{"id":11946,"date":"2013-01-22T00:09:44","date_gmt":"2013-01-22T00:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bme2.flywheelsites.com\/tw\/blog\/the-top-7-legal-steps-to-running-a-home-business\/"},"modified":"2020-02-08T23:25:58","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T23:25:58","slug":"the-top-7-legal-steps-to-running-a-home-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.benchmarkemail.com\/tw\/blog\/the-top-7-legal-steps-to-running-a-home-business\/","title":{"rendered":"\u7d93\u71df\u5728\u5bb6\u751f\u610f\u7684\u4e03\u500b\u6700\u9ad8\u5408\u6cd5\u6b65\u9a5f"},"content":{"rendered":"

If there is one nearly universal statement you can make about home business entrepreneurs it’s that they give little or no thought to the legal requirements of running their companies, opening themselves up to a world of hurt. Follow these seven legal steps and stay on the right side of the law:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Learn to love records<\/b> \u2013 No, not your 33 rpm vinyl Pink Floyd collection, but the archived tracking of every penny that flows into and out of your business. The rule is \u201cif it has a $ sign on it, you have to keep the record of it for a minimum of seven years.\u201d Remember that electrons are fleeting, so just stuffing the record of your income and expenses into a folder on your desktop is a dangerous prospect. Back up all your record data religiously and store it offsite, preferably on a USB flash drive in your bank\u2019s safety deposit box.<\/li>\n
  2. Determine your legal entity<\/b> \u2013 Most home office workers never give a second thought to legal entities as they receive payments in their names and just plunk them in their personal bank account. This can be a reasonable choice if you\u2019re a consultant or writer, but if you\u2019re trying to portray the image of a \u201csolid\u201d company to your clients you\u2019ll want to operate as a Doing Business As (DBA) fictitious business name. If you plan to get into some fairly heavy duty financial situations then there is no choice but to incorporate your company. It can save your home, assets and life savings if it all goes pear-shaped.<\/li>\n
  3. Review your zoning<\/b> \u2013 Simply because you have figured out a way to work from home doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that it\u2019s legal. Every square inch of your town is zoned by the municipality and there are some activities allowed on one street which are verboten on the next. Regulations vary from municipality to municipality, but generally if you\u2019re working by yourself on your computer all day then you\u2019re likely not in violation of your residential zoning. When you graduate to bringing customers to your home, hiring employees, manufacturing materials, larger scale shipping and receiving, and other more \u201cadvanced\u201d functions, you are likely violating the zoning restrictions and opening yourself up to massive fines.<\/li>\n
  4. Get the permits<\/b> \u2013 Some home offices which are allowed by zoning are still technically businesses and therefore may have to be licensed and permitted accordingly. Take whatever steps are necessary in your jurisdiction to ensure that you\u2019re operating 100% within the law.<\/li>\n
  5. Use an EIN<\/b> \u2013 An Employer ID Number (EIN) is necessary to identify a business entity. Yes, you can use your Social Security Number if you\u2019re not incorporated and have no employees, but do you really want those personal digits floating around on all those business forms?<\/li>\n
  6. Obtain a business address<\/b> \u2013 No matter what your residential zoning, it\u2019s generally a bad idea to release your home address in conjunction with your business dealings. If you\u2019re going the DBA route you can rent a post office or private business mailbox, but if you\u2019re incorporating you need to contract a registered agent to receive your company\u2019s legal notices.<\/li>\n
  7. Pay your taxes<\/b> \u2013 This might seem like the ultimate no-brainer until you consider that a staggering number of home office workers understate their taxable income (if they claim it at all). Millions of Americans are under the complete illusion that if they receive payments for work done via PayPal and then they buy something with that PayPal money without it ever hitting their bank accounts, that \u201cincome\u201d never really existed. Your local friendly neighborhood IRS auditor didn\u2019t just fall off the turnip truck, so unless you\u2019re getting paid cash under the table by your cousin, the Feds can track down income you\u2019ve made anywhere, no matter how you obtained it. So do the smart thing and be scrupulously honest at tax time. You\u2019ll sleep better\u2026 mostly because jail cots are really hard, small and uncomfortable!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You don\u2019t have to pay $400 an hour on attorneys\u2026 just follow these seven common-sense legal steps and get down to business!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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