products may be in the form of books, booklets, videos, audio cassettes, compact disks (CDs), electronic books, files, databases, private websites, and other media. The information products that you create are unique. You have exclusive control and ownership of your own information products.6. International TradeYou can import products for resale from foreign manufacturers, distributors, and other suppliers. You can also extend your reach worldwide to customers by means of exporting, mail order and Internet marketing. As an Export Management Agent, you could earn commissionsarranging for other domestic companies to sell their products to foreign corporations.7. Consulting Consultants charge large fees for their knowledge, expertise, skills, connections, experience, and other assets. This business can be operated from home with little more than standard office equipment and supplies.

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Do-It-Yourself LLC Formation: Easy And Fast

You?ve decided you need an LLC for your real estate investing or small business. But the attorney wants several hundred dollars or more to fill out the paperwork. Isn?t there a cheaper way to set up an LLC? You bet. You can do it yourself.An LLC formation, by design, is very straight forward. To set up an LLC, you file articles of LLC formation or articles of organization with the state government agency in charge of corporations and limited liability companies. This document is sometimes a simple, one-page form. Typically, the document can also be a type-written list of descriptive bits about new LLC (the name of the LLC, the person performing the LLC formation, and so on).Different states have different names for the offices or agencies that process the LLC formation articles, but the agency or office is usually fairly easy to locate through a web search. Typically, the agency or office is connected with the state’s secretary of state office and is named something like “Corporation Division” or “Corporations Division.” Note that some states (including Washington state where I live) let you file your articles of formation or articles of organization online.States may also have additional setup requirements beyond simply filing the LLC formation articles. Some states such Arizona require that public notice be given in a newspaper. Some states such as New York require an operating agreement. Which raises an important point: It’s really an excellent idea to have an operating agreement written up to describe how the LLCs owners, or members, relate to each other and to the LLC. Attorneys even recommend that single-member LLCs should have an operating agreement because the operating agreement, if honored, improves the liability protection.After the state accepts your articles of LLC formation and you complete any other state requirements, you’re done with your LLC formation.

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Hello world!

Welcome to Actualblog.net. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!