Starting Your Own Business
Starting your own business is a dream and a challenge undertaken by many people every day — from small hobby businesses to multi-tiered, investor-backed corporations. Whether your business-to-be will be successful is subject to a number of factors, but there are certain steps early in the planning process that will help ensure your success.
All businesses, even small part-time operations should apply for a federal Employer Identification Number, or EIN. A business’s EIN is a unique identification number distinguishing one business from the next, and can be used in lieu of your social security on many business-related documents, reports, and applications. Get a federal Employer Identification Number online from the IRS quickly and easily.
Another important planning matter is to establish thorough record-keeping procedures, including a collection plan and timeline. Educate yourself on basic accounting principles and decide whether your will handle it yourself, or hire someone else to keep the books. Either way, you should be able to easily track and verify money flowing into and out of your business. Set a schedule for periodic review of your books and records. As a safety precaution, let your bookkeeper or accountant know that you plan to conduct spot checks from time to time to check for problems or inefficiencies in your accounting and bookkeeping plan, and that you welcome suggestions for improvement.
Depending on your business model, you may also need to establish methods for keeping up with marketing, IT, maintenance duties, and payroll processing.
These are some of the key factors to include in your business start-up plan. For professional legal advice about starting or growing your business, call an experienced business law attorney. Scolieri Law Group, P.C. can answer your business law questions and help you get started in western Pennsylvania. Contact us today at (412)765-0546 or info@scolierilaw.com.