So I'm filing my LLC annual report and the state portal is asking for a bunch of specifics I haven't actually nailed down , like my exact NAICS code and whether I have employees in-state. I haven't decided if I'm hiring or staying solo. Do I just guess? Mark "no" and fix it later? I don't want to trip some audit flag over a form I'm filling out at 11pm.
Licensing
The state wanted details I hadn't decided on yet
Put no for employees. The state doesn't care. NAICS — pick the closest one and move on.
Honestly the NAICS code thing is such a trap for new owners.I spent 40 minutes on it last year and then my accountant looked at it and said "that's fine, nobody reads this." Now I just pick the first one thamt sounds right and don't look back. Is that bad advice? Probably. But the portal wouldn't let me save otherwise.
You can amend it later usually. Check the filing instructions — most states let you file a correction for free within a window. Don't stress.
Which state? That matters a lot. Some portals lock fields after submission. Others let you edit forever. Saying "the state" like it's a single entity is gonna get you generic answers.
Fair — it's a small southeastern state, I'd rather not dox myself but it's Not one of the big ones. The portal looked pretty bare-bones, which is part of why I'm nervous.
11pm form filing is a rite of passage. Welcome.
Vellichor's right though, locking fields is the real risk. If it's one of those old ASP.NET portals from 2009 you might be stuck with whatever you type. Can you save a draft and call the Secretary of State office in the morning? They're usually weirdly helpful.
Calling the SoS office to ask about a form field is how you spend an hour on hold to talk to someone who reads the same instructions back to you. Just fill it in. If you hire later, file the update then. Nobody's auditing a solo LLC over an NAICS mismatch.
Eh, I've seen penalty letters for missed employee counts in my cousin's state. Not audits, just automated mismatch flags. It's cheap to be accurate now.
There it is. "Automated mismatch flag" is why I wouldn't guess. It's not the audit that gets you, it's the $75 late-penalty letter generated by a database that doesn't know you updated. Guess the NAICS if you have to, but don't guess on the employee question — that one's binary and they compare it against payroll records eventually tbh.
OP, just pick the NAICS that matches what you actually sell. If you sell two things, pick the one that makes more money. This isn't the LSAT.
Alright, so the split seems to be: guess the code, don't guuess employees. That actually clears it up more than the portal's help text did. I'm going to save the draft and look at it again in daylight. If it still won't save I'll pick the closest code and mark no employees since that's ture today.
Grumblefish's "not not the LSAT" got me. True though.