I have a landscaping business and a small coffee roasting side gig. Both are under one LLC because it was cheaper and easier at the time. My accountant is now saying I should separate them, but that means new EIN, new bank accounts, maybe even new insurance. Has anyone kept two unrelated-ish businesses under one LLC long term? What broke? What worked?
LLC structure
I run two businesses and both operate under the same LLC
One LLC for a landscaping crew and a ccoffee roaster is wild. Your liability insurance alone must be a fun conversation.
Been running a handyman LLC and a vintage resale LLC under one umbrella for 6 years. Bank hates it, but I just use two separate checking accounts under the samee EIN. Works fine until you need a loan. Then it's a mess.
Separate LLCs cost more but the liability shield is the whole point. If someone gets hurt on a landscaping job, do you want your roaster equipment on the table too? Probably not.
I had two under one LLC for about 3 years. What broke: bookkeeping got sloppy and my tax preparer started mixing deductions. Nothing catastrophic, but it was messy enough that I split them. Not sure it was strictly necessary, though.
The coffee roasting side gig is small, right? If it's truly tiny, maybe keep it under the landscaping LLC and just track revenue separately. But if you ever want to sell one, separate entities are way cleaner.
Not a lawyer, but I've seen people pierce their own veil by commingling funds. One LLC, two businesses, one bank account is asking for trouble. At least get a second account.
Also, check your state's annual report fees. In my state it's per LLC, so splitting doubled my yearly cost. Still did it eventually.
Both under one LLC is fine until it isn't. The real question is whether your accountant is giving advice based on numbers or just covering their own butt.
You could also do a DBA for the coffee side under the same LLC. Keeps the branding separate without the full split. But liability doesn't change.
The roaster is maybe 15% of total revenue, so not huge, but it's growing. The DBA idea is interesting. My bigger worry is insurance — landscapers get sued, roasters less so, but they're on the same policy right now.