Making your Business Official
Abide by the Law of the Land
For most small businesses, getting started is simple as choosing a name and filing a form. However, you also have to decide whether to incorporate, and learn how to navigate the occasionally crooked roads of business income tax.
If you intend to make more than $600 a year through your Internet business, registering your business with your local government office, whether that be the county clerk’s office, or city hall, is an advisable idea. I will give you a few general guidelines but it is best to head on down to your local government office and find out the applicable rules for starting a new business.
To register as a business, you need to pick a business name and file a form with the county clerk. The name of your business doesn’t have to be the same as your website domain (naming website domains will be discussed further in this book). You can name your business anything you want. If you have a service-oriented business, you might decide to call it “(Your Name) Consulting.” In any case, you should have several business names you can choose from in case the one you want is already registered in your county.
When you’ve chosen a name, head to your local county clerk’s office and file for a business certificate, also called a DBA (Doing Business As). You will have to pay a one-time processing fee, generally ranging from $30 to $60, to file this form. The county clerk’s office will usually provide you with two official copies of the certificate; additional copies cost $1 to $5 depending on location. It’s a good idea to pick up a few additional copies while you’re there.
Brick-and-mortar businesses are required to display their business certificates in a prominent place within their place of business. Because you’re running an Internet business, you don’t have to do this. However, you should keep your business certificate accessible to you, as you may find yourself needing it on occasion.
That is usually all that is really needed at this time to 'officially' start your business. It is advisable at this time to set up a seperate chequing account to run your business out of. Keep all related business expenses seperate and pay them from this account. At the same time you could get a seperate business credit card to make paying expenses easier (and your online purchases can now be easily tracked for your business at the same time via this credit card). Another good idea is to set up a new business PayPal account at this time - even if you had a personal one before this. Link it to the new bank account that you set up.
A small bit of advice here. Banks like to charge their business clients a little
more than the personal clients for things like chequing accounts, credit cards,
etc. The goverment does not care in the least what 'type' of bank account you
have, as long as you keep your personal seperate from your business and can
track it. So when opening a new bank account, simply go in and open a new personal
bank account. This should be all you need at this time in your business, and
it will save you some monthly fees.
Start Your Business
Making Your Business Official
Types of Business Structures
Taxation of Your Business
Your Business Plan
Announce Your Business to the World!
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