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Register an LLC or a Corporation in California

Registration of an LLC or Corporation can be done following the steps: -

Name your LLC - this step is the first and very important step in company formation of an LLC. Do some research to ensure the preferred name you pick is suited to the business venture and is also easily searchable for prospective clients.

California has some naming guidelines which must be followed. An entity name must have the phrases "Limited Liability Company" or an abbreviation of L.L.C. or LLC. The restricted words need additional paperwork (for example Bank, Banc, Banque) and licensed individuals such as Doctors and Engineers to be a part of an LLC. The prohibited words are the ones that may confuse the name of the LLC with a state or federal agency such as the FBI, the Secret Service, or Treasury and others.

Is that name available in California? Ensure the name is not already taken by undertaking a name search which can be done on California state website. Is the web URL available? You can also check to see if the LLC name is available so that it can be reserved with the domain name. Even though you do not plan to add a website today, you may wish to purchase the domain name to prevent others from buying it.

Choose a registered expert - you have to nominate the registered expert for a California LLC. The registered expert is a person or business who is nominated by the company to send officially and receive papers on the company's behalf including the annual state filings. The registered expert has to be an occupant of California or any corporation authorized to perform business in California. A business owner may elect any individual in the company to become a registered expert.

File the articles of organization - a nonrefundable fee must be made to Secretary of State. From there, the company's articles of incorporation will have to be completed. California only requires three directors for a single corporation unless the shares haven't been issued, then it can be one or perhaps two. Also, if there is one shareholder, there can be one director. Two shareholders must have two directors. Three or even more shareholders imply that your company must have three directors. However, the state doesn't have any specific eligibility requirements for the directors.

Create the operating agreement - an operating agreement is the legal document which outlines the ownership and operating measures of an LLC. This agreement permits you to create financial/working relationships with the co-owners in an established system tailored to your business. The operating agreement is also a requirement when incorporating an LLC in California. It may be either a verbal or written agreement.

Obtain an EIN - the EIN or Employer Identification Number, or the Federal Tax Identification Number is typically used to recognize a business entity. It's fundamentally like the social security number for a company. An EIN is required for opening a company business bank account, for Federal and the State tax purposes, to hire staff for the company. An EIN is gotten from the IRS (for free) by a business owner after the formation of the company.

Why Register an LLC or Corporation in California

From a legal standpoint, an LLC has a distinct existence from the members. The LLC can also enter into contracts, and accumulate assets and debts separately from the personal assets of the members.

Other reasons to register an LLC or a corporation in California include: -

Flexible management - the LLC can take on any management structure deemed necessary by the members of the corporation to efficiently run the business. The members of an LLC can hire non-members to take care of the company's managerial obligations, or the LLC members can manage the company by themselves. Where non-members are in control of handling the day-to-day activities of the LLC, the management structure will look like that of a corporation's management structure. Where LLC members handle the company's affairs, then the management structure is similar to a partnership.

Taxation - LLCs are seen as a pass-through body by Internal Revenue Service. It allows the members of the LLC pass their share of company's losses and profits to personal income tax return. The LLCs aren't required to file their taxes on a business level. For some tax purposes, the LLC may pick taxation as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or a corporation.

Profit distribution - the LLC can also distribute profits to its members in any fashion the members deem suitable. The ownership interest of any LLC member can't be an indicator of the profits received or the losses claimed. The flexibility allows the LLC to consider the sweat equity of an LLC member. In this manner, any LLC member that doesn't have enough capital to invest in the enterprise can be rewarded for their service to the firm.

Liability protection - since the LLC acts as a distinct legal entity, LLC managers, and members may run the company without risking any of their personal assets. LLC managers and members have limited liability protection against business debts, lawsuits, court judgments, and other obligations. The LLCs are given a similar limited liability protection to a corporation. Personal creditors of the LLC member cannot pursue the business assets of the company in an attempt to recuperate personal debts.

Corporations are also easily transferred when compared to other structures, and may sell their shares to raise capital. Such shares may be attractive to employees, who are compensated — in part — with some shares in the corporation. Corporations are more difficult to create and maintain than others. When the corporation's records aren't properly maintained, it's possible to lose that limited liability status. When lawyers sue corporations and prove that all the corporate records weren't maintained and the corporation was not acting like a distinct legal entity. In such case, they have "perforated the corporate veil", and protection for their personal property is lost.

Corporations can pay lower taxes than other individuals in some cases. However, it differs state by state. It is a very good idea to compare the individual tax rates, which apply for LLCs, with the corporate tax rates. In a lot of cases, the corporation may pay less.

