Erin, if you're willing to have Paypal keep a small percentage, a pro account with them (which I think is required for a business using Paypal anyway) will allow people to pay you using their credit cards.
Nobody can tell Marmaduke what to do. That's my kind of dog.
Trick ,'First Date'
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javachik - Jun 05, 2011 11:48:34 am PDT #66 of 1416
Our wings are not tired.
Strix - Jun 05, 2011 12:33:39 pm PDT #67 of 1416
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
I will have to look more into that. I thought I might need to do so; well, I will have to get the 2nd bank account set up, then.
amych - Jun 05, 2011 12:38:15 pm PDT #68 of 1416
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
Not a bad idea anyway - it doesn't even have to be formally a "business account" (which may have extra setup requirements and a different set of fees). Mine is a free one at one of the online banks. But knowing that I have one account, with its own debit card, through which all my biz $$$ goes, and connected to my PayPal is in-freakin'-valuable for my sanity and simplicity.
Trudy Booth - Jun 05, 2011 12:44:45 pm PDT #69 of 1416
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart
This thread is happy making. I'm toying with putting together a "Personal Assistant By The Hour" sort of thing.
In our new (shit) economy multiple income streams seems to be a good way to go -- so if I'm teaching ESL, accent coaching, pursuing (and hopefully getting) voiceover work, and consistently running errands, etc. for various busy well-paid New Yorkers I could do alright in the next few years.
Strix - Jun 05, 2011 12:56:28 pm PDT #70 of 1416
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
I already checked at my bank and the Small Business account requires $15K. Um. I think I'll just be getting a regular one in my own name only, and that way, I can just transfer monies to our joint account for bills and such.
Trudy, I very seriously thought about focusing on VA (Virtual Assistant) work. People can make a very decent living, if they position themselves right.
Make sure you have a clear-cut business hours section; I've heard some crazy shit about people calling VA's at all hours, asking for such and such.
Trudy Booth - Jun 05, 2011 1:02:47 pm PDT #71 of 1416
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart
Eeek! I shall!
Rates will go up PRECIPITOUSLY when contracted after-hours.
NoiseDesign - Jun 05, 2011 1:57:03 pm PDT #72 of 1416
Our wings are not tired
Erin, the simplest thing for you to be is a Sole Proprietorship. Even with this, I'd say file a DBA as per the rules for your state and municipality. My company is actually "My firstname lastname DBA as company name." Once you have this done then you should be able to show the paperwork and open a bank account under the name of the DBA and you can also take checks made out to the DBA. It's also easier to defend the business if someone else comes along with a similarly named company.
As for payments, I've used a professional PayPal for quite a few years and it's pretty functional. They have a tool where you can generate an invoice through their website and then send that to a client. It will have all the information on how your client can pay you using a credit card, or whatever other PayPal method they prefer.
I also now have a Square account, which allows me to swipe credit cards on my iPhone as well as punch in credit card numbers for charges on my iPhone. The software is free, and they send you the credit card reader for free. They take a small percentage of each charge as a service fee. It's pretty slick and links to a bank account.
Having the business bank account can be important because it makes it much easier to manage business expenses vs. personal expenses. You are now going to hopefully have a bunch of 1099 or other untaxed income. This means you are going to want to track the crap out of your expenses so that you can either count them as a write off, or count them as a business loss to lower your net income and control your tax burden. This is the area where having a professional accountant can really pay off. Also start doing things like keeping a mileage log on your car. You can claim at about $.50 a mile (I think that's where it is now) and that can add up quickly. To do this you need to make sure that you are keeping a log. I buy a new one every year and track all of the miles. If more than 50% of your vehicle miles in a year are solely for business then you can get an additional tax benefit by claiming part of your vehicle as a business expense. Also, if your vehicle is an SUV with a GVWR of over 6000lbs then there is yet another tax break (This is one of the reasons I'm now driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee.)
Sorry, lots of information here. Once again, this is where I really cannot recommend highly enough having a tax accountant. The software can be great, but it can get so complicated so quickly. It's also much better to get these types of things in place while the business is small, rather than trying to get them into place once your grow. Trust me on this one.
Strix - Jun 05, 2011 2:22:31 pm PDT #73 of 1416
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Kansas doesn't do DBA's or Sole Proprietor licensing -- you just have to fill out the CR-17 for taxes.
Which I have to do this week, also. Sign up for bank account and merchant PayPal. I forgot people can use credit cards on it. No smartphone apps for me; no smartphone. Although I despise the keyboard on my phone for texting, and I am going to trade in for something more functional as soon as it's feasible.
I'm tracking mileage, phone calls, and hours spent on clients and on business development and promotion. I have a non-disclosure agreement and a contract dummy.
I'll have to look around in KC; I think I'd want a smaller accounting office that works largely with small business owners.
However, for the next 3 or 4 days, I'll be pretty focused on finishing a job, but I have gotten so much accomplished that I am ok with letting it lie, mostly for a few days.
Stephanie - Jun 05, 2011 3:45:29 pm PDT #74 of 1416
Trust my rage
Just wanted to echo what ND said. I don't use paypal for my clients, but I do use Square because it is so simple. I'm a little unhappy with how often my money shows up in my account, but i just got it all set up so I'm hoping it will make more sense soon.
Strix - Jun 06, 2011 2:45:39 pm PDT #75 of 1416
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Random writerly: Anyone know off the top of the head, if you buy a book and review it, if that can be counted as a business deduction?
I'm swamped this week, but want to read and, I think, review Mira Grant's Deadline book, next week, and I thought, "Wait, can I CLAIM that?"
I'll look it up later, if no one knows, but it's just a sudden thought.
(I AM going to get an accountant, I just can't afford it yet. So I'm trying to do my best on my own for a bit.)