What you need to know
The Business Solutions Team helps with your LLC entity formation by filing the LLC with the state, generating your Operating Agreement, obtaining your EIN with the IRS, submitting your S-Corp Election, connecting you with our business license research resource, and confirming your business bank account & initial capital stock contribution. Once these steps are completed, you'll move onto the Accounting & Payroll Onboarding Process.
Stages of forming a new entity
Step 1. LLC Entity Formation
Once you've completed your Kick-Off Call, you will log into your Collective Dashboard to answer a few questions regarding your preferences for your new LLC. Important things to consider when filling out this information are determining your business name and business address. Your LLC should be set up in the state where the work is actually performed. If you work in multiple states, please see this article regarding Foreign Registrations.
Articles of Organization
Collective will handle your LLC application with your state to get your Articles of Organization. Depending on your state, this could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Once approved, we’ll provide you with a copy.
Registered Agent
We’ll assign our trusted partner, RASi, as your LLC's Registered Agent.
(Check out our article for more information on what a registered agent is).
Step 2. Operating Agreement
Once you get the email confirming your Articles of Organization, log back into your Dashboard to complete your Operating Agreement. This document describes how your LLC will be managed. We’ve got a template ready for you to e-sign.
Step 3. EIN (Employer Identification Number)
The EIN, also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number, identifies your business with the IRS. After e-signing the Operating Agreement, you’ll start the EIN registration process. Just answer a few questions to generate an SS-4 Form, and we’ll handle the rest. The EIN is usually provided immediately, and we’ll send you the number and a copy of the CP575.
Step 4. S-Corp Election (Form 2553)
You’ll get an email with instructions to sign your Form 2553 for your S-Corp tax election. Download, print, and sign the pre-filled form from your Dashboard, then re-upload the signed form. We’ll fax it to the IRS and upload a copy of the fax confirmation.
Step 5. Business License
After receiving your Articles of Organization, log into your Dashboard to confirm if you’d like help with researching your business license requirements. You can choose our partner, CSC, or do the research yourself. For more info, check out our article on business licenses.
Step 6. Set Up Business Bank Account
Decide if you’d like to set up a business bank account with our partner, Mercury, or open one yourself. Follow the prompts if you choose Mercury. Once your account is open, log back into the Dashboard to confirm your bank information (bank name and last four digits of the account number).
Step 7. Initial Capital Stock Contribution
An Initial Capital Stock Contribution is the money you contribute to get your business started. This can be any amount transferred from your personal account to your business account. Enter the amount and date on the Dashboard, and you’ll see a confirmation page that your formation process is complete.
What’s Next?
You’ll receive another email to log into your dashboard to begin your accounting and payroll setup.
Complete the setup for your Collective Accounting & Collective Payroll accounts.
Link your business bank account to our system.
We’ll register your business for payroll tax accounts (if applicable).
Schedule a training call with one of our Onboarding Accounting Advisors to go over our bookkeeping process and confirm payroll setup.
We’re here to help every step of the way. If you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out. Welcome to Collective!
Disclaimer: The information contained in this document is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or tax advice. It is not intended to be a substitute for obtaining accounting or other financial advice from an appropriate financial adviser or for the purpose of avoiding U.S. Federal, state or local tax payments and penalties.