Your First 90 Days with Collective for LLCs

This guide is for members on the LLC tier. It covers how to reach your team, what to expect month to month, and the key deadlines in your first year as a Collective member. If your business has an S Corp election, see Your First 90 Days with Collective for S Corps.

Getting in Touch

The easiest way to reach us is by sending a message via Get help in your Collective Dashboard. This will launch a knowledgeable chat feature that will provide you an instant answer and can escalate to a specialist if it isn't able to fully resolve your question.

You can also browse or search our Help Center any time you have a question.

Paying Yourself

As an LLC owner, you don't run payroll for yourself. Instead, you pay yourself through owner's distributions (also called owner's draws), which are transfers of profit from your business account to your personal account. They aren't a business expense and don't reduce your business's taxable income. Because a single-member LLC (SMLLC) reports business income on your personal tax return, you're taxed on your business's net profit, not on the amount you withdraw, so taking a draw doesn't create additional taxable income.

Since nothing is withheld from your draws, set aside money for taxes as you go, and keep enough in your business account to cover upcoming expenses.

Monthly Rhythm

Keeping your books current each month makes tax time smoother and gives you an accurate view of how your business is doing.

1. Provide bank and credit card statements. This is the most important monthly step in keeping your books up to date. Many banks support automatic statement uploads through your Dashboard. If available, you can enable this feature in the Settings section of your Dashboard. If your bank doesn't support automatic uploads, or you choose not to enable them, upload your statements manually each month so our Accounting Team can reconcile your accounts and keep your books accurate. Important: Only connect your business bank and credit card accounts. Personal accounts don't need to be connected.

Quarterly: Estimated Tax Payments

Since no taxes are withheld from your owner's draws, quarterly estimated payments are how you pay income tax and self-employment tax during the year instead of all at once.

1. In most cases, you'll need to make quarterly estimated tax payments toward your personal income tax and self-employment tax if you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year.
2. Payments are made under your name and SSN, from your personal account, since they're personal taxes rather than a business expense. We recommend setting up an Individual Account online with the IRS to make payments and view your account details and history.
3. The Quarterly Tax Estimate (QTE) tool in the Taxes tab of your Collective Dashboard calculates your estimates using the IRS safe harbor method, which is based on last year's taxes and can protect you from underpayment penalties. If your income has grown, you can increase your payments or use the guided estimates option. Your team is happy to walk through it with you. Your state may also require estimated payments; see Making State Quarterly Tax Payments.

Federal payments are typically due on these dates (if a date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day):

• Q1: April 15
• Q2: June 15
• Q3: September 15
• Q4: January 15 of the following year

Yearly Milestones

1. Depending on your state, you may have an annual LLC renewal or annual report requirement. Your registered agent typically sends reminders when it's due. State annual filings aren't included in Collective's services, so keeping them current is up to you. If you'd like a second set of eyes on what you're seeing, reach out to your Collective team.
2. Your Individual Tax Return (ITR) is due April 15, or a six-month extension can be filed if needed. An extension gives you more time to file, not more time to pay, so any tax owed is still due by April 15. Collective prepares your ITR, including your business activity, as part of your LLC tier membership. When tax season opens, you'll start the process from your Collective Dashboard.

Common Expense Questions

1. Unsure whether something is typically deductible or where it usually falls? This is a great starting point.
2. Accidentally paid a business expense personally? It's fixable. Log it in Accounting > Reimbursements under Out of pocket, and our Accounting Team will add the expense to your LLC's books. If you accidentally paid a personal expense from your business account, add a note on that transaction in the Accounting section of your Dashboard, or send us a message, and we'll categorize it as an owner's draw.

Next Steps

If you have questions specific to your business, reach out directly from your Dashboard. We're here to help. 

This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Deadlines listed reflect Collective's operational requirements to ensure timely delivery of services. Failure to meet these deadlines may result in delays to your tax filings and IRS penalties and interest, for which Collective is not responsible.