How to Start a Business: The Setup Checklist
Forming a company is mostly paperwork in a specific order. Doing it out of order is what costs people money.
The order that saves you rework
- Pick the name and check it is available in your state before you print anything.
- Form the entity. An LLC is the common choice for a small operation.
- Get an EIN from the IRS. It is free and takes minutes on the IRS site.
- Open a business bank account. Mixing personal and business money is the fastest way to lose the liability protection you just paid for.
- Get a business address. A virtual mailbox keeps your home address off public filings.
What a registered agent actually does
Every state requires a registered agent: a person or company at a physical in-state address during business hours to receive legal notices. You can be your own in your home state, but that puts your address in public records and ties you to being present. A service handles it for a modest annual fee.
Where people overpay
- Filing services that bundle things you do not need. The state filing fee is the state filing fee. Compare what is added on top.
- Rushed processing. Ask what standard turnaround is before you pay to expedite.
- An EIN service. The IRS issues these free. Nobody needs to charge you for it.
Business Setup in our directory
Form your company and handle the paperwork
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