Many small business owners and entrepreneurs are choosing Florida to start their LLCs. If you are thinking of doing the same, opening an LLC there isn’t difficult and could come with various benefits like limited liability protection, and flexible tax and management structure. Read further to find out more about the options and possibilities.
How to Start a Florida LLC?
- Name Your Company
The first step when opening a business is to choose a name for your company. You’d want to find one that is simple, unique, and memorable, to properly represent your business and be attractive to your future clients or customers.
In Florida, there are a few rules about choosing a name for your LLC, but the process isn’t difficult to complete. Some of the rules state that you must use an original name that isn’t even “confusingly similar” to any other company’s name. Your company name must include the “LLC” or “Limited Liability Company”, and the registered company name in Florida must be advertised in the local newspaper at least once after the registration.
- Choose the Management Structure
When opening a limited liability company in Florida, there are two types of management structures to choose from. An LLC Florida can be “manager-managed” or “member-managed”. The owners of the company, commonly called “members”, can manage the company, whether there is one or more of them.
On the other hand, an LLC can be assigned to a professional manager by the members, to act and make decisions on their behalf.
- Find the Registered Agent
In Florida, as well as in most of the other states, you’ll need to have a registered agent in order to start your LLC. A registered agent is responsible to receive all the state communication and legal documentation connected to the business.
The registered agent can be anyone with an official physical address in Florida, a member, or a third-party agent service. The thing to note when deciding on this is that the agent’s information is then available to the public and that if it ever comes to the lawsuit, for example, it must be delivered to the registered agent directly. Because of all these details, most company owners decide to hire a third-party agent service to be responsible.
- Filing Articles of Organization
When forming an LLC, you will need to file the articles of organization which can be done online or by mail, and include the basic information about the LLC like the name, registered agent and the mailing address, purpose of business, effective date, etc. Besides that, get informed about the registration fee that must be paid along with the application.
- Certificate of Publication
According to the law, you must publish a public notice or a classified ad connected to the formation of your LLC within 120 days of filing your articles of organization. That statement should include:
- The name of the LLC
- The name and address of your registered agent
- The address of the main office of your LLC
- The mailing address
- The name of the CEO, the members, and the managers of the business
- The business purpose
- Operating Agreement
The operating agreement is considered to be a foundation for a professionally-run business and a document that sets guidelines for the future of every new company. This agreement is required by the state of Florida, and it should be written and kept in the company’s record.
- Getting the Business Permits and the EIN
As a new business owner, you will need to get your permit or a license for running the business from the State of Florida, and at each location your company is operating.
Besides that, you’ll need to get the EIN, or a federal tax ID, which is a number issued by the IRS for identifying the tax purposes of your business. Requesting an EIN number is one of the last things on your list when opening an LLC, as you’ll need to wait until the company has been approved by the state to do that.
What Are the Benefits When Opening an LLC in Florida?
Besides the fact that starting an LLC in Florida is pretty easy, without too much administration, and flexible ownership and management solutions, there are even more good things to consider.
With an LLC in this state, you will have limited liability protection, meaning that as a business owner, you won’t be personally responsible for the debt or loss your company may suffer. LLCs in Florida are also subject to pass-through taxation which is a great option for small business owners, and there is no restriction on subsidiaries which opens even more possibilities for growing your business.
