Sadly, the process is trickier than you may think in today's business world. You've got legal, marketing and even internet-related issues to ponder.
Fortunately, a handful of tips can make the process less stressful and more likely to produce in the end a good name.
Tip #1: Google Your New Name
Here's a first tip. You should Google your new LLC's name (inside quotation marks) to verify that nobody else is using the name you want.
If you're thinking about opening a new drycleaning outlet and want to use the name "Riverside Drycleaning", for example, Google on both "Riverside Drycleaning" and the full legal name you're likely to use such as "Riverside Drycleaning LLC."
You want a name that isn't already being used... obviously.
Tip #2: Verify Your New Name Is Different Enough
All states require new limited liability company names to be enough different from the names used by existing limited liability companies registered in the state so that no confusion results.
You probably can't name your business "Advantage Property Management LLC" if someone else has named their business "Advantage Properties Management LLC," for example.
To check out the names of existing limited liability companies in your state, visit your state's secretary of state web site and find the web site's directory of existing corporations and limited liability companies. Then, search that directory for names similar to your desired name. Make sure no existing name is deceptively close to what you want to use.
Tip #3: Identify Your LLC Status Correctly
Within your limited liability company name, you'll need to include words, phrases or acronyms that identify your entity as a limited liability company. For example, you might append the acronym "LLC" to the end of your business name.
Different states have different rules about which words, phrases or acronyms you should use. But usually, you can employ the acronyms or phrases, "Limited Liability Company," "Ltd. Liability Co.," "LLC," or "L.L.C."
One factor you should consider, however, is whether there's a chance you'll operate in another state. If that's a possibility, you want to make sure your LLC name works both in your home state and in the other states in which you're likely to do business.
Note: The acronym "LLC" works in all fifty states.
Tip #4: Consider Your Future Web Site Name
Even if you're not currently planning on setting up a web site for your new business, you may want to do so in the future. Web sites can often become powerful marketing tools for small businesses (because so many potential customers and clients now use the web as a replacement for the yellow pages directory).
This means you should consider your web site name as you think about your business name. You may want a business name that works (at least reasonably well) as a domain name.
You need to be careful about making a domain name too long or hard to spell. That said, domain names that resemble the phrases that potential customers might Google or Yahoo can be very useful.
If you're opening an landscaping business in a town named Arlington, for example, a web site name like ArlingtonLandscaping dot com will help your search engine marketing--which means you may want to name your business Arlington Landscaping LLC.
Tip #5: Consider Your Email Domain Name
And a related point about Internet domain names: What makes for a good domain name for search engine marketing purposes sometimes doesn't make as much sense for email addresses. For email addresses (which you'll be giving out all the time verbally) you want something that people can easily, correctly interpret, and not unintentionally misspell.
In the first days of the Internet age--the mid 1990s--I foolishly choose to use my first name, middle initial and last name for my CPA firm's web site. Unfortunately, my parents selected as my first name one that has three or four spellings. And my middle initial can easily be missed or misread as a number. Predictably, I have had endless troubles with the domain name and web site address stephenlnelson dot com. Ugh.
As the name suggests, a limited liability company affords ?limited liability? to the owners and the ?pass-through? income tax benefits for the primary partners. By ?limited liability?, it is implied that the partners or owners of the LLC do not have to share the complete responsibility for all the debts and other transactions of the company. Such setups are usually more beneficial for enterprises that have single proprietors and with a small scale transaction and turnover.
Following are the Common Elements of a Typical LLC-
LLC Members- Every limited liability company has to have a minimum of one member without which the company cannot exist. There could be more than one member and in this case they are the partners in the company, and hold certain stake as per their contribution to investments. The members can be real people or even legal entities (one or more) like corporations or other business entities.
Partner Interests- Every partner has a definite interest stake in the LLC and this is referred to as the ?membership interest? of the particular partner. The tune of the membership interest is directly a function of the investment of that particular partner in the LLC.
Management of a LLC- A LLC is managed by its members. The degree and limitations of the management domains for members are predefined, in accordance with the volume of ?membership interest?, and as per the operating agreement.
The Operating Agreement- This is essentially the constitution of the LLC that documents the agreed member principles. The operating agreement is approved and accepted by all the members as it allocates vesting of particular rights, liabilities, and other such functions to individual members. The operating agreement holds a very important place. It is the rule book, and if not crafted with due care and diligence, could possibly leave out exploitable loopholes.
Registration of LLC- A LLC cannot be said to exist and be legally valid as long as it unregistered. The registration process primarily involves acknowledgment of the LLC by an appropriate and competent government authority. The requisite procedure in this regard differs slightly in every state. However, it will essentially involve filing the Articles of Organization with the concerned government agency for authentication and validation. You can find more information about the formal registration procedure on the website of the Secretary of State for your region.
Perhaps, the most advantageous part of the LLC structure is its flexibility. Once you have your LLC in place duly registered, you can make changes as are necessary. The ubiquitous phrase ?..unless otherwise stated?, is invariably found in all the LLC operating agreements and can be put to good use as per requirements.
Both Stephen Nelson & Mira Williams are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Stephen Nelson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Setting Up Company and Tax Deductions. Seattle CPA Stephen L. Nelson wrote QuickBooks for Dummies and edits the do-it-yourself and. Stephen Nelson's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
Mira Williams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Personal Desktop, Tummy Tucks Before and After and Shopping. IncFile offers expedited filing services to clients that do not want to wait for the normal state processing times. Our expedited service will ensure that your filing is formed by the state in the shortest possible time:. Mira Williams's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.