10 Tips on How to Legally Establish Your Home Based Business
1. Check your local laws regarding your home based business. Special rules apply to different companies ran out of a home. A majority of home based companies have to follow different set of rules since they aren’t a normal company in a regular building complex. The rules vary by state to state so make sure to check out the rules.
2. You need to apply for a business license in order to get permission to operate a business. You need to check with the city office regarding a business license and how much the fee is. One thing about a business license though is that they make you pay extra money for each part time employee or full time employee that you have each year. Most home based companies start out as a one person running it usually in the beginning without another employee. A business license is fairly cheap to get one. A business license costs anywhere from $50 to $100 each year usually, but it varies from city to city.
3. Depending upon the type of business that you operate you might need to get a sales ID number from the local tax commission office. You can also use the number that you receive so that you don’t have to pay tax on items that you buy via the Internet for your company. It also applies to products that your purchase for your company elsewhere at regular companies.
4. Some home based companies are only allowed to use a certain amount of space to use as actual business area to have a desk and computer and anything else. The same space you need to use to store any inventory there also. The amount of space that you can use in your house or apartment usually depends upon the size of the house or apartment.
5. You might have to pay property tax on anything that you claim that your business owns such as computer equipment and misc. equipment. It depends upon what type of company that you operate too. It is important to let the people know when you go to get your business license whether you are operating an Internet business or not. They usually want to see examples of what your website domain name is going to most likely be.
6. One thing to remember too about running a home based business is some cities don’t allow vendors or even clients to come over to your house. They have certain rules and laws about it. The same with any company vehicles that you may drive. The city can limit can how many company vehicles that you have at your house.
7. Before you make any signs for your business make sure to check the rules and laws with the city. Some cities don’t allow any signs to put outside on a door or even in a yard to promote a business or let people know that you operate a business. You need to be careful with signs otherwise the city can make you pay a fee or take the sign away from you if its a violation.
8. Some home based companies sometimes need to have a inspection by the city before they are allowed to operate the business legally. It is sometimes a requirement to make sure that your business is going to meet the standards and rules that you must follow. If you have to have an inspection then make sure that your business license is posted up on a wall in your business room so that the inspector can see it.
9. Depending upon the city that you live in if you operate a Internet business them sometimes they want a printed copy of what your business website looks like. They usually also want a clear description on a form saying exactly what you are selling and what price.
10. Some Internet companies get checked up on by the city more than the any other normal business would be. They just want to make sure that an Internet business isn’t doing any illegal activity whatsoever. Sometimes they require notification of any updates that you do to your website or even sometimes each time you have a new item to offer for sell.
