If you’re an accountant, bookkeeper, business coach, consultant, or other professional service provider, you may be facing the daunting challenge of securing client loyalty and trying to grow revenue without increasing your workload or adding substantial overhead to your bottom line. While hiring employees or using subcontractors can allow you to take on more work, that can add significant costs to your bottom line. Instead, consider expanding your client advisory services by adding compliance monitoring and business entity filing.
Compliance Monitoring as a Value-Add Service
Clients often turn to their trusted advisors for incorporation information to assess which business structure and state of formation offer the most favorable tax treatment and growth potential. In addition to providing advice and recommendations, did you know you can help them track their ongoing compliance responsibilities and prepare and submit the required filings on their behalf? It is not considered the practice of law to assist clients in that way. You may help your clients complete and file the necessary forms for creating their business entities, which naturally opens opportunities to provide ongoing compliance support.
Examples of the various entity compliance filings business owners may need assistance with include:
- Business Entity Registration – Creation of a Corporation, Limited Liability Company (LLC), or other form of entity in a state (i.e., filing Articles of Incorporation, Articles of Organization, etc.).
- Doing Business As (DBA) – Registration of a fictitious business name so the client can market their company under a name other than its entity’s legal name (the name on its formation document).
- Foreign Qualification – State authorization legally permitting your client to operate a business entity they formed in one state in another state’s jurisdiction.
- IRS Forms and Filings – Applications to obtain an EIN (SS-4) and elect S Corporation (Form 2553) or C Corporation tax treatment (Form 8832).
- Business Name Search and Reservation – Research to verify a client’s desired business name is not already registered by another party and filing to reserve the business name and prevent others from claiming it if your client isn’t immediately ready to register their entity.
- Initial Report – Informational report required by some states directly after someone forms a Corporation or LLC.
- Annual Reports – Recurring informational reports (usually yearly) required by some states to ensure key information on file about a Corporation or LLC is up to date.
- Bylaws – A Corporation’s internal governance document that details the rules and procedures for running the business entity—e.g., roles and responsibilities of the board of directors and officers, board and shareholders meetings procedures, decision-making rules, voting rights, dispute resolution, sale of stock, and other relevant information.
- LLC Operating Agreement – An LLC’s internal governance document that details the rules and procedures for running the business entity—roles and responsibilities of members and managers, member meetings procedures, decision-making rules and voting rights, dispute resolution, profit and loss distribution, and other relevant information.
- Annual Meeting Minutes – A record of what was discussed and actions taken during the entity’s annual meeting.
- Resolutions – Formal documentation of a Corporation’s board of directors’ decisions or LLC members’ decisions that affect the roles, rules, or procedures in corporate bylaws or the LLC operating agreement.
- Registered Agent Services – Services to ensure clients promptly receive legal and government correspondence—such as summonses, subpoenas, tax forms, state compliance notices, annual report reminders, and other official mail.
- Business Licenses and Permits – State, local, and federal authorizations required to conduct specific regulated activities within a jurisdiction.
- Amendments and Modifications – Filings to notify the state of major changes to a business entity—such as a new principal business address, business name change, or changes in the business purpose, number of authorized shares, and other modifications about which the state requires notification.
- Certificate of Good Standing – State-issued document verifying that a business entity is registered and up to date with state filings and tax obligations; often required to provide proof of a company’s legal authorization to conduct business when applying for funding, foreign qualifying to do business in another state, or applying for business licenses.
- Dissolution – A filing required to end a business entity’s existence, so the state will no longer hold it responsible for compliance filings and taxes going forward.
- Withdrawal – A filing required when an entity no longer wishes to be foreign qualified in a state.
- Entity Conversion – Required documentation when switching from one entity type to another (e.g., changing from an LLC to a C Corporation).
- Reinstatement – Request to restore an entity to active “good standing” status if it was suspended or dissolved for failing to comply with regulatory requirements such as filing tax returns, submitting annual reports, or other mandatory compliance tasks.
- Sales Tax Registration – Setup of tax accounts and authorization to collect and remit state and/or local sales tax.
- State Payroll Tax Registration – Application to establish a state income tax (SIT) account to withhold state income tax from employees’ pay and remit those withholdings to the state tax authorities; application to establish a state unemployment insurance (SUI) account and pay required contributions (based on a percentage of employee income) into the program.
- Payroll Tax Account Closure – Cancellation payroll tax accounts if a company no longer has employees or when they are dissolving their entity to ensure those tax accounts are closed in the process.
- Corporate Income Tax Registration – Application to set up a state corporate income tax account (in states where such a filing is required).
- IRS Change Letters – Correspondence or forms to inform the IRS of specific changes, such as entity conversions, business name changes, domesticating an entity to a different state, changes to tax classification, etc.
How to Offer Formation and Compliance Services Without Adding Overhead
You might be thinking, “While a new revenue stream sounds great, I don’t have the time or staff to take on formation and compliance tasks for my clients.”
Fortunately, those concerns won’t hold you back because CorpNet offers a way for you to seamlessly become the resource your clients can turn to for registering their companies and keeping them compliant.
With the CorpNet Partner Program, you can go beyond your normal client advisory services and help your clients file the paperwork necessary to register their business entities and comply with ongoing filing requirements. The program is free to join, and our user-friendly portal enables you to easily track your clients’ upcoming compliance deadlines and place orders with us.
