1. Trends & External Forces

Why Your Retail Business Should Be An LLC

Are you planning to open a retail business? It’s quite an achievable dream, and you’re on the right track by landing on this read. The authorities require several items to register your business and allow you to run operations. One of what you need to do is identify a business structure for your business. 

A business structure depicts how you run your operations. One of the common business structures you can adopt is a Limited Liability Company (LLC.) Why should your retail business be an LLC? Here’s why:

It Is Easy To Start And Run

With all the stresses that come with running a retail business, take the ease and convenience of registering as an LLC.

One, you can independently register an LLC, and online registration is also possible. All you must do is fill in a form and pay a fee between USD$50 and USD$500. However, the figures differ depending on the state.

Alternatively, you can hire an expert to assist you with the registration process should you find it challenging or don’t have the time to register the LLC independently. As you do this, ensure they’re qualified and have the experience. You can check reviews, like a Legalzoom LLC review, to ascertain credibility and performance.

Running an LLC is also relatively easy; there’s less paperwork involved. Unlike other business structures, you don’t have to hold annual shareholders’ meetings and record minutes or prepare annual reports. Your entire focus is on growing your business.

You Get To Enjoy Personal Liability Protection

As you run a business, you might get hitches here and there. Some are financial and could lead to business debt. A client could also file a lawsuit against you. In such situations, the court might ask you to pay fines and penalties or compensate the aggrieved parties.  

Without personal liability protection, the court can direct that your personal assets are used to pay the fines. It’s the case if your business assets aren’t adequate to compensate. However, with your business being an LLC, you’re protected from personal liability. 

An LLC separates you from the business. Therefore, you can only use your business assets to pay debts, fines, and penalties.

With this regard, it’s essential to acknowledge that your personal assets might not always be safe. There’s a possible lifting of the corporate veil. When this happens, your personal assets are no longer protected. The lifting occurs if you share one bank account with your business, or in extreme cases, such as committing fraud. Therefore, separate your business bank account from your personal one.

You Evade Double Taxation

Tax paying is a practice adopted in many states; you pay a given amount of money from your income to the government. The government then uses this money to fund public projects.

When running a business, double taxation occurs when you have to pay individual and federal corporate income tax. The result is increased business expenses, reducing profits. 

Registering your business as an LLC eliminates double taxation. You get to enjoy ‘pass through taxation’ where your business taxes pass to your personal tax. As a result, you won’t pay federal corporate income tax. You’ll pay taxes for your business profits under the personal tax. There’s no double taxation.

There Is Management Flexibility

An LLC allows you to choose between a manager-managed or member-managed structure. The manager-managed option entails appointing a manager from members or hiring a third party. The former is preferred if you want to keep your operations private. Third-party management is ideal if no member has skills in management; the third party will be skilled. For the member-managed system, members will actively take part in managing operations.

Management flexibility is essential in enabling businesses to run as they see fit.

You Enjoy Privacy

An LLC can be made up of many members. Some prefer to keep their identity private regarding their business ventures. In other situations, you might have angel investors that helped you start up, but they want animosity. 

Some business structures won’t allow this kind of privacy since you have to submit the names and addresses of members. However, with a limited liability company, you don’t have to give a list of member addresses during registration.

Some states will only require the name and address of the management and not the other members. In others, you can work with a registered agent, whose information you’ll give to the registering body. The agent will work as the line of communication between the government and your company. Ultimately, you enjoy privacy.

Conclusion

The discussion above focuses on the LLC structure for your business. It has given reasons it’s an ideal option for your retail business. The reasons touch on liability protection, reduced business expenditure, and ease of running operations. With this insight, you can decide whether or not an LLC is ideal for your business. Be sure to make the right decision.

 

The post Why Your Retail Business Should Be An LLC appeared first on Retail Minded.

View Original Article
https://retailminded.com/
Do you like Retail Minded's articles? Follow on social!