Ongoing Management and Protection

Tax season is right around the corner. A lot has changed, tax-wise, in the past year due to new legislation. Here’s a quick look at what business owners need to know about filing their taxes in 2022. Sole Proprietorship Sole proprietors are unincorporated...

One of the first decisions new entrepreneurs make is “What should I name my business?” A lot of brand equity gets built around a business name, so it’s essential to protect that valuable marketing asset. During a presentation to accounting professionals, I...

If starting a new business is on your 2022 New Year’s resolution list, we’re here to help you begin on the right (and legal) path.Here are 10 must-have legal documents you need to start a new business.1. Business PlanTechnically, a business plan is not a “legal”...

Along with other annual business compliance responsibilities, corporations (and sometimes LLCs) must hold various meetings and record minutes from those meetings. With the new year ahead, new entrepreneurs and existing business owners need to make sure they...

If you’re considering starting a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or restructuring your business as an LLC, it’s important to know how often an LLC pays taxes and how to file business taxes for an LLC. As an LLC, your company benefits from receiving personal...

As a startup with more than one business owner, you have your choice on how you want to legally structure your company. The decision isn’t to be taken lightly since a business’s structure affects how you organize your company, registration requirements, compliance...

Tax considerations are a significant factor in how entrepreneurs structure their businesses. The qualified business income deduction (or QBI tax deduction) is an important tax deduction that allows eligible businesses to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business...

According to Global Workplace Analytics, 25-30% of the workforce will be working from home multiple days a week by the end of 2021. Already a trend before the pandemic, remote working became the “new normal” for businesses of all sizes struggling to stay afloat...

Depending on a business’s entity type and the state it’s registered in, its owners may be required to hold annual meetings and record minutes from those meetings. But how do you know if that requirement applies to your company? In this article, I'm going to explain...

As we move into the fall and winter months it's time to begin thinking of year-end compliance responsibilities and business activities. We'd like to help you prepare for the year-end and we want to help you get all your legal ducks in a row. To assist in these...

Besides going through all the proper steps to set up a business, understanding and following through with ongoing compliance requirements is immensely important. I regularly address small business compliance considerations in my writings on the CorpNet blog and...

I'm often asked if it is advantageous for a small business to hire family members. Some entrepreneurs have asked if hiring relatives presents legal issues, while others have asked if it is ethical. Whether you believe this practice is good business or nepotism,...

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, an organization does not have to pay federal income tax on its profits related to its business purpose. That’s an important advantage as it allows organizations to keep more of their profits and use them to further their causes. However,...

Not all, but some states require business entities to file an annual report and pay a franchise tax each year. While the name suggests that a franchise tax report might only apply to businesses that are franchises, that’s not the case! A franchise tax is a fee that...

Choosing the perfect business or brand name is only half the battle when starting a new venture. You need to protect that name from getting stolen or misused. But what if you haven’t started using the brand name yet? The good news is even if your website is still...

Many limited liability companies (LLCs) and C Corporations choose to be taxed as S Corporations to lower their tax burden. It’s relatively easy to do as long as the business entity meets IRS requirements and files Form 2553. But what happens if a business owner...

There’s a lot of misinformation out there about keeping business and personal finances separate. Truthfully, most entrepreneurs tap into their personal savings to start their businesses, so opening separate bank accounts isn’t their top priority when there are so...

Most states require limited liability companies (LLCs) and corporations to submit some form of ongoing business entity filing. While many states require these filings annually (i.e., “annual reports”), several require these types of reports biennially (every two...

If you've been considering forming a business (or already have started one), you've probably have heard the term registered agent. Alternate names include statutory agent, agent for service of process, or resident agent. A registered agent is a designated party...

If you’re a property owner, you probably know how a like-kind exchange works, but in case the term is new to you, here’s what you need to know. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a like-kind exchange (also called a 1031 exchange) is: When you exchange...