I set up my LLC about a year ago for my side gig. It went fine, but I keep discovering small things that nobody mentioned. Like how much the annual state fee would be, or that I probably didn't need an LLC at all for the volume I was doing. Curious what others here wish they'd known before they filed.
LLC
The thing I wish someone had told me before I formed my LLC
The biggest one for me was that forming the LLC doesn't automatically give you an EIN. I assumed it did and then had to go back and apply separately after a vendor asked for it. Simple thing but it cost me a couple days.
i wish someone had told me to check whether my city required a separate business license. state LLC was easy, local registration was the annoying part
Yeah the local angle is one I didn't think about. I probably should sit down and check that before the next renewal. Is that an annual thing for you or one-time?
For me the local license renews yearly, separate from the state annual report. Two different deadlines. I have both on a calendar now.
Mine took it the opposite way from what I expected. Everyone said form the LLC, protect yourself, all that. But nobody said I still had to keep my business and personal money far apart, or the protection is thinner than people think. I mixed money for the first few months cuz it was a one-person thing and I didn't know better. Nothing bad happened but after I read up on it I opened a separate account that week.
I'll add: don't assume a generic online file-your-LLC service will get your state right. Mine used a registered agent in a different county and I didn't notice until I got a notice forwarded to me months later. Read the paperwork they generate before you pay.
that last part matters. also double check whether your state taxes the LLC itself or just passes it through. mine did one and I briefly assumed the other.
The mixing money point is the one I actually wish someone had made loudest. I set mine up partly because a friend told me to, and the whole reason evaporated if I'm not disciplined about that. Separate account is on my list now.
If you're a single member, loook up your state's treatment of a disregarded entity before you go filing extra tax forms. Couple folks I talked to had already sent in paperwork they didn't need and had to sort it out with the state afterward.