Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Why You Need Registered Agent Services If You Own A Small Business

By Jessica Thompson


There are a lot of rules and regulations that must be followed when opening a new business. Most owners enlist the help of various professionals to file insurance and tax forms and handle the legalities that have to be completed correctly. The majority of states require business owners to use registered agent services. If you happen to live in a state without this requirement, you should still give hiring a legal representative serious consideration.

An agent can be an individual or a company that you designate to accept certain documents and communications on your behalf. Documents can come from attorneys, the Internal Revenue Service, or various government entities. Agents have to be located in the same state your business is registered in.

They serve as contacts for the state. It is especially important to have a service like this when you have businesses in multiple states, or don't actually do business in the state in which you are registered. Failure to have a designated representative can have serious consequences.

Agents are third party individuals or companies business owners employ to receive all kinds of official documents on their behalf. The agents are located in the state where the business was registered. Owners authorize them to receive documents from process servers, the Secretary of State and any other government entity, lawyers, and the Internal Revenue Service.

It's important to states that they be able to reach owners of businesses at all times. That's why the majority of them require businesses to have official contacts. If you don't actually do business in the state where your company originated, the contact is even more important. Agents are required to have physical addresses. Post office box addresses are not acceptable to states.

Not only is this an important contact for the state, it also important for you as the business owner. When you have multiple locations, it is possible that you will fail to receive important tax and legal notices in a timely manner. You certainly need to know when you have been served notice of a pending lawsuit as soon as the suit has been filed. You don't want to miss important tax deadlines because the notice didn't reach you in time to meet a deadline.

There are owners who try to save money by acting as their own agents. While it may be legal to do this, it has drawbacks. Agents must be accessible all the time in order to receive notifications. That means if you have to leave the office for the day or take a vacation or a sick day, you have to make alternative arrangements. You will probably find that the convenience of paying an official representative is worth the cost.

Having an official representative means you will not have to deal with a sheriff knocking on your business door to deliver notification of an IRS inquiry or court summons. If you decide to move your business, having a representative with the state will cut down on the paperwork. States have the authority to fine you, revoke your licenses, and keep you from the court system when you fail to comply with this regulation. The procedure to reinstate your business will be costly and time consuming.




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