Frank: You are getting a lot of different advice here. Here is my two cents:
1. Ive been incorporated as an S Corp since 1999. I strongly suggest going this route. 2. One of the big differences between S Corp and LLC is that the LLC typically requires more money put into the corp to start it and is designed for partners. Being incorporated is even more important when you have employees or sub-contractors which you will do. 3. Credit - as others stated you will have to use personal credit until you can establish business credit. Business credit is more difficult to establish than personal credit. 4. Income - you can pay yourself dividends or a salary. There are advantages/disadvantages both ways. 5. Taxes - I have a CPA do my taxes every year. I have never been audited. If you ever do get audited, you are a lot better off running your business thru your corp than you are as an individual. The cost for the CPA to do your taxes is well worth the trouble it will save you, and you will probably pay less taxes this way. My accountant is worth way more to me in tax savings than he costs me. Having an accountant do your taxes will lessen your chances of being audited too. Also, its a well-known statistical fact, that if you file an extension and then file your taxes later then you have less chance of being audited. 6. Bank account - when you incorporate you can take your Articles of Incorporation to the bank and get a business Bank account. having a business bank account will help you keep your business income/expenses separate from your personal. Be as very strict with yourself about this. Again, if you ever get audited then this will keep you out of a lot of trouble. Keeping your business finances and your personal finances in separate accounts will legitimize your business expenses and it will make your accounting a lot simpler. For your business, definitely use software designed for business. It will be an extra expense for you, but there are tools in it that will benefit you greatly. 7. tax write-offs - Ive been an employee (W-2 paying to me personally) and Ive been a company (clients pay my company) and I will say this for sure... The US tax code takes a much bigger bite when you are an employee. If you get a good accountant then you will be amazed at what you can write off. As techies, there is are a lot of things that we buy that are legitimate business expenses if you are a corp, and if you are not a corp, then many of these items (or the quantity of) of those things are gray area for expenses. 8. Legal Liability - The corp does provide you with a greater level security for your personal assets, but as stated does not completely shield you (eg Bernie Madoff's family, right). Chances are that unless you do something really stupid, that it will to that. Keep in mind that when you run your own company, you get to say what you will do or not do to make a client happy... so its easier to go the extra mile with someone than to end up in legal trouble. If you are conducting your business properly and treating your clients right then you probably wont have an issue. 9. Insurance - you can get Errors and Omissions insurance will help you if there ever is a problem. Some clients will require that you carry E&O. 10. Company name - buy your domain name before you register your company, duh. 11. Contracts - ALWAYS use a contract. There is an obvious legal reason for this, but you will find that having the contract and a solid SOA (Statement of Work) will help tremendously when you hit sticky spots with clients. No matter what they say or how much of a "handshake-guy" you think they are... use a contract every time. 12. Attorneys - you can use an online service to get incorporated (eg Legal Zoom, etc) or a local attorney. The local attorney is going to cost you a smidge more, but they can rush your Articles of Incorporation thru a bit faster if you need it. As some one else advised, you can educate yourself a lot so that you have a better understanding when you do see the attorney. If this is the first time you have been incorporated, I would suggest you get an attorney. There are plenty of reasonable ones around. 13. financing your company - being an S Corp allows you to sell stock to friends/family that may want to invest in your business to help you get going. Most often they will feel more comfortable helping you get started if you are a legitimate company and you are selling them stock. Most people are adverse to loaning money to family/friends. 14. Save, Save, Save - this is advise you will either take now or you will learn the hard way - Save money and keep debt at a minimum. When you own your own company, the income can be a roller coaster. Staying in business often means being able to survive until your next project milestone is completed and you get paid. Actually, that was 14 cents.... but its worth a lot more than that. Good Luck! Stephen M. Carlson XI Interactive, Inc., Pres http://www.xiinteractiv.com tel: 770-778-2315 skype: stephen.m.carlson ------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list, manage your profile @ http://www.acfug.org?fa=login.edituserform For more info, see http://www.acfug.org/mailinglists Archive @ http://www.mail-archive.com/discussion%40acfug.org/ List hosted by http://www.fusionlink.com -------------------------------------------------------------
