I filed the articles last week, got my approval, and thought I was done. Then I found out I need an EIN, a business bank account, potentially a state license, and some kind of annual report. Did anyone else feel like registering the LLC was maybe 30% of the actual setup? I'm trying to figure out what actually matters vs what's just noise.
LLC Setup
I didn't realize so many steps came after LLC registration
EIN is fast and free, do that one today. Bank account can wait until you actually need to deposit money. The rest depends completely on your state and what you're doing.
Ha, wait until you find out about the annual report fees. Some states just quietly bill you every yeaer and if you miss it they dissolve your LLC. Fun stuff.
What state are you in? That changes everything. Also what kind of business? If you're a solo consultant with no physical storefront it's way less paperwork than a food business or whatever.
the annual report thing got me last year. $75 fee I didn't know about until I got a scary letter. now I just set a calendar reminder.
Honestly the articles of organization felt like the finish line but it's really the starting pistol. The EIN took me 10 minutes online though so don't stress about that one. Bank account was annoying because they wanted the EIN and the articles and a blood sample. Okay not blood but lots of docs.
Don't forget the BOI / beneficial ownership filing if that still applies to you. That's the one nobody told me about and it has an actual deadline with real penalties.
Seconding the BOI thing. Also op if you're the only member make sure you actually keep personal and business money separate or the whole LLC shield is kind of theater.
I ignored the 'noise' for like eight months, and nothing bad happened. Then I got a random sales tax notice because I sold two t-shirts online. So maybe don't fully ignore it.
the sales tax thing is real and sneaky. You can be totally legit on the federal side and still trip on state stuff if you sell physical goods or hire anyone.
@BlueShedGuy what counts as 'separate money' though. Like do I literally need a second card for coffee runs or is transferring profit once a month fine.
A real business account and don't pay personal stuff out of it. That's the gist. You don't need to be perfect, you need to not be obviously commingling.
Also the registered agent thing. If you used yourself as agent your address is public. Not the end of the world but a lot of people don't realize it until the junk mail starts.
boi deadline burned me. fileed the llc, celebrated, forgot the separate federal thing entirely. got a letter. not fun. do it now if you haven't.