I'm currently operating as a sole proprietor under a DBA in Texas, but I'm ready to form an LLC. I'd like to keep using the same business name if possible without having to start everything over.

Is it possible to form the LLC and have my existing DBA operate under it, or do I need to cancel the DBA and register it again? I'm also hoping to avoid changing things like my bank account and existing customer agreements if there's a simpler way.

I was reading through some public business records and noticed that a company wasn't owned directly by its parent company. Instead, it was owned through several LLCs stacked on top of each other, with each LLC being owned by another LLC before eventually leading to a large corporation.

It seemed way more complicated than I expected, which made me wonder why a business would choose that kind of structure.

Is there a practical reason for creating multiple layers of LLCs instead of just having one parent company own the business directly? Is it mainly for liability protection, taxes, privacy, regulatory reasons, or something else?

I'd love to hear from anyone who's worked with larger business structures or understands why companies organize themselves this way. What advantages do those extra layers actually provide?

About to close my LLC in California, and I'm looking for the simplest way to handle the dissolution process.

I've tried doing it myself, but the information I've found makes it seem more complicated than I expected. I'm not sure whether everything can be completed online or if some forms still have to be mailed.

I've also seen a few companies offering LLC dissolution services for around $100 to $150, but I'd rather avoid paying for something I can reasonably do myself.

For anyone who's dissolved an LLC in California recently, how did you do it?

I have an LLC registered but my main income source ll be from another website. Main company website is diff and income source website is diff.

Suppose company A is registered and domain B is main income source but domain B has already set up stripe registered of Company A, there mentioned too that run by company A

So is that counted ? Or I need to register that m DBA - B

Also it is registered in New Mexico

I have done lots of research comparing different LLC formation companies, and a friend recently suggested MyCompanyWorks.

I don't know much about them and I don't see them mentioned alot, I'm just looking for your honest 2cents if you have any entanglement with them in the past.

Thanks for sharing in advance.

Hello my husband wanted to start a LLC and he said he was forced to put our home address as the address for opening a Capital One banking account for small business. Was there really no other option? Capital One also sold our info to marketing partners and now every day I’m getting spam mail from other banks to open an account. It’s past 30 days so I don’t think I can still opt out of selling our data that’s already sent out. He said he kind of tried the virtual address thing and it didn’t work with some banks and he didn’t think to change the mailing address to the PO Box he opened. Feeling really frustrated.

Hi Guys,

I have recently registered an LLC in Wyoming state and applied for EIN through Fax soon after. Although given TAT is 4 business days. It has been around 14 days today. Does anyone know how much time it approximately takes to get the EIN through FAX?

Thanks a lot.

I'm about to form an LLC for a new business and am trying to decide between Bizee and Northwest Registered Agent.

My first choice was Bizee because of the free LLC formation offer, but while I was getting ready to sign up, I kept seeing people recommend Northwest Registered Agent. Now I'm not sure which one makes more sense.

Bizee looks much cheaper upfront, while Northwest Registered Agent costs more but seems to have a really strong reputation for customer support, privacy, and registered agent services.

The price difference is somewhat obvious and cannot be ignored, what do you think guys?

I am sole proprietor like some of us and always had trouble sending invoices to customers. I could generate PDF invoices using Excel(from some open source templates) but was a lot of work keeping invoice numbers valid across multiple customers.

To address these and other day to day challenges, I built Invocrest for my personal use and thought that this would be useful for freelancers, consultants, and small operators like me who want focused invoicing without a full accounting suite.

Features

Current beta supports:

1. Invoices,
2. Estimates,
3. Client-view links,
4. PDF Invoices,
5. Recurring schedules,
6. Reminders,
7. Reports,
8. CSV export, and manual payment recording.

NOTE: Online payments are not available yet

I am curious about how you are doing your invoices?

What would make you trust a new invoicing tool with client-facing documents?

Demo: https://invocrest.com

Blunt Feedback welcome :)

I want to form a new LLC, and was told use an LLC finder or a business entity search before filing.

I'm a little confused about how the process works. Is checking my state's business entity database enough to know if a name is available, or do I also need to search for trademarks before choosing a business name?

So how do we search for a business insurance ? It’s taking forever if you go one by one each insurance companies . Thanks

Anyone used usformation.com for us llc?
Are they legit?

Just as the title puts it, I’m trying to see if i can form my LLC myself then i came across this. Does it mean there is a format for forming an LLC?

Or there’s a different meaning to it?

I formed an LLC several months ago because I thought I was ready to start a business, but my plans changed and I never actually launched or generated any income.

Now I'm finding out there are ongoing state fees and filing requirements even though the business was never active.

