by Matthew Burgess on January 6, 2010
The California Secretary of State has issued another warning regarding misleading solicitations.
The Secretary of State’s office has been advised that letters are being sent to California corporations directing them to submit $495 and a completed form to a private company named “Business Filings Division” in order to dissolve their business entity. A similar letter is being sent to California limited liability companies.
The letter/form does not meet the requirements of the California Corporations Code, and a corporation cannot delegate the obligation to have the Certificate of Election to Wind Up and Dissolve and the Certificate of Dissolution signed and verified by the shareholders, members, officers or directors of the corporation.
Additionally, the Certificate of Election to Wind Up and Dissolve and the Certificate of Dissolution must be submitted to the California Secretary of State’s office for filing.
If you receive one of these fraudulent solicitations, please let us know.
Also, you can mail a written complaint along with the entire solicitation (including the solicitation letter, the outer and return envelopes, and all related documents) to the California Attorney General’s office, Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, California 94244-2550.
A complaint form, which can be completed online and printed to mail, is available on the California Attorney General’s website at www.ag.ca.gov/consumers/general.php.
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by Matthew Burgess on December 31, 2009
by Matthew Burgess on December 16, 2009
In Part 1, we laid out some ways to plan for a lower tax bill in 2009. If you haven’t seen Part I, check it out: End of Year Tax Tips For Small Business, Part 1.
Here are some more ideas for your business.
Pay Your Bills Now
Rent, utilities, insurance, advertising: these are all familiar expenditures for your small business. Many financial professionals recommend paying these bills early in order to save money on your tax returns. This deduction is also valid for employee bonuses – a kind year-end gesture that benefits your finances in the long term. [click to continue…]
by Matthew Burgess on December 16, 2009
Small business owners of the world: congratulate yourselves on making it to the end of a tough financial year! Your business is still afloat, still running, and still profitable despite the gloom and doom we’ve all suffered through the last 12 months.
And there’s even more good news: we’re going to tell you about a few ways you can save money on your taxes.
Our end of the year tax tips have more to do with timing than than income level, which makes them perfect, across-the-board strategies for all types of small businesses. Using just one of these tips might save you serious money in the long run.
What You Need To Know
Every dollar spent, earned, and saved before January 1st is the business of the IRS come April 2010. Planning is everything. Getting a head start on preparations for tax day is a great way to tie up loose ends while maximizing savings for your business.
The most basic thing a small business can do to get ready for tax day is [click to continue…]
by Matthew Burgess on December 11, 2009
It’s commonly know that real estate investors/owners often form an LLC – Limited Liability Company – or corporation. But it isn’t as well known why agents would want to form an LLC or corporation for their own business.
Real estate investors often form LLCs after purchasing one or more properties. Holding property through an LLC can insulate investors’ personal assets from judgement in lawsuits that might levied against them.
However, it can be just as important for real estate agents to separate their personal assets from their business income as it is for investors.
Why? Because their profession, like most businesses, has elements of risk in its day-to-day operations. Risk that create the need for strategic liability protection and insurance. Forming an LLC can be a smart choice for companies who require liability protection that goes beyond the scope of insurance alone. [click to continue…]
by Matthew Burgess on December 2, 2009
We’re always excited to see a Formation Solutions client in the news. Brenda Zamzow-Frazier is one of the hardest-working business owners I know, and she deserves all the success in the world. She’s built The Zamzow Group, Inc., a company that provides accounting and finance professionals, from the ground up.
She was recently featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Business Owner Hits the Links to Make Connections
As a female business owner in the male-dominated world of finance,
Brenda Zamzow-Frazier said she has developed a strategy for “dealing
with the boys.”
“A fair amount of my ability to interact with the boys in business comes
from playing golf,” said Zamzow-Frazier, chief executive of accounting
services and financial consulting firm the Zamzow Group. “It puts me
in the same league with them.” [click to continue…]
by Matthew Burgess on November 24, 2009
If you’re planning a 2010 filing for your new corporation, LLC, or nonprofit, NOW is the time to get the filings prepared.
If you wait until after the New Year, your entity formation will likely be put at the bottom of a very large stack. It could take months to form your business.
Formation Solutions is a registered service provider with the California Secretary of State. If we start the process for you now, your documents will be moved to the front of the queue.
If you wish to file your documents on January 1, 2010, the Secretary of State will stamp the documents with a January 1, 2010 file date.
When the Articles of Incorporation (for a corporation) or Articles of Organization (LLC) are sent to the Secretary of State, the state scans the document and holds the name on that document for the specified future file date.
The state will also look over the documents to see if any problems exist. If there are problems with the documents (like the proposed corporation or LLC name is taken or considered to similar to an existing company’s name), they will send the documents back so that the problems can be resolved. We will then return the corrected documents to the state for the specified future file date.
Start the new year off right. Contact us ASAP and we’ll work to have your business ready to launch on January 1!
by Matthew Burgess on November 19, 2009
We like to be proactive and helpful with our blog. Information, insights, success stories, etc.
This post admittedly is none of that. I just saw an article that takes me back to the heady days of dotcom mayhem. There are certainly some lessons here. But I suspect few readers of this blog will need to learn the lesson of spending $1billion on warehouse infrastructure too quickly.
So then…nostalgia, and a touch of schadenfreude.
From Business Pundit, an article that takes me back. Any of these images ring a bell? If not a bell, how about sending an involuntary shudder of recognition?
Beenz, like Flooz, tried to create a new online-only currency.
[click to continue…]
