BRIEF SUMMARY OF BUSINESS REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

  • IF a business is to carry out activities using a name other than name of the person,
  • THEN the name needs to be recognized.
    • NO name can be recognized
    • UNLESS the name is registered.
    • IF the activities are under responsibility of more than one person,
    • THEN the name must be associated with an organization.
      • NO organization can be associated with the activities
      • UNLESS the organization is formed.
        • NO organization can be formed
        • UNLESS the organization has identifiable and traceable information including at least one address and at least phone number and often an industry code.
          • NO address can be obtained
          • UNLESS an immovable property is either purchased or rented.
          • NO phone number can be obtained
          • UNLESS a phone communication service is obtained.
          • Industry code can be obtained from NAICS and SIC.
    • IF the organization need not be separated from the responsible parties,
    • THEN the organization can be formed as a sole proprietorship.
    • IF the organization needs to be separated from the responsible parties in managing its financial resources and financial liabilities,
    • THEN the organization can be formed as a Limited Liability Company (LLC or LC).
    • IF the organization needs to be separated from the responsible parties in managing its financial resources and financial liabilities while responsible parties of the operation needs to be separated from each other in managing their activities and liabilities,
    • THEN the organization can be formed as a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP or LP).
    • IF owners of the organization needs to be separated from responsibilities to the operation, from both legal and financial liabilities arising out of the operation,
    • THEN the organization can be formed as a Corporation (Inc. or Corp.).
    • IF activities of the organization is not purported to and will not generate income,
    • THEN the organization can be formed as a Non-Profit Organization (NPO).
    • IF activities of the organization is to act as an agent of another company to carry out tasks for its principal on behalf of the principal,
    • THEN the organization can be formed as a Business Trust.
  • IF the organization is purported to and is going to generate income,
  • THEN the organization must open a tax account with the taxing authority of its government(s).
    • NO local tax account can be opened in many locations,
    • UNLESS federal tax account number obtained from IRS is provided.
    • NO tax account can be opened with IRS
    • UNLESS proof of registration or of formation is provided to IRS.
  • NO aforementioned registrations can be performed over the Internet via corresponding websites
  • UNLESS a web address and a web mailing address is provided.
    • NONE of the web addresses can be provided
    • UNLESS a web domain is obtained and hosted.
    • NONE of the obtained and hosted web addresses can be accessed via popular web browsers in United States
    • UNLESS access to the web domain is secured with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

 BRIEF SUMMARY OF BUSINESS REGISTRATION WORKFLOW

  • Create a business profile
    • Determine activity type and obtain a corresponding NAICS and SIC industry codes.
    • Determine business location and phone number.
    • Create a list of supreme responsible persons, or owners, of the operation.
      • Determine contact information of the responsible person(s).
    • Determine a business name.
  • Create a business agreement for the organization if not sole-proprietorship.
    • Many governments provide a template or a form.
    • Templates can be downloaded from many other online sources.
  • Create a business web profile
    • Establish a web premise
      • Obtain a web domain name (i.e. www.icann.com)
      • Host a website and link the domain name to the website
    • Establish a web mailing address
      • Obtain an Email hosting service
      • Link the domain to the service
      • Create a contact address (i.e. contact@icann.com)
  • Register a business to a local government
    • Information of an owner and any responsible persons
    • Information of an organization
      • Articles of Formation/Organization
      • Physical contact information
      • Web contact information
      • Industry code
  • Create an IRS tax account
    • Provide a proof of registration with the local government
    • Obtain federal tax account number: FEIN (Federal Employer ID Number)
  • Create a local government tax account
    • Provide FEIN
    • Obtain local tax account number (i.e. state Taxpayer ID Number or TIN)
  • Use the information obtained from the previous steps to create more accounts such as
    • Business banking account
    • Seller accounts for e-commerce websites
    • Payment processing software accounts