Setting up a LLC

[Questionguy101]

Does anyone of you set up LLC for your clients?

I have a prospective bookkeeping client who wants to set up a LLC. But he wants his future accountant to be the same person to set up the LLC (for his own reason). I am thinking to do it for him because I do not want to lose his bookkeeping account. So I wonder if anyone of you has set up a LLC before and whether it is a straight forward process or not.

Thank you very much for your input.

[ChEAr$]

Does anyone of you set up LLC for your clients?

I have a prospective bookkeeping client who wants to set up a LLC. But he wants his future accountant to be the same person to set up the LLC (for his own reason). I am thinking to do it for him because I do not want to lose his bookkeeping account. So I wonder if anyone of you has set up a LLC before and whether it is a straight forward process or not.

Thank you very much for your input.

The client can do it, maybe with your assistance of course, but don't YOU do it. Best recommend he use a lawyer who will insure all the i's are dotted and t's crossed. AND will furnish the new LLC the required Operating Agreement.

Your job will then be to counsel client as to tax options, you know, whether or not to elect corporate status or not. And if so, whether to select regular or S corporation.

Be very wary of the possibility of practicing law without a license.
some states are very picky about this.

[oceanlovin'ea]

Most states have a website that makes it very easy to set up an LLC. It can be done online. Print out the copies for him and have him fill in all the pertinent information. He probably just wants to make sure he is doing it correctly. You can walk him through it and make suggestions as to what you would do if you were setting up an LLC. But he has to do it himself.

Harlan is right. If you do it for him, you would be considered to be practicing law and most of us are not lawyers.

Linda, EA

[geekgirldany]

I've filed a few for existing clients. Gone to the Georgia Secretary of State website and had them sit next to me while I ask the questions on the screen. Some don't know how to do it. Recently I started telling people just to go to the Secretary of State website and set one up there. Others go to Legal Zoom.

[Lion]

I don't organize for a client

I do NOT register a business entity. The lawyers in CT have a good lobby and frown upon what they consider practicing law without a license. I might recommend a lawyer to draw up an operating agreement or I might tell someone how to access the forms online. I definitely discuss the tax implications of the various available business entities. I suggest good liability insurance and that they talk with their insurance agent for recommendations based on their business. I tell them to keep me in the loop and that I would be glad to speak with their lawyer, agent, banker, etc. I tell them facts and responsibilities, I relate anecdotes, etc. I talk about taxes and insurance and accountable expense plans and reporting requirements. If more than one owner, I strongly suggest a formal operating agreement via a lawyer, primarily to cover what happens when something goes wrong, someone wants out, someone passes away, disagreements, etc. But, I do NOT tell them the best entity for them nor do the actual registration for their company.

[AZ-Tax]

Bookkeepers in AZ advertise filing LLC, Corp etc.

Does anyone of you set up LLC for your clients? I have a prospective bookkeeping client who wants to set up a LLC. But he wants his future accountant to be the same person to set up the LLC (for his own reason). I am thinking to do it for him because I do not want to lose his bookkeeping account. So I wonder if anyone of you has set up a LLC before and whether it is a straight forward process or not.
Thank you very much for your input.

Maybe each state is different but here in AZ, there are several several bookeepers that also advertise to set up LLC, Corp etc. and they are not Paralegals or Attorneys. I assume to obtain the potential bookkeeping business.

This is where I feel I am being pulled to the right then to the left by not officially offering bookkeeping though I have done bookkeeping for a few clients only because their previous tax preparer did their books but for those bookkeepers that do not prepare tax returns, I want to keep the referral door open with them.

[ttbtaxes]

I would advise against helping a client set up an LLC, corporation or other legal entity. What is your response to a jury when you're asked why you practiced law without a license?

I'm not sure it would even be covered by malpractice if you messed up.

You can advise about tax or business issues related to it but forming a legal entity, in my opinion, is the domain of an attorney.

I'm a bit long-in-the-tooth and have learned that you should never allow a client, much less a prospective one, move you outside your comfort zone.

[JoshinNC]

I set up 10-15 LLC's/Corps per year

I will NOT draft an Operating Agreement or By-laws for an entity, but will provide the client with a boilerplate one from a vendor we use. If the client needs a more specific Operating Agreement or set of by laws I will send them to a local attorney that I have a very good working relationship with (I would think if I were violating the law in setting up these entities on my client's behalf he would have told me so).

We charge a flat $575 for the service, prepare all the filing docs for the SOS office, obtain the EIN and file the 2553, if necessary. We also order for the client a nice leather bound LLC or Corp "kit" with the entity name, a stamp and the aforementioned boilerplate documents (total cost = $81).

I don't see this as "practicing law" under the laws of NC (see my comments about my attorney associate above) and wouldn't break a sweat about doing it.

[AZ-Tax]

Setting up an S Corp

Recently I had a prospect contact me about setting up an S Corp to purchase rentals. I was going to suggest to him that he begin by creating an LLC. Then file form 8832 to elect S Corp tax status. Does this sound correct? Should there be any relation between the # of Shareholders vs the # of members of the LLC?

[JoshinNC]

Never Ever Ever

Recently I had a prospect contact me about setting up an S Corp to purchase rentals. I was going to suggest to him that he begin by creating an LLC. Then file form 8832 to elect S Corp tax status. Does this sound correct? Should there be any relation between the # of Shareholders vs the # of members of the LLC?

have an S-Corp own real property, set up the LLC and treat it as a disregarded or Partnership, depending upon the number of owners.

[Gary2]

have an S-Corp own real property, set up the LLC and treat it as a disregarded or Partnership, depending upon the number of owners.

Tangent alert: Am I the only one, besides the quoting mechanism, whose eyes skip right past the subtitle to the body of the message? I originally read this exactly as the automatic quote provides above, i.e. a suggestion to first have the S-Corp own the real property, and then set up the LLC (perhaps to manage it?).

I'll make a counter suggestion: Please reserve the Title box for titles, not the first few words of the initial sentence. I know that it's a common practice on some bulletin board systems, but I just find it causes misunderstanding, especially with quotes.

But getting back to business, you're absolutely right. Putting real estate into a corporation like this is generally a bad idea.