How to Transition From a Sole Proprietorship to a Separate Legal Entity

You started your business with one approach in your own name and now you have made the important step to form a separate legal entity. That is a huge step. The key is to complete the transition so your business will actually benefit from the advantages you gain by forming a separate legal entity. Over the years, we have seen several mistakes in this transition and many times where someone is still operating their sole proprietorship at the same time as their new entity without knowing about it. We wanted to clear up the steps you must complete to make the transition. Here are the steps: Form the separate legal entity (an LLC or corporation). NCP can help you do that (we form corporation and LLCs in all 50 states). Obtain a NEW TAX ID Number. Even if you had a Tax ID number as a sole proprietorship you need a NEW ONE! Open a NEW bank account in the name of the entity. Yes, even if you already have a bank account and you went from "Marketing Solutions" to "Marketing Solutions, Inc." that is a new name and a separate legal entity and you need a NEW bank account. Yes, new checks too! Connect the DBA (doing business as) to the new entity. When you filed the DBA in your local county you were the applicant. That is what make that business in your name. Now you need to "reconnect" the DBA to the NEW legal entity. That means you need to dissolve the DBA name linked to you and refile (the same day) the DBA name to the new entity. That means the new entity is the applicant. This is what connects it to the new entity. Now, for both tax and liability issues any business in the DBA from this point forward is under the new entity name. Obtain a new business license in the name of the new entity. Yes, a new one. Typically, you can NOT transfer a business license from your sole proprietorship name to your new LLC. Reason? It is a separate legal entity. Obtain a business credit card in the name of the new entity. Stop using your personal credit card cards to finance your business. Ask the bank how long does the new entity have to be in business before they would recommend you apply for a business credit card. Update all your sources of income with the new Tax ID number of the new entity. You goal is to avoid receiving unnecessary 1099s (meaning you want the money, just not to yourself individually anymore) for affiliate or referral fees by the end of next year. Make sure all your affiliates are updated with the new entity information. Update any contracts in the name of the new entity. Update vendors with your new entity name and information. Get new business cards. Don't be cheap even if the only difference of the name of your company is "LLC". Set up a new chart of accounts in the new entity name. Update your merchant account provider with the new entity information. You may have to complete new forms. Update your insurance provider with the new entity information. Comply and update any state related issues in the name of the new entity. Check with your attorney or CPA for any steps missed. This is a good list to help you get started. The biggest mistake we see is not completing updating the DBA name from your name to the new entity and using the new bank account. The goal is to get off the sole proprietorship track as fast as possible. If you add new businesses in the future you can add a new DBA name with the entity as the applicant. The key part is to be aware of the type of asset class. Safe assets like gold, investments should be owned by a separate legal entity from your operating business. Real estate should be in a separate legal entity also. If you have several properties each with a lot of equity it may make sense to split those into separate legal entities.

Ways to Find Money

For some people, saving a few dollars may not be too much but if you can add them all up then it can sum up to a large amount. Saving those few dollars can quickly give you some extra money. There are some things that you can do so that you can have more savings without making a lot of adjustments to your lifestyle. · When choosing a life insurance plan, choose the one that can give you protection and at the same time some savings. For example, you can choose to have a monthly payment of $16 with coverage of $250,000. You can get the best rate and coverage by making a comparison first before making a decision. If you know someone who already purchased a policy then ask some suggestions and recommendations from him. · If you can pay in cash then pay in cash and avoid those huge debts on your credit cards. If you can't avoid loans and credit cards then negotiate for low interest rates. Credit cards can greatly help during emergencies but it should not be abused. If you only use your credit card for emergency purposes only then get one credit card only. If you can pay for the full amount on your credit card then pay them so that you can save some money from those huge interest rates. You can also save money if you can request for low interest rates. Credit card companies want to provide the needs of their clients. If you can prove to them that you are a reliable customer and you always pay on time then they might give you lower rates. · Insurance policies can save you a lot of money. For example, if you have a health insurance then you don't have to spend too much for your medical bills. Best of all, if you have a serious illness or you had an accident then you can be covered. This can be very helpful especially if you don't have enough money that can pay for your medical bills. But when buying a health insurance policy, you have to make sure that it can cover your needs or else you will just be wasting your time and money. A car insurance policy is also a great help because you don't have to spend too much when accidents happen. The car insurance can cover for the expenses on the damages.

