{"id":6537,"date":"2015-03-19T09:45:51","date_gmt":"2015-03-19T09:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/?p=6537"},"modified":"2018-05-08T20:11:10","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T20:11:10","slug":"basic-start-up-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/2015\/03\/19\/basic-start-up-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Basic Start-Up Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">We are currently in an entrepreneurship era, which is an exciting time for those trying to live out their dreams.\u00a0 However, being an entrepreneur is tough because there are so many demands and so many hats to wear.\u00a0 Entrepreneurs are typically subject-matter experts in the business they are starting and accounting is sometimes looked at as a foreign language.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a big obstacle most start-ups share in common. We understand that not being the expert in this area forces you to put the accounting work on hold so that you can focus on your customers or business.\u00a0\u00a0 The following are 5 basic considerations for business start-ups:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><b>1. What entity type should I select?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The business structure you choose will have legal and tax implications. Learn about the different types of business structures and find the one best suited for your business:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"s4\">Sole Proprietorship<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s1\">Limited Liability Company (LLC)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s4\">Corporation<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s4\">Partnership<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s4\">S Corporation<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><b>2. How can I obtain a Federal Tax ID for my business?<\/b><\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number, and is used to identify a business entity. Generally, businesses need an EIN. You may apply for an EIN in various ways, and now you may apply online on www.IRS.gov. You must check with your state to determine if you need a state number or charter as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><b>3. What are options to track monthly income and expenses?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Bookkeeping is one of the most essential tasks of any business. Without proper bookkeeping, your business could very quickly and easily crash into a wall. Small business owners can do their own bookkeeping on their own, but many invest in a bookkeeping service that will save them not just precious time but the risk of making very costly financial mistakes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Accounting software is very helpful in tracking revenue and expenses on a monthly basis. The following are commonly used accounting software products:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"s4\">Quickbooks<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s4\">Peachtree<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s4\">Xero<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s4\">FreshBooks<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s4\">Sage<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><b>4. What should I consider when we are ready to hire employees or contractors?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Make sure to learn about employment and labor laws in the states you are hiring to make sure your business is in compliance with state regulations. In addition, you need to know the difference between an \u201cemployee\u201d or \u201cindependent contractor\u201d classification.\u00a0 The IRS takes into consideration the following 3 categories in determining whether the person providing service is an \u201cemployee\u201d or \u201cindependent contractor\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"s1\">Behavioral \u2013 Does the company control what the workers does and how the worker does his or her job.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s1\">Financial \u2013 Does the company control business aspects of the worker such as how wages are paid, whether expenses are reimbursed, and who provides tools and materials.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s1\">Type of relationship \u2013 Are there written contracts or employee type benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><b>5. Do I need to consider filing a tax return and paying taxes?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Make sure to discuss your tax filing requirements with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Failing to timely file annual tax returns can cause large federal and state penalties, which could cause a burden on the business\u2019 cash flow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive alignnone size-full wp-image-6539\" src=\"https:\/\/fiualumni-eastus.azurewebsites.net\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/VillelaCPA_Logo.jpg\" alt=\"VillelaCPA_Logo\" width=\"200\" height=\"75\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">Walter and Susan Villela are proud FIU graduates and own Villela, CPA.\u00a0 For more information, please contact 305-389-1347 with any questions or to schedule an appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are currently in an entrepreneurship era, which is an exciting time for those trying to live out their dreams.\u00a0 However, being an entrepreneur is tough because there are so many demands and so many hats to wear.\u00a0 Entrepreneurs are typically subject-matter experts in the business they are starting and accounting is sometimes looked at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[206,96,375,400],"class_list":["post-6537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-development","tag-career-development","tag-college-of-business","tag-guest-post","tag-startups"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6537"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15022,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6537\/revisions\/15022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}