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Written by : Cecelia Michelin |
Current : 2030 |
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ready to incorporate an LLC in Georgia but unsure where to begin today you will learn about the most common ways to start your business including the correct forms you'll need how to register your LLC critical naming requirements and all other vital tips and tricks then as a bonus later on in the video I will reveal to you a trustworthy registered agent who will help set up your LLC for free so make sure to stick with me until the end Georgia LLCs are cost effective and easy to set up the state of Georgia like other states has several specific LLC requirements there are three main ways you can start an LLC in Georgia first is the DIY or do-it-yourself process where you mostly depend on Georgia state's website the second way is hiring a professional service that practically offers more efficiency and Security in a process of creating your LLC while the third one is hiring an attorney we will skip the attorney hiring portion because that's expensive and most business owners won't need that service first let's take a look at the steps required for starting an LLC on your own step one name your business before anything else you will have to think of the llc's legal business name each LLC in Georgia must have a distinct LLC name that is not currently in use you must include the terms limited liability company or an abbreviation such as LLC you cannot include phrases such as a corporation which would lead people to believe you are a different business organization knowing if your business name is taken or not is very easy just go to Google and type in the words business entity records Georgia Secretary of State and click the first search result I also have the link in the description below for your convenience it will lead you to a landing page of business entity records in Georgia scroll down a little and you will see some search options which make checking the availability of your business name easier generally you can click the first option entity name and type in your business name for example I am typing a very common business name Here Car Wash Express which will give you a list of existing business names a unique business name will say no matches found just like this random name I typed in keep in mind that the division of Revenue doesn't check names for trademark compliance it's ultimately up to you and your business attorney to ensure that your llc's name doesn't infringe on any other company's rights Step 2 Georgia requires LLC to have a registered agent an agent has a physical address a PO Box is not allowed and is available during business hours this agent will serve as the llc's primary point of contact for receiving key legal papers tax warnings summons subpoenas and so on you can register yourself or someone in your company but I highly recommend getting a professional registered agent as they have more knowledge by protecting your company in cases of possible cracks while I agree that family members or friends are reliable enough to be trusted as your llc's agent you are more comfortable sleeping at night knowing that your agent is professional and trained to manage legal documents to avoid problems concerning Court schedules filing reports with the Secretary of State Etc besides hiring a professional registered agent is not expensive in fact there are companies that offer a free registered agent as part of your package when you form your LLC through them ink file is a company I recommend which has this free service Inc file offers a free registered agent on your first year of signing up for their service during that free year you can already take advantage of a professional and trained agent to receive legal documents on your behalf a dashboard where you can always access the correspondence that your agent has received as well as email notifications and automatic forwarding whenever your registered agent receives documents step 3 filing the Delaware LLC certificate of formation after that you must file the certificate of formation with the Georgia Secretary of State's business entities Division and the office of the judge of probate to officially incorporate a domestic Georgia limited liability company the Georgia state filing cost for LLCs is 100 for domestic LLCs and 225 dollars for foreign LLCs you can add 100 extra for expedited filing what's the difference good question basically a domestic LLC means that you are already a resident of Georgia and you want to build a business in Georgia foreign LLC on the other hand is for people living outside Georgia but wanting to start a business or a franchise of their business in Georgia with that said most businesses would be applying for a domestic LLC you can file the certificate of formation online or by mailing it to the Secretary of State expect the LLC certification process to take approximately two weeks this is three to four days for the judge of probate and 10 days for the Secretary of State step 4 prepare an operating agreement now an operating agreement is a good idea to have in place with the other members if your LLC has more than one member although a limited liability company operating agreement is not necessary for Georgia your operating agreement should clarify how your company or business will handle big picture issues such as allocating earnings and losses and dissolving the company your operating agreement should also cover the transfer of membership interest profits or losses and distributions initial Investments decision-making Powers voting rights and management and lastly dissolving the business step 5 obtain an EIN an EIN or employer identification number is a federal tax ID issued by the IRS your EIN is used by them to readily identify your firm and tax filings all Georgia firms pay a business privilege tax and the state requires you to have an EIN to file you may also be required to provide your EIN when opening a bank account or applying for municipal permits or licenses obtaining an EIN is a slightly longer process compared to their previous steps I'm sure you know anything to do with the IRS is confusing first you have to have complete knowledge of your LLC such as your company information managing member information business address business information company details and even critical information regarding vehicular assets and federal excise taxes this is another reason why getting a professional registered agent is way more convenient as they can do this for you as part of their service now let's talk about the second option to form an LLC and that is hiring a professional formation service professional formation services do all the steps you should be doing on your own from filing necessary forms to acting as your registered agent you usually have to allocate a specific budget for this option as I already mentioned earlier Inc file is one of the best companies out there to help you form your LLC you can click on the link in the description to get access to this deal Inc file is one of a kind as it offers a free package with services such as preparing and filing your articles of organization well you still have to pay 237 dollars for the state
Thanks for your comment Cedrick Bjerknes, have a nice day.
- Cecelia Michelin, Staff Member
five minutes 300 seconds what can you get accomplished in less than five minutes you can read the same book to your kid for the 12 zillionth time you can meditate and find your inner Zen you can send a thank-you note to a fellow employee whose work you appreciate you're welcome you can maybe even clean out that junk drawer in your office who are we kidding you're not gonna really nothing out it's been that way for ten years but let me tell you what you can do in less than five minutes you could file your annual registration simply go to D Corp SOS GA gov or use the link to the new intuitive website that allows you to file your annual registration from the Express annual registration or one-click annual registration portions of the new website if you're making no changes to your annual registration and you are current on your past annual registrations just click the one-click annual registration button enter the name or control number of your business either one will do your business information will display for you to review and certify your amount due will display and you will click the click to pay button to pay click to pay is what you click it's next the screen confirming the security of your payment will display enter your credit card information and click the pay with your credit card button to process your payment I know right that was quick and easy if you don't have any changes to make one click is the way to go but maybe you're thinking drats I do have some changes to make I wish I could have used the one click well hey look don't fret we have Express annual registration for you from the homepage of the new website click Express annual registration enter the name or control number of your business your business information will display for you to review and edit if necessary then certify if your entity is a corporation from the next screen you can add or edit your officers if your entity is a limited partnership from the next screen you can edit your general partners address or addresses you'll then be able to review your business information and then file your annual registration your amount due will display and you'll click the click to pay button to pay enter your credit card information and click the pay with your credit card button for process your payment that's it so what are you waiting for it'll take you less than five minutes go online and file your annual registration today
Thanks Wes your participation is very much appreciated
- Cecelia Michelin
About the author
I've studied ecological psychology at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and I am an expert in program semantics. I usually feel moody. My previous job was appeals referee I held this position for 16 years, I love talking about bridge and model aircraft. Huge fan of Walt Whitman I practice triathlon training and collect baseball cards.
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