Tips In Finding Money

If you want to find more money then there are a lot of ways that you can do this. Here are some of them: • Do you have unclaimed tax refunds? If you do then claim it. The IRS is the agency that is most hated by some people. However, you may love them because you can get some money from them. The IRS reports that there are about 111,893 people who have not received their refunds. The total refunds from these people have amounted to about $16 million dollars. Whether you know or you do not know if you have a tax refund then it would be worth a try to check this on the website of the IRS. Just visit their website and look for 'Where's my Refund'. Start you search by entering the amount of your refund and your Social Security number. You can also do a verification on your tax forms because their might be some adjustments which allows you to find some money. • Reading books can be a good pastime. The problem is what you are going to do with those books filing up on your bookshelves. They just serve as a decoration in your house. If you want to find money then you can sell these books. If you want to know the worth of your books then you can visit cash4books.com. Don't let those books collect some dust but instead make some money from them. • Gift cards are great since you can shop without paying anything. But what if there are no things that you like in that store. Then you cannot use those gift cards anymore. If you want to get some money from it then sell it online such as on e-Bay. By selling these gift cards, you will have some space in your pocket and most of all you can obtain some savings. There is really no need to buy things that are not necessary so that you can use these gift cards. • Obtaining a health insurance plan is a really wise decision. You may not realize its importance right now but when injuries and illnesses can happen then you will be thankful that you have purchased it. Before you buy a policy, you have to make sure that it can cover your needs and the price must be suitable to your budget. Do not buy an insurance policy that you cannot use. If you will not be able to pay for its cost then there are chances that it can be cancelled. Health insurance is really a great help if you are experiencing some serious health conditions because you will need expensive medications and other medical needs.

Transforming The Unemployed Into A Functional Work Force

Three reasons why a combination of SOEs (state owned enterprises) and transitional employment as oppose to private enterprise should never be expected to absorb excess labor either in times of socio-economic crisis or national prosperity are based upon the cause and effect of simple arithmetic. First, the more employees a company hires the less profit it produces; thus corporate profits are directly related to employee salaries or benefits not just its production costs as they relate to purchasing raw materials, machinery, buildings and technology, in short, capital expenditures or capital assets. Whereas capital assets represent capital goods, long term investments that can be resold to recover partial loses of investment capital, employee wages and benefits do not. Much like payments made to stockholders, they represent continued profit loses that cannot be recovered through resale of corporate assets. Secondly, extensive numbers of unionized employees within a private corporation eventually lead to persistent, disruptive power struggles between labor, management and stock holders. This situation is usually brought about through competing altruistic and hedonistic human desires possessed by each of these groups as they attempt to struggle for a greater share of wealth, power and personal autonomy within the corporate hierarchy; thus instead of remaining engaged in creating products for profit the corporation as a whole becomes engaged in repetitive power struggles which eventually leads to its destruction. Thirdly, corporations are not democracies, they are modern legalized fiefdoms. According to Robert L. Dabney, D.D., L.L.D., from Discussions, Vol. III Philosophical "the other essential feature of feudalism was, that the ownership of the lands also carried to the suzerain (authoritative entity) the right of government over its inhabitants, and made him not only a landlord, but a ruler"; other aspects of corporations that exist within fiefdom or feudalism are corporate allegiance between employer and worker, the importance of earning a wage is the same as that of possessing land since wages are utilized to obtain that which could be produced from land ownership shelter, food, clothing, etc. There is also the unspoken fact that certain positions within corporate society are provided with various protections, privileges deference that other positions are not. This trait of corporate deference is also a trait of socio-economic structures that exist within a feudalistic culture composed of fiefdoms. Based upon these facts it is in a corporation's best interest to hire as few employees as possible. This is why corporations should never be expected to solve problems of massive unemployment. However, a state or municipal socio-economic strategy combining SOEs (state or municipally owned businesses) and transitional employment could successfully reduce government subsidy recipients (monthly checks that exist as SSI,SSDI or welfare payments) and increase tax revenues without creating unnecessary hardship financial hardship leading to increased homelessness amongst long term employed and disabled individuals still capable of working in limited capacities. Transitional employment of SSI, SSDI and welfare recipients within state owned businesses would provide participants with the ability to support local consumer economies, obtain valuable technical/industrial skills and current work experience through on job training without states having to increase their annual expenditures by creating specialized training or employment programs; thus stimulating local economies from the bottom up as it reduces strain on local social service services and tax payers. This situation would decrease the number of government subsidy recipients while ensuring that our country maintains a pool of qualified workers that are readily employable.

What Are Standards?