We help you help your clients:
- Save time
- Keep their businesses in good standing
- Reduce the risks of being audited
- Position them to raise capital to fuel their growth
- Save money because they can decrease their dependence on their attorney
In running CorpNet, I see how much clients need professional guidance on the tax and financial aspects of business formation and compliance. You may advise your clients on which entity to choose from the standpoint of your area of licensed expertise. It is not considered the practice of law to file business registration and compliance paperwork on your clients’ behalf. For example, an accountant or tax advisor can offer insight from a tax implications perspective. Of course, if your clients need legal or tax advice and you’re not qualified or credentialed to provide it, they should seek guidance from a licensed professional when determining which entity to choose. After they’ve received that direction, forms may be submitted by an attorney, the client, or the client’s representative (such as you, with the help of CorpNet). You can help your clients save time and money as you get the job done quickly and accurately through CorpNet’s ordering platform and seamless process.
Top Benefits of Participating in the CorpNet Partner Program
The fee-free CorpNet Partner program can help you overcome some of the most common and frustrating business challenges. It’s a win for your clients and for you, as it increases your business’s professional services revenue.
Here’s how:
- It enables you to differentiate your business from competitors and gives customers more reasons to trust your expertise and rely on you for more of their needs.
- It helps you improve customer satisfaction.
- It increases client interactions.
Becoming a CorpNet Partner enables you to proactively support your clients at every stage of their businesses. By adding CorpNet’s business formation and compliance monitoring services to your offerings, you will deliver greater value to your clients and increase your bottom line without adding overhead or making your workload unmanageable.
If any of the following types of professional services providers describe you, the CorpNet Partner program may be a great fit:
- Accountant or CPA
- Tax advisor or tax preparer
- QuickBooks advisor
- Business consultant or coach
- Bookkeeper
- Attorney
We screen prospects to ensure a good fit for program participants and CorpNet.
CorpNet’s Partner Program Offers Flexible Options
Whether you’re a self-employed QuickBooks advisor, owner of a small CPA office, or a CEO of a large accounting firm, the CorpNet Partner Program gives you two options for generating additional revenue. We have no minimum sales volume requirement to participate in the Partner Program, so there’s no pressure to perform. You can partner with us as a White-Label Reseller Partner and receive wholesale discounts on our business filing and corporate compliance services or become a Referral Partner and refer your clients to us, receiving a referral fee for each sale.
Reseller Option
If you choose to resell CorpNet’s formation and compliance products, we serve as your silent fulfillment partner. We offer fixed wholesale pricing for all our formation and compliance services (in all 50 states), which you can mark up to your desired price points and brand as your own. Your client places orders through you, and we handle all the behind-the-scenes work.
When you sign on as a CorpNet Reseller, you can increase your professional services revenue by offering to prepare and complete your clients’ business filings related to incorporation, the formation of an LLC, S Corporation election, business license and permit applications, annual reports, and more. No matter in which state your clients are doing business, you’ll be able to submit filings through CorpNet on their behalf. We give you all the tools you need to ensure success—private-label services, a dedicated account manager, access to our compliance portal, and accurate, prompt service. As your silent fulfillment partner, we will never contact your clients without your consent. We do all the work behind the scenes while YOU get the credit!
CorpNet Resellers receive wholesale discounts of up to 30 percent off our services’ retail rates—and the potential for an even higher discount when placing a large volume of orders. All fees for all products and services published on the CorpNet website represent our retail rates. We can send wholesale pricing to you when you sign up for the program and after we’ve onboarded you. You can then charge your clients whatever fees you deem appropriate for the services you order from us when serving them.
Suggested Pricing for White-label Services
| LLC Setup, DBA Registration, Licensing, Tax Permits, and Compliance | |
|---|---|
| Standard Processing (Typically 20-30 business days) | $1,100 |
| Expedited Processing (Typically 10-15 business days) | $1,350 |
| 24-Hour Rush Processing (Typically 2-3 business days) | $1,650 |
| C Corporation and S Corporation Setup, DBA Registration, Licensing, Tax Permits, and Compliance | |
| Standard Processing (Typically 20-30 business days) | $1,100 |
| Expedited Processing Typically 10-15 business days) | $1,350 |
| 24-Hour Rush Processing (Typically 2-3 business days) | $1,650 |
| Fictitious Business Name Registrations with Notice of Publication (aka DBAs) | |
| Standard Processing (Typically 20-30 Business days) | $600* |
Referral Option
As a CorpNet Referral Program partner, you can refer your clients to a trusted resource for incorporation, LLC filings, registered agent services, and annual corporate compliance and monitoring in any state. You refer the client to us; we’ll do all the work and send you a check (a referral fee of up to 30 percent of the value of the services ordered). Alternatively, you can waive your commissions and have us pass the savings on to your clients instead.
To make the referral process seamless, we will assign you a dedicated account manager who will be responsive to your needs and treat your clients with exceptional service. Note that even though we are handling all orders directly with your customers, we are happy to keep you apprised of the status of your clients’ filings (with their permission, of course!).
The Best of Both Worlds
You may participate in just one or both programs. We let you choose what will optimize your clients’ experience and your opportunities to increase professional services revenue.
For instance, you can be more hands-on and act as a Reseller for key clients you want to engage more frequently. For transactional or lower-spend clients, the Referral option may make the most sense.
The choice is yours!
The Bottom Line
Besides the additional earnings potential our program provides, being a CorpNet Partner also offers a bonus advantage: it can give you an edge over the competition. Knowing that you can satisfy more of their needs and simplify their lives, customers will have even more reason to seek your expertise. The more value you can provide to your clients, the more loyal they will be and the more they’ll recommend your services to other prospects.
Learn More About the CorpNet Partner Program
Explore the Partner Program
The CorpNet Partner Program makes it simple for accountants, bookkeepers, CPAs, QuickBooks Pro Advisors, Enrolled Agents, lawyers, and tax professionals to offer incorporation, LLC formation, and annual corporate compliance filing services.
