Entity selection
Choosing the right business entity is an essential step that will have a significant impact on the future of your business. Let IBC Law help you select the business entity that’s right for you, to get you set up with the level of financial and liability protection you need. When selecting between an LLC, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship or other type of entity, IBC Law will be your guide.
One thing that LLCs and corporations have in common is their limitation of liability for the owners and shareholders. The structure of these types of business both work to shield you as the business owner from issues including – but not limited to – business debts and lawsuits related to your business. These business formations will help to protect your other assets by separating them from those related to your new business. However, one of the many differences between the two is that an LLC can be formed by just one owner, whereas a corporation must have a Board of Directors, named in its Articles of Incorporation, as well as its own set of bylaws. A sole proprietorship, by contrast, is a single-owner business. This tends to be the most straightforward route, but does not afford the owner any tax or liability protections: as the owner, you and your business are one and the same for tax purposes.
Whichever business entity you choose, IBC Law can perform the steps necessary to form the entity or help you navigate which state administrative offices to contact, how to prepare the relevant documents to start your business and how to ensure you’re in compliance with all related state laws, among many other aspects of starting your business.
Business name selection
When it comes to naming your business, it’s important to have your wits about you. You may have selected what seems to be the perfect business name, but you’ll also need to establish whether this is available to you. It’s possible that this sort of issue many not even apply to your chosen type of business, but it’s essential to confirm exactly the steps you need to take to protect you later on.
One of the first things to investigate is whether your desired name has already been trademarked, either at a state or federal level. To avoid legal issues down the line, you’ll need to ensure the availability of any legal names, trade names, DBAs, Internet domain names or other business entity names you’re intending to use. If you’re forming a corporation or LLC, you’ll need permission from the state to use your corporate name and will need to undergo a registration process.
Business tax ID
You will need a business tax ID if you are forming a corporation or LLC, or if you’re intending to hire employees as a sole proprietor. This will involve obtaining an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. You may also need an EIN in order to set up an account for your business at some banks. (If you’re planning to operate as a sole proprietor without employees, you won’t be able to obtain an EIN and will use your own Social Security Number instead.)
IBC Law can assist you with obtaining an EIN using the appropriate IRS forms and ensuring that these are completed accurately and in full.
Legal Advice
A business lawyer is a key member of any business team: a professional qualified to provide trustworthy legal advice relating to a wide variety of potential issues and situations. The IBC Law Firm stands ready to provide legal counsel for your new or existing business. Obtaining bespoke legal advice from the IBC Law Firm can vastly improve your business strategy. Our professional lawyers can assist with designing strategies to maximize profit, protect the business owner/s from personal liability, optimize your business tax situation and much more.
Business taxation
When setting up your business, one of the first and most important things you’ll want to do is to learn the details of how your business will be taxed. You have multiple options for selecting the right tax structure for your company, and it’s essential to gain a solid understanding of these options in order to move forward toward a more secure future with confidence.
There are a variety of tax classifications to navigate, with a whole lexicon of terms relating to business tax and how it’s managed: “disregarded entity”, “pass-through entity”, “partnership”, “S-corp taxation”, “C-corp taxation”, “LLCs owned by husband and wife”, to name a few. Setting yourself up with a thorough grounding of understanding in this area will pay dividends, both literally and figuratively, down the line.
Business liability
Business owners understand that a central part of their role is the constant weighing and assessing of risks, benefits and potential liabilities to their company. As such, it’s important to consider whether your company needs insurance. If so, you’ll need to decide what type of insurance to select and at what level.
Arizona Department of Revenue requirements
In Arizona, as in many other states, there are a range of state-specific requirements from the Department of Revenue related to setting up a business. You’ll need to establish whether any of these state requirements apply to your business. These could include Transaction Privilege Tax licenses, or a State Unemployment Insurance account. IBC Law Firm offers assistance with navigating and establishing all of these and more as necessary to bring your business into compliance with Arizona regulations.
Answering Client Questions
We’re here to talk with you about any questions or concerns relating to the legal matters of your business, or anything that’s on your mind. Your success is our priority and we are pleased to offer support and discuss your options at any stage of your project.
Website Terms and Conditions
When setting up your business website, you’ll need to establish whether or not you are required to include a website privacy policy and/or website terms and conditions. Even if these are not required, you may opt to include them anyway.
IBC Law Firm can provide critical feedback when you are ascertaining whether these are something your business requires, as well as a vital sounding board when it comes to the process of drafting them to ensure you are publishing legally correct information in a manner that will protect your business interests.
Website Privacy Policy: Your company’s website will be required to have an official Privacy Policy if you are gathering users’ data. In fact, it’s the only part of the terms and conditions that is legally required. Whether it’s email addresses, phone numbers, credit card information or something else, if you are collecting any form of information from visitors to your site, you are required by law to post a privacy policy providing details of how you will use this information. With a host of more recent laws and regulations now governing the collection and usage of user data online, it’s likely wise to consider creating a privacy policy for your company
Website Terms and Conditions: A central reason for including terms and conditions on your website would be if you conduct business transactions directly from your website. This could be in the form of an online store, or any function that sees you transacting directly on your website – as opposed to simply advertising your services or providing contact information with the intent of doing business.
Another compelling reason to include terms and conditions is for your company’s own protection. Your terms and conditions can work for you by clarifying the limits of your company’s liability, as well as indicating that the written and visual content of your site is your property and should not be replicated elsewhere without permission. Thus, while terms and conditions are often not required by law, it may serve your company well to include them nevertheless.