Starting a business is one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have. However, the process is wrought with pitfalls for inexperienced entrepreneurs. Seeking advice from your Dallas accountant regarding entity selection and structure enhances your chances for long term success. Your accountant can act as a sounding board for your ideas and suggest courses of action.
Entity Selection
Each legal entity has advantages and disadvantages, and liability protection is a major concern for business owners. Forming a corporate entity helps to protect owners’ assets if the business is found liable in court. Tax is also a factor during entity selection. Federal, state, county and city authorities all have tax requirements that impact your formation decision. Your CPA can explain liability and tax issues to help you form your entity in the proper fashion.
Potential legal structures include:
- Sole Proprietorship
- General Partnership
- Limited Liability Company
- S Corporation
- C Corporation
We can also assist you in setting up the corporation with the appropriate authorities (Secretary of State, IRS, etc.). It’s important to make sure you’ve taken all the necessary steps to establish your business, and we can take care of it for you.
Business Structure
Poorly structured businesses have the potential to flounder and fail. For this reason, reviewing your business plan with your CPA is important. You need to have the right management team, organizational structure and funding. If working capital is insufficient, bills may go unpaid and you can lose your initial investment. Your CPA can provide you valuable insight into the different facets of business design.
Bookkeeping
Establishing a chart of accounts and effective bookkeeping processes is essential for business success. Internal controls need to mitigate risks and protect the accuracy of financial statements. Seeking advice from your CPA can help you establish solid accounting procedures. This leads to quality financial data and allows you and your leadership team to make better decisions.
There are a number of reasons to consult with your Dallas accountant when selecting your business entity and structure. Contact us for additional information on starting and running your business.
