The Launch Blog: Expert Advice from the CorpNet Team

Payroll involves far more than just cutting a paycheck to employees. It entails calculating work hours, wages, salaries, benefits, wage garnishments, and withholding and paying employment-related taxes. So, what do business owners need to know about setting up payroll for an LLC or corporation? In today’s post, we’ll cover all of this and more. Seven Key Steps for Getting Started The account registrations needed, steps necessary, and forms required to set up and administer payroll are similar regardless of the business entity type. My recent article, What Is Payroll? offers detailed...

With many people struggling to keep up with inflation and insufficient wage growth, side hustles are becoming increasingly common. In fact, MarketWatch, a website that provides business news, financial information, and stock market data, reported in May 2024 that 54% of Americans took on part-time jobs during the past year to supplement their primary incomes. A job on the side might help cover necessary expenses or provide some extra fun money, but there are some financial and legal implications you’ll need to consider if you’re thinking of getting started or already working in one. Legal...

Sole Proprietorships are the most popular business structure in the U.S., accounting for 76.2% of all businesses, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Many entrepreneurs love Sole Proprietorships because they’re simple to start and compliance requirements are minimal. Business income and losses are reported on your personal tax return, meaning that tax requirements are fairly simple. And because you don’t have to file the business with your state, you can avoid registration fees. While there are many advantages to a Sole Proprietorship, there also are some significant risks you should...

A Doing Business As (DBA) name—sometimes called a fictitious business name, assumed name, or trade name—is necessary when conducting business under a name other than a company’s legal name. DBA laws help protect consumers by ensuring the public has a way of knowing who the individual or company behind a fictitious name is. You might wonder…if you use your own personal name as your business name, do you need to register it as a DBA name? The short answer is: If the business owner’s name is considered the legal name of the company, then a DBA is not required. But when is that the case?...

Whether you’re a business accountant serving entrepreneurs or you’re a business owner, it’s critical to understand sales and employment tax registration and ongoing requirements. Federal payroll taxes are the same no matter where a business is located, but state employment taxes and sales taxes differ according to tax rates in the various states. I presented a webinar for CPA Academy on this topic, and this blog article will cover what I discussed. So, get ready for a lot of helpful info about various types of employment taxes, payroll tax registration and processing, sales and use tax,...

If you have a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or other business that’s registered with the state, you must have a registered agent designated to receive legal correspondence and other documents on its behalf. If your LLC operates in more than one state, you’ll need a registered agent in every state where you’re registered to conduct business. In this article, you’ll learn how to find a registered agent you can trust to accept and process important legal documents quickly and accurately. It’s important to have a registered agent you can rely on, as mishandling summonses, subpoenas, tax...

For various reasons, people sometimes want to form a business while keeping their identities private. That can be accomplished by registering an anonymous LLC, sometimes called a private or confidential LLC. States that allow these types of LLCs do not publicly identify the names, addresses, or contact information for members, allowing them to shield their identities. An entrepreneur may want an anonymous LLC to hide a business from an employer who doesn’t know the employee is planning on leaving their position, or so as not to disclose the purchase of real estate.  Some people simply...

Although the primary difference between a single-member LLC (SLLC) and a multi-member LLC may be obvious (the first has one owner and the second has two or more), these variations of the Limited Liability Company business structure have other nuances to consider. They share many characteristics, but there’s more than just the difference in the number of owners to ponder when deciding whether one or the other might be a good fit for your business. Choosing between a single-member LLC vs. a multi-member LLC or other business entity type involves thinking about ownership, personal asset...

If you’re getting ready to launch a company or are already up and running as a Sole Proprietorship, you might be thinking about formally incorporating the business. Forming a Corporation might sound daunting, and it does require some actionable steps to get it registered and in compliance with the state, but the benefits of incorporating far outweigh any effort involved. In this article, we’ll explore those benefits and I’ll outline the basic steps of getting registered as a Corporation. But first, let’s review exactly what it means to incorporate a business. You can technically operate a...

Incorporating a business provides many benefits for companies of all types and sizes. The process requires filing paperwork and paying a fee to have the state recognize the business as an official entity. Before deciding on a specific type of Corporation, you should think through several considerations that include: Where business will be conducted Wanting to have limited personal liability for business activities Whether the business will have a partner or an investor The company’s expected earnings and deductions Desire to minimize self-employment tax obligation Business goals Tolerance...

In 2024, personal finance company WalletHub ranked Georgia as the second-best state in the country for business formation. Reasons include one of the highest rates of entrepreneurship, a prevalence of interconnected businesses, exceptional growth potential, and a low corporate tax rate. If you’re thinking about starting a business in Georgia, there are some factors specific to that state that you’ll need to consider. In this article, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to get your business up and running. 1. Fine-tune Your Business Idea Before you start filing paperwork and...

Of the more than 30 million small businesses in the United States, 35% are Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), according to the Small Business Administration. LLCs are a popular business entity for a number of reasons. They’re relatively easy to get up and running and normally not overly difficult to maintain in terms of licensing, filing annual reports, and performing other tasks necessary to remain in compliance. They provide flexibility in how the business is taxed and shield members from personal liability. Also, LLC members are able to decide how the company will be managed. An LLC...

While you’re probably familiar with a business entity known as a Limited Liability Company, or LLC, you may not realize there are different types of LLC business structures. If the business has just one member, it’s known as a single-member LLC. If there are two or more members, it’s called a multiple-member, or multi-member, LLC. You may also be aware that this type of business can be managed by its owners, who are called members, or by a non-member. When members manage the business, it’s called a member-managed LLC and when a non-member runs it, it’s known as manager-managed. There also...