No one likes to do paperwork. (well, almost no one — if you find that rare individual, hire them and keep them!)
In order to keep your corporation or LLC compliant, there are things that must be done consistently. These requirements are not onerous, but they are easy to overlook in the hustle of your day-to-day business.
I have seen a number of closing on business deals that are delayed because the corporate books weren’t kept up, or the annual fees weren’t paid and the corporation has to be re-instated. Be sure to set an appointment in your calendar once every 6 months to review all of these items and be sure that there is nothing that you need to catch up on.
Small Business Trends has a great post from this past week about this exact thing (here), so I won’t rehash it all over again. Here are the key points they make:
1. File your initial/annual reports (also known as a “Statement of Information”)
2. Keep up to date with your corporate minutes and resolutions
3. Record any changes for your corporation/LLC by Filing “Articles of Amendment”
4. Make sure you’re legal when conducting business out of state
5. Don’t commingle your personal and business finances
6. File DBAs for any name variations
7. Don’t forget to close an inactive business by dissolving your corporation/LLC
Read the full post for the details behind each of these pointers and consult with your accountant or your attorney, or whoever helps you with your corporate records.
If you are thinking of selling your business, this review should be on your checklist to take care of at the beginning of the selling process.
Take the little bit of time now to stay in compliance and avoid any red tape nightmares later when you find out that you didn’t!
