[Templedawg]

I am a company driver but I am asking this question for my lawn care business. I am thinking of trying to get it full time and drive part time, eventually quitting drving hopefully. Are there any advantages to inc or LLC and how do you add that to your company? Do you just put it on your business license or do you have do go through a lawyer? I've seen alot of O/O having Inc on their tractor and i guess the same laws apply to most businesses.

[ChrisSai]

What state do you live in. In Missouri it was very easy, I was able to form an LLC in one day on-line. As I understand it the advantages to an L.L.C. is that you are not personally held accountable for business activities. For instance if one of your workers injures someone while driving a company truck the injured could sue the L.L.C but not you personally. As for adding the L.L.C to your company name and business cards that must be done the day your company becomes an L.L.C. You will most likely have to register for a fictitious name with the state. That is unless you company name includes your name (e.g. Brown's lawn-care). Unless you are selling consumables you should not need a resellers license but you will require a federal employers tax id number if you have employees. Please visit your secretary of state's website (e.g. www.sos.mo.gov) for information regarding you state. Please understand that I am no expert and you should contact an attorney for professional advice.

[GMAN]

If you want to form a LLC or corporation you should be able to get the forms from your Secretary of State's office. There is no need to pay a lawyer for filling in the blanks. That is all you need to do. I would check the annual costs of an LLC and compare that to a regular corporation. I prefer the standard corporate structure. You can file a Sub Chapter S election and have the same protection as standard corporation except any profits are taxed like a partnership. In other words, you only pay taxes once, either personally or corporately. In my state the minimum cost for maintaining a corporation is $100. I am curious as to why you would want to have a corporation with a lawn service? Before doing anything you may want to check with a tax professional to see what is best for your situation.

[RostyC]

You really should find a qualified account to discuss this with. I would also interview a few if possible to see who you?re most comfortable with, it does help. They will guide you in the right direction. When I incorporated I did an S corp. under the advice of my accountant.

Why incorporate a lawn business??.. A friend told me this story a few months ago so some of the details are sketchy. He?s sitting at an intersection in downtown Annapolis, MD when this pick up truck approaching the intersection loses his trailer. The trailer rolls into the intersection and his lawn equipment of course scatters everywhere. The trailer hits my friends? truck. I believe he had 4 mowers and other equipment on the trailer. This was no small trailer. No one was hurt but imagine if someone was. LAWSUIT! Of course the guy was probably an idiot but he might have been an employee too. Now your responsible, just something to think about.

What part of the country are you in? Here in the northeast things are slow, my wife has a small cleaning business (just her) and let me tell ya when things get tight people will drop the little extras till they get better. However, I see some of these lawn care guys running some nice trucks, not that that means their making any money.

[Templedawg]

Thanks for the input. Right now I have a fairly small operation, but the potential really seems to be there to make very good money. I have always heard O/O talk about once you get a business to Inc or LLC it, to protect yourself from a lawsuit. I am just trying to decide whether or not to go from side job making extra $$$, to more of a full time job having my own business. The real money is in commercial accounts, but they require liability insurance and a business license, plus alot more time than I have right now.

[GMAN]

While I don't see a lot of potential asset risk in your business venture, there could be some tax benefits, such as being able to more easily shelter income. One other thing to keep in mind is that just because you have a corporation, doesn't mean that you cannot be sued personally. With crooked lawyers running around, you can be sued for anything. :evil:

[RostyC]

One other thing to keep in mind is that just because you have a corporation, doesn't mean that you cannot be sued personally. With crooked lawyers running around, you can be sued for anything.

You know, I don't doubt that one bit.

The real money is in commercial accounts

I subcontract snow plow work from a decent size landscaping company, and last year I was talking to the owner and from what he told me a lot of the money is gone from commercial landscaping. (Note: for this area) There are some big outfits here in Maryland and Virginia that are practically giving the work away so it's not worth it to try and compete, so although he has some commercial accounts left he focuses more on the wealthy private homeowners (he's in an area with a lot of them) and does well.

Also, on you?re liability insurance; it?s probably not that much. For me in construction, it used to be around 400.00 per year. It changes to a percentage when you hire employees and then becomes more expensive.

Good Luck to you Templedog.

[Iceman]

Go to MyCorp.com and they will incorporate you for about $350. I had an S-Corp in California and when I moved to Nevada I dissolved it and formed an LLC, both times MyCorp did it for me. Very easy. I am in the process of doing it again, only in Washington state. My CPA in California advised that I stick to the LLC because it doesn't require so much record keeping and other filings. It saved me money definitely. First time I did it because I was working for developers, and then my husband and I did it for our trucking business. Go for it.

Iceman's Wife

You do not need to have a third party to form a LLC. Go to your states web site download the forms, fill them out, write a check for costs, and mail. Very simple.

[socalwillie]

Yes you're right you dont need a 3rd party to get a corporation set up but its never a bad idea to use one if you're not familiar with the process or like me dont have the time.

I used a service that was very well priced and offer a great service (they cater to truckers)

check them out and mention you're a trucker to get a discount (i did) :P

www.myllc.com