This guide covers how to reach your team, what to expect month to month, and the key deadlines you'll hit in your first year as a Collective member.
Getting in Touch
The easiest way to reach us is by sending a message through the Message Center in your Collective Dashboard. You can also browse or search our Help Center any time you have a question.
Paying Yourself
Understand owner’s distributions (or owner's draws). Owner's distributions (also called owner's draws) are how you transfer business profits to yourself for personal use. They are not a business expense and do not reduce your business's taxable income, they are simply transfers of profit from your business to you as the owner. For a single-member LLC, your business income is generally reported on your personal tax return, so taking an owner distribution or draw does not create additional taxable income.
Monthly Rhythm
Bank and credit card statements. Providing your bank and credit card statements 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 does not support automatic uploads, or you choose not to enable them, you'll need to manually upload your statements 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. There is no need to connect personal accounts.
Quarterly: Estimated Tax Payments
Self-employed individuals must make quarterly estimated tax payments toward personal income tax if they expect to owe $1,000 or more in taxes for the year.
Payments are made under your name and SSN, from your personal account, as these are not a deductible business expense. We recommend setting up an Individual Account online with the IRS to make things easier and to view your account details and history.
The Quarterly Tax Estimate tool in the Taxes tab of your Collective dashboard helps you calculate and track what you owe. Your team is happy to walk through it with you if anything looks confusing.
Payment is typically due on the following dates (unless the date falls on a weekend, then it is due the following business day):
Q1 — April 15
Q2 — June 15
Q3 — September 15
Q4 — January 15 of the following year
Yearly Milestones
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, but if you’d like a second set of eyes on what you’re seeing, just reach out.
Personal returns are due by 4/15 (or a 6-month extension can be filed if needed). Personal tax return preparation is included in your LLC membership plan with Collective, and you can opt in directly from your Collective dashboard when the time comes.
Common Expense Questions
Unsure whether something is typically deductible or where it usually falls? This is a great starting point.
Accidentally paid a business expense personally? It’s fixable, just be sure to log it in the “Reimbursements” section of your Dashboard in the section labeled “Out of pocket” and our Accounting Team will manually add the expense to your LLC’s books.