QAQC (Quality Assurance and Quality Control) is a major business imperative for mining companies. In an industry where just .1g of Au or .2% of Fe can mean the difference between success and failure, having confidence in the assay results your lab of choice provides is incredibly important. One particular QAQC tool is the standard or Certified Reference Material (CRM). Standards are a package of rock/soil that looks for all intensive purposes like all the other bags of dirt the lab receives but with one major difference. The chemistry of that bag of rock/soil is already known to a very high degree. The lab processes this package in the same manner as it processes all the other samples and reports back accordingly. The site geologist who then receives the assay results should first compare the assay results of the inserted standards to their certified chemistries. If the two are comparable, then the batch assay results can be trusted and utilised. If the lab reports chemistry for the inserted standard that varies greatly from the certified chemistry of that standard, then the batch assay results can't be trusted. Major differences between standard certified chemistry and standard lab assayed chemistry can be put down to many things but they are generally all internal lab processes. This may be poor sample prep, machine drift/calibrations issues etc. Most of the time labs will keep pulped samples of the batch and it may be, in the case of a failed standard, that the lab re-assays the whole batch. Once this is done, the standard will again be considered first. Then, once the standard has passed the comparison test, the batch assay results can be trusted and utilised. Standards are generally created by companies external to the mining company from material provided by the mining company. They are generally created from material that the mining company would consider ore. Standards can either be pulverized or coarse samples. The standard, should, for all intensive purposes, appear the same or roughly the same as any normal sample. Standards are created by drying and milling a bulk sample of that supplied ore and then splitting it down into smaller, representative packages. Once a batch of standards has been created, a random selection of samples will be taken to be sent to the umpire labs. Theses randomly selected samples must be indicative of the whole batch in average chemistries. In addition to this, the assay results given by the umpire labs cannot exhibit large scale deviation from the average chemistry. Good consistent chemistry of all umpire samples combined with very small standard deviations of that chemistry will indicated a good standard.

Does Your Business Need a GPS Fleet Tracking Service?

By now you have probably heard about companies that use GPS fleet tracking systems to monitor the activity of their service and delivery vehicles. These products offer a variety of features, and they give managers and business owners the ability to do several important tasks that relate to the performance of their company drivers. If your business depends on its drivers for its livelihood, then there are a few signs that you might need one of these systems. Is Your Business Struggling to Meet Delivery or Service Deadlines? One sign that your business could benefit from a GPS fleet tracking service is that your drivers are struggling to meet deadlines. One cause for this might simply be that your deliveries and service jobs are not scheduled efficiently enough. One of these products will help you to see your drivers' routes and adjust them so that your drivers are put in a position to succeed. This will go a long way in helping your business to thrive. Are You Concerned that Your Drivers Are Not as Efficient as They Could Be? Another sign that a GPS fleet tracking system could positively affect your business is that your drivers are not performing up to their potential. One of these systems could be a big help to you in coaching your drivers. By keeping track of their daily routines, you will be able to help them to see where they are losing time and how to improve moving forward. Your drivers will appreciate your concern, and you should see them improving in almost no time at all. Do You Suspect That Your Drivers Are Misusing Company Time? Finally, GPS fleet tracking services can be a huge help for a manager or business owner who suspects that his or her drivers are misusing company time and company vehicles. By allowing you to track these vehicles throughout the day, this product will give you an additional insight into how your drivers are using their time and your company's property. Knowing that you have this ability, your drivers will be less likely to take advantage of you, and those who do will be held accountable. You should see your business operations improve almost immediately. In all, a GPS fleet tracking system can improve your business in a number of ways. If you are having problems with efficiency or issues knowing how to coach your drivers, then this product will be perfect for your business. Moreover, it will allow you to put an end to misuse of company time and will give your operations an added layer of accountability.

Bookmarks and Your Cooking Supply Business

The West End Chef's Supply Company was looking for a way to promote itself. They had been in business for a number of years, but the recession had forced them out of business for a while and they had gone through a tough time. They wanted to reestablish their presence in the market place and were looking for some approach that might help them rebuild. The owner decided to call on someone they knew who might be in a position to advise them: a salesman at a full service printing company which happened to be located a block from their new location. They called him and they invited him over to see their newly refurbished location. He showed up and reviewed all of the concerns the owner had about restarting the business. He had a simple solution that he thought would be useful: the use of bookmarks. Why? Because anyone who did a lot a cooking owned a lot of cook books, and anyone who owned a lot of cook books would of course want book marks to mark their places. And so book marks could be used to go out with every order and every mailing. They would just be part of the marketing program from that point on. As for what goes on them, we like the idea of putting the website as the most prominent element, with email second. Physical street addresses may or may not be critical, depending on what service you are providing, and whether or not foot traffic is the norm. One thing that may make a great deal of sense, particularly if you have more than one location, is to put a QR code on the book mark, and use that to refer to the various locations. The QR can lead to a page which shows maps or which simply lists all of the physical addresses. The great thing about this approach - using a QR - is that you can update your web site at any time. Using the same QR code a year later, the user will find that the code is still good but that it brings the user to a page that has been upgraded. In other words, the code stays the same, but the information which it leads to does not. We don't think that there's really much you can do to make cheap bookmarks look expensive, as though they cost a great deal of money. All you can do is use color and imagery which imitates the idea of wealth. Using a color pattern which evokes fine wood is one approach; another would be using gold or silver trim. These approaches will give the desired impression, of course, but the effect is limited simply because no one could possibly believe that there is any real money in the item.