Benefits of a Corporation and an LLC in California

When a business is incorporated or during company formation, it evolves from a sole proprietorship (or partnership) into a company which is officially recognized by the state of incorporation. This implies that it becomes a legal entity separate from the people who founded it. This new company structure falls into two categories: a corporation or a limited liability company. Incorporation shields individuals from personal liability, and increases credibility with clients. There are also some additional benefits associated with LLCs and cCorporation in California.

Limited liability company benefits - the LLCs shield the business owners, also known to as the members so they cannot be held personally liable for any action or inaction of the LLC. The limited liability typically shields them from all personal risks involved in case a lawsuit was to arise concerning the business, thereby safeguarding the personal assets of the members. Some other additional benefits of the LLC include: -

Flexibility in management. Most corporations have a planned management structure where the directors oversee all the major business decisions, and the officers are responsible for running the business daily. LLCs don't have this same formal management structure like their counterparts. LLCs can pick non-members or members of the company to handle all the daily affairs. This flexibility is of great benefit to the structures and gives them an edge other the other structures.

Pass-through taxation. With this feature, taxes aren't paid for at the business level. When an individual forms an LLC, the income/loss will be reported on their personal tax return. When their taxes are due, they will be paid on an individual level. Corporations have tax advantages like savings on employment tax, deductibility of premiums from health insurance paid by employers on behalf of their employees, medicare taxes, and worker's compensation.

Limited liability. Corporations offer limited liability protection to its owners who are also termed, shareholders. Usually, the owners aren't personally liable for debts and liabilities the business incurs. Thus, the creditors can't pursue the personal assets like a car or house to cover for business debts.

Transferability of ownership. The ownership in a corporation can be transfer easily. However, there may be some restrictions in rare cases.

Unlimited life. The corporation is a distinct entity from its owners, implying that its life isn't dependent on it owners. This unlimited life feature keeps the corporation alive even after the death or exit of the principal officers of the company. The company remains in business in their absence. The directors can be replaced and any person who wishes to leave the firm can transfer his/her shares easily.

Establishing credibility. Company registration will help a budding business to build credibility with their potential clients, employees, partners and vendors.

Raising capital. With corporations, capital can be easily raised through the company’s sale of stock. Also, banks are more confident when providing loans for incorporated bodies such as LLCs and Corporations. Although corporations have some potential disadvantages, the benefits outnumber them.

Disadvantages of an LLC or a Corporation in California

For anyone looking to start or manage a business in California, you might have noticed that standard company registration can be a bit of a nightmare. One issue that many people have is that to run a limited liability company (LLC) in California, there is a huge amount of planning that has to be put in place. There is also a huge amount of red tape to get through, meaning that even the most well-meaning of business owners and minds can struggle to get the job done as and when they intended.

Many disadvantages exist of trying to run an LLC in California, too. Whilst it has various benefits and advantages it helps to know what to expect if you do decide to move here and try your hand with an LLC. Some of the problems you can expect to have to compete with and try to avoid will include: -

Complexity. If there is one part of company formation in California that puts people off, it's how complex it can be. You can send way too much time just getting used to the red tape that surrounds a typical LLC planning program. Running a sole-proprietorship or a partnership has far less paperwork, meaning that many choose to go down this route. The sheer complexity of classifying what kind of business you are running aloe can make choosing to go down this route a confusing and awkward event!

Publicity. Another issue that company registration in California suffers from is the challenge of going public. Business owners with plans to take their business public, or issuing shares in the future to employees, might find that a more corporate structure may fit with the idea they had. Publicity is a big issue within managing an LLC, and can make it hard to later change what you intended to deal with.

Limited lifespan. The main problem with an LLC, though, is the dependency on others. A PLC can live forever, but an LLC is in trouble the minute a member passes on or goes through bankruptcy. This can be the end of the company and puts a lot of people in a tough situation.

For this reason, it helps to work with someone who can help you safely navigate the proverbial landmine of the LLC planning. If you want to try and avoid this problem in the future, it might help to turn to an LLC planner who is an expert in safe company formation.

How to Register an LLC in the State of California

As you might imagine, the typical rules for company registration in California can be, at best, difficult to work out. At their worst, it becomes a bureaucratic nightmare that will have you with your head in your hands!

Thankfully, company formation does not have to be quite so trying as it might appear today. Instead, you can turn to the helpful world of company registration of an LLC and do it in the “right” way. For any business owners who want to begin an LLC, you might want to consider following these rulings to make sure you can get the right results in the end.

Choosing the name. The company name is the first issue to be addressed, and is naturally very important. the name has to contain the likes of an abbreviation such as LLC, the word "Limited" and "Company" or "Ltd". and "Co.". You cannot use terms like "bank" or "trust" in the name. The name has to be legitimate, and cannot be misleading to the public in any way.

Filing the AoO. You might also need to fill out an article of organization with the Secretary of State for California. This is your LLC-1 form, so make sure that you go through with this. It will cost you around $70 to deal with, but makes sure that you have handed over a key part of your legislation.

