1. Did you consult an attorney before launching your business & at what point did you do that?

2. Did you consult an accountant & at what point did you do that?

3. At what point did you open a business checking account? And if you feel like sharing, how much did you open it with? Is there an advantage to having your account open a few months before you launch?

I've already registered my LLC with the state.

Thanks for your input.

Lezly

Good questions here. I have had several businesses in my town so I know the routine on opening one.

As far as a business checking I don't have one in my town. I do have a business PayPal account.

I use to have a business checking account but learned I do not need one for the transactions I do here. I bill my local clients just like I bill my out of state clients, through PayPal.

As far as an attorney is concerned, it depends on if you are incorporating or not. You can do an LLC on your own but it is highly recommended when doing an incorporation that you use an attorney.

As a VA I do not see any reason behind having an attorney consultation unless you are doing something that you have questions about.

Others may have different opinions on this subject. I hope to see more contribute to the conversation so that I may learn what others have done.

Take Care,
Andrea~

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Action Jackson Virtual Assistant|

Lezly,
I agree with Andrea, good questions. I was able to open an additional checking account with only $25.00. However, it was a personal account and not with my biz name on it. To open a business account the bank required $100.00. I chose the personal account because I already had it from when I had an Avon biz and just never closed it out.

I haven't personally talked with an attorney. I asked about doing so when I talked to someone at the small business development center and he said there probably wouldn't be a need for an attorney just starting out and maybe never.

It is too early in my biz to work with an accountant. Probably the only time I could see having an accountant would be tax time. I will have the same accountant do my taxes that I had for the resale store I managed. So the accountant is someone I have done business with before.

Hope this helps some but it like Andrea I would like to see what others think, especially those who have been in business many years.

Diana

I opened up my LLC in Nevada, it was quicker and easier to open back in 2003. In 2005 after changing from a Typing Firm to Virtual Adminstrative Assistant Firm, I opened up a business bank account because of Paypal.

Reason being, Paypal locked my account after a client did a charge back; I did the work and the person refused to pay. I am still fighting to recoup my monies for both parties.

Another reason for having a bank account, since my business was registered and licensed in Nevada and I live in New York City, I want to have my business registered and Licensed here. Under New York State Licensing Laws, I need to register my business as a Foreign LLC and show a bank account. With having the bank account, they need and EIN number.

I did everyting from starting my LLC and making a Foreign LLC by myself. It was easy and I researched everything before I made a decision.

If you don't understand the legal jorgan, than I say speak to a lewyer, it better to be safe than sorry.

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Phyllis L
UNIQUELY40, LLC
http://www.uniquely40.com

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1. Did you consult an attorney before launching your business & at what point did you do that?

I did not consult an attorney since I am sole proprietor however I did contact my insurance agent for E & O and to check my homeowners on equipment coverage for my business.

Quote:

2. Did you consult an accountant & at what point did you do that?

I did contact my accountant to make sure that I had all my bases covered and check in with him regularly (although he is a family member) to see if there are things I have to do because of whole financial situation.

Quote:

3. At what point did you open a business checking account? And if you feel like sharing, how much did you open it with? Is there an advantage to having your account open a few months before you launch?

You absolutely needs a separate banking account. You never should mix business and personal funds since you need to track your business expenses and report your business profits/losses.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

I consulted an accountant when I first set up my business and have a separate banking account. It makes it easier to keep track of business expenses.

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Bernice
Energy Virtual Assistant

I consulted my attorney, who is also our tax accountant, before making the final decision to be a sole proprietor instead of setting up an LLC, for the time being.

I opened a small business (community) bank account before I got my first client, as I wanted to be able to transfer the payments I received out of PayPal right away to pay for equipment, office supplies, etc. The banks in my area offer a free checking account to businesses under a certain number of transactions per month and require less deposits to open. Shop around, compare and see what your local banks can do for you.

It is very important to keep business and personal funds separate and having a separate business checking account and debit card makes that easy.

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Angie
Blue Water Business Services