Can an LLC Have Employees?
Your LLC can always have employees regardless of the number of members or whether your LLC is member-managed or manager-managed. Employees need not be members themselves, though members may be employees if they would like. Before you hire any employees, though, ensure that the two necessary requirements are fulfilled.
Categories: LLC Services Tags: ein, employees, self-employment
LLC Set-Up Costs
LLC costs are low compared with other types of business entities. This makes the LLC ideal for small business owners who do not yet have a lot of capital to invest in forming their business. Minimizing your initial costs will help to make your business profitable as soon as possible. You should know exactly how much an LLC costs before you start the process of setting up your limited liability company. If possible, you may even want to investigate LLC costs by state to determine if a neighboring state is less expensive.
Categories: Formation Tags: articles of organization, business expenses, write-offs
Limited Liability Company Benefits
Limited liability companies offer several benefits for owners of small businesses. In addition to being easy to form, LLCs do not require much paperwork in your initial filing. A key feature of LLCs is limited liability; the owners (called “members”) will not — in most cases — be personally responsible for the debts of the business. This means your personal assets are protected when your LLC owes money.
LLCs exist in a unique nexus of sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations, and take the best advantages of each. The LLC entity is less formal and provides more flexibility than a corporation yet still provides the same liability protection. Additionally, LLCs gain the same tax simplicity afforded to sole proprietorships and partnerships yet have additional legitimacy as a result of being a registered business entity.
Categories: LLC Advantages and Disadvantages Tags: limited liability, ownership
When LLC Owners Can Be Liable
A key benefit of limited liability companies is that the owners (or “members”) receive limited liability; that is, they can usually not be held personally liable for the debts of the LLC. In addition, if the LLC is sued, the owners’ personal assets are not subject to collection.
However, there are some instances when — as lawyers say — the veil of limited liability is pierced and the LLC members can be personally liable for the debts of the LLC.
Categories: Limited Liability Tags: business losses, lawsuit, limited liability, member duties, record keeping, registered agent
How to Register a Business Name
Small LLC owners sometimes believe they must register their business name separately from registering their LLC. This assumption is a carryover from sole proprietorships, for which a “Doing Business As” or DBA name is necessary before you may begin operating your business using a moniker other than your real name.
This is, however, not a requirement for LLCs in any state in the US. Though you may register your business name before you are prepared to submit your LLC paperwork in order to reserve it, this is never necessary. In fact, LLC filings are simple enough that taking time to reserve the business name will only delay your eventual filing.
Filing your completed LLC paperwork — including your Articles of Organization and any other related paperwork required by your state — is enough to register your business name automatically; there is no separate filing to submit. If your Articles of Organization have been accepted by the Secretary of State, your business name is already registered.
Categories: Formation Tags: business name