Appointing an expert. You'll need to appoint an expert who is a California resident. This person accepts legal responsibility for all legal events that may occur, so make this clear to the person before they agree.

Preparing operational agreements. You'll need to prepare a California Corporations Code Section 1505 Certificate with the Secretary of State, too, if you are an individual expert. Not all companies are on the list, though, so make sure you take the time to discover if this applies to you.

Filing statements of information. You'll need to take an LLC-12 to the Secretary of State within 90 days of filing articles of organization, your LLC-1 form. You'll then have to file a Statement of Information every two years afterward. You can get all of the details and the forms from the Secretary of State official website.

Paying state tax. State taxes need to be dealt with, too. You'll be expected to pay a minimum franchise tax, and you must file a California Form 568, by the 15th day of the 4th month after the close of the taxable year.

Complying with other tax issues. Other taxi issues exist such as business licenses, sales and employment tax as well as an Employer Identification Number. All of this can be carried out with relative ease; you just need to go and visit the California Employer development Department and the California State Board of Equalization to make sure you are on-board with everything that is needed.

Special California rulings. California, the unique place that it is, has some very interesting specific rules to follow. For example, you should need to find out if you need a state license to operate your LLC. This is a confusing element and is best dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Also, all foreign LLCs doing business in California will need to get an application for an LLC-5.

Benefits of Using Coddan in Setting up a Business in California

For anyone trying to manage the process of company formation in California, you may have noticed the red tape. Trying to go through with company registration in California can feel like trying to get through a murder scene; there's simply too much tape to cut through and problems to deal with. Rather than having to deal with these problems, you can easily find that solutions do exist – for example, Coddan can easily help out

Coddan are a team of business and company formation experts who can help you out from London. As a team who understand how to process company formation to comply with all laws and regulations, they can take away the challenge of having to plan it all out yourself and manage each little process.

Now, you don't have to spend all of your time getting nominations, putting together legislation and handling all of that annoying red tape. Coddan get the sleeves rolled up and deal with this problem for you, meaning you can concentrate less on company registration and more on company performance!

So, how can Coddan help you out?

Fast and effective. By dealing with the process is under three hours on average, Coddan can get you up and running this afternoon. They make it simple to arrange the kind of corporate agreement that you need, using many years of experience in doing so to make sure it all comes together nice and easily.

If you have a need or desire to get the show on the road quickly, then this can be the perfect way for you to move the process a little step further.

Following procedure. Arguably the hardest part of safe and sound company formation comes from following procedure. Particularly in California, where it can seem excessively challenging to put together a company registration plan, procedure can become annoying. This means that you can take your eye off having to deal with legal jargon and complex coding, and leave the experts to handle it.

They make sure that all of the boxes that have to be ticked are dealt with, ensuring that you can continue to action your plans.

LLC Post-Registration Services in California

One of the most challenging parts of running any form of company formation in California is handling all of the politics that comes with getting set up. Many people struggle to handle elements of LLC post-registration and a failure to get it right can cost you time, money and patience in abundance. If you want to avoid this from happening in the future, then you can easily turn to the company formation assistance waiting for you online.

You don't have to get the textbooks out and become a legal expert today – with the help of a post-registration expert, you can kick back and relax!

Helping you along the way. The reason for using a post-registration service is that, even after you are up and running, certain issues need to be dealt with. Many companies just soldier on and hope for the best, but with the help of a post-registration company you can easily make a significant dent in your aims and ambitions.

These services are designed to be a useful asset in your running of an LLC later on down the line. Operational management and finding the best service providers should be #1 on your list of priorities for a new post-registration LLC business.

If you need help with this then you can find that registration experts out there can help you begin to move forward. Turning to these services ca help you find the best providers and allies to have in your long-term plans, as well as helping you make sure that you are not wasting money, resources or time with the wrong kinds of people.

If you are a newly registered LLC then this can help you deal with this problem, using your own home or another address for easy and simple formation and agreement to the next steps.

There is so much to think about in the post-formation process that many LLC companies falter in their post-formation position. If you want to make sure that this is not going to be the fate for your company then getting that professional help is of the utmost importance moving forward.

Finding the correct personnel. The hardest part of running an LLC in this manner is making sure you can 100% trust the people who are behind the programming and placement of the business. To do this in the best manner possible, you can turn to a post-registration recruitment group.

They can help you find people who will fill in for each role in the company with easy, making it easier to build that operation quickly and effectively. Any business formation needs to have the right people helping it along and getting through those awkward first few weeks in operation.

If you need to find help in getting the people that you need to do this, then turning to the help of a post-formation group for LLCs is so important. They'll help you save money, improve productivity and just become a far more active and involved business starting from today.