The Secretary of State in the United State offers exclusive services to all new businesses to get their records filed using the secretary of state filing service. This will help your business anchor properly in the state while establishing credibility and increasing the consumer market.
Once you have filed the business, you will be able to perform multiple searches online, access records, take their printouts, among many other benefits. Doing these tasks online saves your energy, time, and money. You can utilize these resources to focus on your business operations and increasing profits.
The Secretary of State Online Searches
The secretary of state online searches are highly beneficial for your business. No matter where you are in the process of establishing your business; a new one, submit filings for an existing one, or searching for details about any business, the secretary of state online searches is an ideal place to begin.
Following types of the secretary of state searches are accessible in the United States:
- Find a business through its name or business ID
- See whether a business name is available or already taken
- Find a business through the officer’s name
- Look for a finding officer or the company’s director details
- Find a business entity through any registered agent
- When you find a business entity online, you will be able to view all its filings and records
What to use the online filings for?
You can use the online filings for the following:
- To access and view the annual summary or report
- To renew a business name
- To update the details of the registered agent or officer
- Process serving
Once you enter the business details for filing, you electronically verify that you have the authorization to file the business details and that the submitted information is correct, accurate, and up-to-date.
The filing also takes your original name as your signature on the form.
What can be viewed and printed from a business filing?
The following information can be accessed, viewed, and printed through a secretary of state business filing:
- Reinstatement forms for the local business entities that have been dissolved in the past
- The form for changing the details of the registered agent or office
- The details of the microfilm records
- All the scanned documents
- List of present officers according to the annual report
- The details of the founding officers and the board of directors of a company
- The status of your account
- Details of latest charges and deposits on your registered account
- The form for validating a purchased certificate
Now that we know everything that online state filing has to offer, let’s explore the benefits and drawbacks of this filing. Remember these will come in handy if you are planning or currently doing any of the following:
- Planning to start a company
- Working as a sole proprietor
- Working in a partnership
The Benefits: Incorporating Your Business
Here are some pros of state filings:
- It helps you protect all your business assets and get tax breaks. Incorporating your business offers protection against all liability and debts. Hence creditors cannot come after your property, mortgage, or vehicles to clear business-related loans.
- You can enjoy many tax-related benefits such as premiums on health insurance, employment tax savings, and offers on life insurance policies.
- You will get ample opportunity to strengthen your business in the present and for the future. Filings help you establish credibility and increase your reach to a greater target population and even new business partners. So your business will live forever even when you depart from the world.
- You can enjoy smooth transactions and transfer of funds. The corporate entities have the liberty to transfer funds with no restrictions. You can even increase the capital by selling the stock. Moreover, banks usually offer loans to incorporations easily.
- You can enjoy a great retirement plan. You will easily be able to access all the retirement funds and loans for an easy life later on.
The Drawbacks: Incorporating Your Business
There are certain drawbacks of listing or filing your business as incorporation but the benefits definitely outweigh these drawbacks:
- The Double Taxation
Corporations have to pay double taxes on their profits when the entire income is distributed in the entity. However, you can avoid paying double taxes by opting for the tax status of ‘S’ Corporation’.
- The Continuous Fee
You will have to go through the tedious process of filing information with the state that comes along with certain charges or fees. This fee is ongoing and is more for the corporations than for the sole proprietorship or the partnerships.
- The Constant Record-Keeping & Maintenance
Lastly, corporations also have to go through the time-consuming process of maintaining the annual records throughout the year. This is not compulsory for partnerships, sole proprietorships, and LLC companies.