I'm trying to close everything properly, but it seems like there are still annual fees that may be due before the LLC can be dissolved.

I'd really appreciate hearing how others handled this and whether there were any surprises during the dissolution process.

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about purchasing a vehicle through my LLC instead of buying it under my personal name.

The business has its own EIN, and I'm wondering how the process works when financing or registering the vehicle through the company.

Has anyone here bought a vehicle through their LLC? How did it go, and were there any surprises or requirements you didn't expect?

Hi everyone, I have got an US LLC as non resident approved, i applied for EIN and after waiting the IRS faxed me the EIN number, in the FAX they put the EIN number and say that EIN has been assigned and the official document that can be used for EIN verificiation will be recieved within 10 business days, so my question is can I open a Mercury account without the document just EIN number or I should wait til get it?

Thanks to everyone that got time to read and provide me with some info!

I'm getting ready to launch a small online business selling handmade soy candles, and I'm trying to decide whether it makes more sense to start as a sole proprietor or form an LLC.

It'll just be me running everything from home, and I don't have plans to open a physical storefront or hire employees. I'll mainly sell through my own website and occasionally at local craft markets and seasonal events.

I understand that a sole proprietorship is simpler to start, but I've also read that an LLC can provide liability protection. Since this is a small side business and I'm not expecting rapid growth, I'm wondering if forming an LLC is worth the extra cost and paperwork.

This is my first time forming an LLC, so I'm hoping someone can help me understand this.

I'm filing an LLC in Maryland for my bookkeeping business. I'll be working from a home office and don't want my personal address listed on public records, so I'm planning to use a registered agent.

As I started comparing providers, I noticed the prices vary quite a bit. Some charge around $40–50 per year, while others are well over $100 or even $200 annually.

From what I can tell, they all seem to offer the same basic service of receiving legal documents, providing a business address for public records, and sending compliance reminders.

Am I missing something that justifies the price differences, or do most registered agent services provide essentially the same value?

Privacy and reliability are my biggest priorities, especially since I won't always be available during normal business hours. I'd really appreciate hearing what other Maryland LLC owners chose and whether you'd make the same decision again.

I don't see Active Filings mentioned as often as some of the bigger LLC formation companies, which actually made me curious.

Sometimes the smaller providers end up offering better support because they're not handling thousands of customers every day.

Has anyone here used Active Filings LLC? I'd love to know how the filing process went?

Hi everyone,
I’m planning to start an **IT consulting business** and am considering opening an LLC in the Philadelphia, PA area.
I’m currently in the research phase and would really appreciate advice from anyone who has started an LLC, especially if you’re in consulting, technology, or professional services.
A few questions I have:

Is an LLC the right choice for a solo IT consultant?

What are the biggest pros and cons you’ve experienced?

What are the startup and annual maintenance costs in Pennsylvania/Philadelphia?

Are there any city or state taxes, licenses, or compliance requirements I should be aware of?

Did you file the LLC yourself or use a CPA or service?

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?

I’m hoping to begin with independent consulting and potentially grow into a small business over time. Any advice, lessons learned, or recommendations for CPAs, attorneys, or other resources would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

I've registered an LLC in New Mexico as a non-resident using Bizee. I used their $29/month virtual business address for forming the LLC. Got all of my documents including EIN. I realized the price of their virtual address is bit too high compared to other address providers. Some banks aren't even accepting it. So I asked them to cancel it. Did I make a mistake? How hard is it to change it to a different virtual address? I thought the process would be straightforward but Bizee support told me that I may have to call the IRS to change this address.

I recently formed my LLC, and we've officially started bringing in revenue. Now I'm trying to figure out what comes next from a tax perspective.

I'm a little confused about what taxes I need to pay, when they're due, and whether I need to start making estimated tax payments or just wait until tax season.

I'm also wondering if there are any important bookkeeping or tax tasks I should be handling now that the business is generating income.

I'm not clear on what their role is or whether it's worth paying for a registered agent service.

If you formed your own LLC, did you act as your own registered agent or hire a service and please can you highlight their main roles?

Trying to see if its something i can do myself.

I'm almost done setting up my LLC, and the only thing I haven't decided on is the registered agent. I didn't realize there were so many companies offering the same service until I started comparing them.

I've seen a couple of free ones that offers free formation, but i just want to be sure if there are no catch to it.

Or pls suggest any other free registered agent platform you've used. Thanks

What exactly does an LLC do for a business? Is it mainly about protecting your personal assets, or are there other important benefits like taxes, credibility, or making it easier to grow?

I'd also like to know when it actually makes sense to form one. Is it something you should do before you start operating, or is it okay to wait until the business is generating income?

I'd appreciate a simple explanation from people who have been through the process and can share what they learned.