If you’re new to the world of entrepreneurship, it’s imperative that the business you start is fully compliant with all relevant local, state and federal rules, and there may be some legal matters that you’ll need to address right off the bat.
To help ensure you meet all necessary legal requirements when starting up a new business venture, here are 8 important legal matters you’ll want to get fixed as soon as possible:
- Set up a mailing address for your company
Setting up a mailing address is especially important if your business is remote without a physical location; if so, an entity management company can help you obtain a mailbox for businesses or a virtual address. Note that as the address will be used for all correspondence and legal documents, a physical mailing address may be required for some government forms.
- Check for trademark issues
As soon as you come up with a name for your product, company or brand, you must carry out some checks to make sure that the name hasn’t already been trademarked. Infringing on a registered trademark and getting into legal hot water is something you definitely don’t want to get involved with before your business has even got off the ground.
- Hire an experienced lawyer or entity management specialist
It can be immensely helpful to work with a lawyer or entity management specialist right from the get go, as they will have a solid understanding of finance, corporate law and many other legal matters related to starting a business, that can help you stay on the right side of the law. They will be able to advise you of any potential legal matters that you may encounter in the future, too.
- Choose a business structure
Deciding whether to establish your business as an LLC (limited liability company) or corporation is an essential legal requirement, and careful consideration should be given over the choice you make. With every other process of opening a business requiring you to assign it a legal name, without one you won’t be able to obtain a federal tax ID; required for certain essential financial elements such as insurance policies and bank accounts.
If you need help deciding which type of legal structure to choose for your business, you can seek informed and up-to-date guidance from an entity management firm.
- Put pen to paper for all financial agreements
Even if a financial agreement is with a friend or family member, it should always be put into writing and should never be left simply as a verbal agreement.
- Check whether you need to publicize your company
In certain cities and states, business owners are required by law to announce publicly that they’ve opened a new business, and failure to do this when required could get you in all sorts of costly and inconvenient bother.
- Get to grips with estimated tax payments
It’s always worth having a conversation with a CPA or other tax professional about the estimated cost of taxes for your business, as the consequences of not paying all of your back taxes can be painful and costly, particularly if you’re offering a professional service.
- Make sure you’re following appropriate payment rules
With so many regulations governing how payments are accepted from clients, it’s important that you get everything right and above board, especially if some of your clients live overseas. Working with an entity management firm can help ensure that you follow all the rules when it comes to payments.
Don’t let legal problems stop your business from becoming a success; work with an entity management firm from the outset, to help protect what you’ve worked so hard to set up.