Accounting & Bookkeeping
- Customers & Accounts Receivable
- Vendors & Accounts Payable
- General Ledger
- Bank Account Reconciliation
- Depreciation
- Fixed Asset Tracking
Financial Statement Preparation & Analysis
- Profit & Loss
- Balance Sheet
- Statement of Cash Flows
- Job Costing Analysis
Payroll Services
- Payroll Check Issuance including Direct Deposit
- ViewMyPaycheck.com
- Electronic Federal Tax Payments System (EFTPS)
- Year-end W-2 and 1099 Processing
- Payroll Liability Tracking & Reporting
- 941 – Federal Income Tax Withholding, Social Security (FICA) and Medicare
- 940 – Federal Unemployment Insurance
- State Withholdings
- State Unemployment Insurance
- Wage Garnishments
Individual and Business Income Tax Preparation
- E-filing
- Amending prior returns
- IRS payment plans
- Federal and State correspondence
QuickBooks Consultation
- QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor
- QuickBooks Setup & Training
- Discounts on Intuit Merchant Services rates
New Business Formation
- Articles of Incorporation
- Articles of Organization
- EIN Assignment
- Certificates of Cancellation
- Self-Employment Consulting
Insurance Audits
- Workmen’s compensation and business insurance audit forms
Other Taxes
- Sales & Use Tax
- Admissions & Amusement Tax
- Personal Property Tax
- Gross Receipts Tax
- Franchise Tax
Registered Agent Services
The function of a registered agent
Most businesses are not individuals but instead business entities such as corporations or limited liability companies (LLCs). This is because there are substantial liability protections as well as tax advantages to being “incorporated” as opposed to being “self-employed”
Most jurisdictions in the United States require that any business entity that is formed or doing business within their borders designate and maintain a “Registered Agent”. This person may be known as the “Resident Agent” or “Statutory Agent”, depending on the laws of the individual jurisdiction in which the business entity is registered. The purpose of a Registered Agent is to provide a legal address (not a P.O. Box) within that jurisdiction where there are persons available during normal business hours to facilitate legal service of process being served in the event of a legal action or lawsuit. Generally, the registered agent is also the person to whome the state government sends all official documents required each year for tax and legal purposes, such as franchise tax notices and annual report forms. It is the registered agent’s job to forward these suit documents and notices to the entity itself. Registered Agents generally will also notify business entities if their state government filing status is in “Good Standing” or not. The reason that these notifications are a desired function of a registered agent is that it is difficult for a business entity to keep track of legislative changes and report due dates for multiple jurisdictions given the disparate laws of different states.
Penalties for not maintaining a registered agent generally will cause a jurisdiction to revoke a business’s corporate or LLC legal status as well as in some cases, assess additional penalty fees on the entity.
Advantages of designating a third-party registered agent
- As the Registered Agent name and address is one of public record, generally, the registered agent legal address will be the one listed in all official public documents.
- An outside Registered Agent allows business entities to freely change their location at any time, without being required to file costly changes of address within the state they are registered each time they move.
- Designating a third-party registered agent allows the business owner to travel for business or pleasure without the risk of a default judgment because of a missed lawsuit.
- Commercial registered agents generally have systems to keep track of filing, notification and publishing requirements of a business entities which can save businesses hundreds or even thousands of dollars in late penalties were they to miss a required government filing. These are referred to as “Compliance Managers”, “Tax Calendars” and/or “Compliance Calendars”.
- Generally most commercial service providers have “Form Libraries” of forms and other documents required to file business entities in different jurisdictions – or to keep the business entity in compliance or “Good Standing”.
- Some commercial registered agents provide real-time notice of any litigation, and forward all official documents directly to the companies they represent.
- Having service of process delivered to a company’s primary place of business can spark rumors among customers and employees. Designating a separate address for receiving service of process avoids this issue.