Follow These 7 Steps to Starting a Business
Starting a business means more than wanting to turn your accounting career into an at home job. It also includes planning, making key financial decisions and managing many legal issues. Following are seven steps that can help show you how to start a business.
Step 1: Choose a Location for Your At-Home Job
In order to claim the home office deduction on your federal taxes, you’ll need to have a dedicated space exclusively for your accounting career.
Step 2: Finance Your Business
With any business – whether it’s at-home jobs or an office space – having proper financing and cash flow to pay for the necessities until you begin making a profit is vital. While you’re still in school or working for someone else, begin saving enough money to have enough to see you through at least six months of business and personal expenses.
Step 3: Determine the Legal Structure of Your Business
There are several types of legal business structures: sole proprietorship, partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), corporation, S corporation, nonprofit or cooperative.
When starting a business, your form of business will determine which type of federal and state income tax you will be required to pay.
Step 4: Register Your Business Name
When you start a business, you’ll also need to include the legal name of your business is on all government forms and applications, including your application for employer tax IDs, licenses and permits. If you want to start a business under a different name, then you may have to file a “doing business as,” or DBA form with various city, county, state and government agencies.
Step 5: Get Your Tax Identification Numbers
Your accounting career at-home job will need an Employer Identification Number (EIN), or federal tax identification number, as well as a state tax identification number.
Step 6: Obtain Business Licenses and Permits
Depending on where you live, you may need to get specific city, county or state business licenses or permits.
Step 7: Understand Employer Responsibilities
If you plan to hire employees as part of starting a business, be sure you understand all your responsibilities as an employer.
Read more on how to start a business here.
John Brown is a retired accountant and bookeeping business owner. To keep his bookkeeping business updated he often took bookkeeping courses. To learn more about how to start a business in bookkeeping, visit UniversalAccounting.com!
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