Of all the choices you make when starting a business, one of the most important is the type of business entity you select for your company. Not only will this decision have an impact on how much you pay in taxes, it will affect the amount of paperwork your business is required to do, the personal liability you face and your ability to raise money. It 's not a decision to be entered into lightly, either, or one that should be made without sound counsel from business experts. “Kalish says it 's important for business owners to seek expert advice from business professionals when considering the pros and cons of various business entities”. The business entity I have chosen for my business is sole proprietorship. I don’t want to be responsible if someone else makes a bad chose for the company. I want to run my business my way. If anything goes wrong it is completely my fault not anyone else’s. Types of Business Entities The type of business entity you choose will depend on three primary factors: liability, taxation and record-keeping. Here 's a quick look at the differences between the most common forms of business entities: •A sole proprietorship is the most common form of business organization. It 's easy to form and offers complete managerial control to the owner. However, the owner is also personally liable for all financial obligations of the business. •A partnership involves two or more people who agree to share in the profits or losses of a business. A primary
| A sole proprietorship is easy to create; there is minimal creation cost and time.The single owner has autonomy in decision making; sole owner makes all decisions related to the business and has complete ownership of business’s finances.
• LIABILITY – All liability rests in the sole proprietors shoulders. There is no hiding from liabilities of the company for the owner, nor is the business sheltered from liabilities of the proprietor. • INCOME TAXES – Since the owner and his/her business are one in the same, all income is then treated as personal income to the
The organizational forms a company might have as it evolves from a start-up to a major corporation are: sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations. The advantages of a sole proprietorship are that is is easily and inexpensively formed; is subject to few government regulations and it’s income is not
Many believe that liability is a biggest issue in a general partnership than in a sole proprietorship. The owners of the company are still fully liable for any debts the company may accrue as well as the liability for any lawsuits that may be brought against the company. However, the bigger issue in a partnership is that now each partner can be liable for the other partner’s actions. If one partner is sued for malpractice, the other partner may suffer because of it.
2. Why do many entrepreneurs initially set up their businesses as sole proprietorships? Why do many successful entrepreneurs eventually decide to convert their sole proprietorship to some other form
Sole Proprietorship Sole proprietorship is the most common form of business in the United States. It is a relatively simple way for an individual to start a business since legal costs and business requirements are minimal, and the owner has complete control over the business. Though a sole proprietor is not responsible for any corporate tax payments, the owner is responsible for taxes incurred on the income generated from the business as part of his or her personal income tax payments, and personally shoulders any other risks or obligations. A sole proprietor may also choose to file their business under a fictitious business name or a DBA (doing business as), allowing him or her to operate and market the business under a more typical
Sole proprietorship: Is the simplest and most common business structure. There is no legal distinction between the proprietor and the business, which means it is autonomous. You are entitled to all profits and responsible for all your business's losses and liabilities.
Liability: The owner/operator of a Sole Proprietorship is subject to full and unlimited financial liability for the business. The owner and the company are legally the same entity. The company’s assets are legally the same as the owner’s personal assets.
Sole Proprietorship: This is a type of business is where the business and the owner are one in
Sole Proprietorship: A type of business that is owned by and run by one person with no legal difference between the business and the owner. It is easy to form with no cost or time to initiate. It gives the owner the ability to self-govern the business. There are drawbacks; only one owner can be established not allowing a partner. Also, unlimited liability puts the owner’s personal assets in jeopardy with the creditors.
There are many other forms of business entities available to entrepreneurs, the main type are sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporations.
After the creation of a business plan, the next step to operating a business is the selection of an appropriate business structure. Different legal forms of business ownerships affect different managerial and financial factors from the business names to the tax obligations (Gregory, n.d.). The most common forms are sole proprietorship, partnership, cooperatives, and corporations. There are different types of corporations in the business world, but the two most general corporation types are S Corporation and Limited Liability Company (LLC) (Ferrell et al., 2013). The sole proprietorship is the easiest and most basic form of business ownership. It is owned and run by one individual, which is the proprietor. The individual is entitled to all profits and is responsible for all the business’s
The advantages to the sole proprietorship are single control over the business and its decisions, easy to start up, less regulations and paperwork burden that the other types of business. The disadvantages are unlimited liability for their company debts and actions. The law does not recognize any distinctions between the owner’s business assets and personal assets. Banks are very skeptical about lending to these types business because there is only one person to hold liable for repaying the debt.
Is the most common business type, where the business is operated and owned by a single individual. In this type of business, the sole proprietor provides capital, does not share profit or loss and runs the business alone. As such, the business and the owner are indistinguishable for tax and legal purposes (Dlabay, 2011). To differentiate this business from other business types, a sole proprietorship is discussed under the following characteristics.
As with any kind of business formation, there will always be, to some extent, negative aspects associated with the creation. To this date there is no perfect form of business entity. When deciding on which entity is best suited for a business, there are many things to be considered. Prior to deciding on a business structure, some major points to be thought about are both the legal and tax ramifications associated with the entity chosen. Another criteria that should be considered are the costs connected with the entity type. These cost include the cost of formation as well as any continuing administrative cost that may be incurred. (“Choose Your Business,” 2011)