Posts by gentlehound15

slymaker9
What even is power?

Power is what happens when you’re losing an argument and simply run out of things to say.
Then, you and your little buddy—the moderator—just decide to put the whole topic under Lockdown.

That’s how you flex. That’s the real display of power.
slymaker9 and dustyskipper3. You two are quite the pair, aren't you? Like two peas in a pod. Honestly, you should just get married and have a dozen kids. Raise them without TVs, without video games, and definitely without electricity or running water.

That way, they might actually grow up to be "true believers," just like the both of you.

Betty Garcia3
Regarding that tax credit issue... I’m not entirely sure, but it might just come down to whose name is actually on the notary's invoice.

banderas
You hit the nail on the head regarding the billing. If you're setting up an LLC and aren't in the VAT system yet—well, technically, the LLC doesn't even exist as a legal entity at that exact moment, right? It isn't active. So, you can't exactly have an invoice issued to a company that hasn't been born yet.
In my specific situation, the bill was issued to us as the founders, though we included those extra clauses in the operating agreement I mentioned earlier ("Members/Founders of the Company may not request reimbursement from the Company for their initial capital contributions if such a reimbursement would result in a reduction of the Company's initial capital amount."
).

In the next section, under the heading "startup costs," there's this line:$3333 The Company is required to reimburse the founders for startup costs up to a maximum total of , provided that these startup costs are not paid out directly from the initial capital.

Maybe that's why the sales tax can't be recovered. And, at least in my case, I can't pull the startup costs from the initial capital either—mostly because the expenses aren't billed to the LLC itself, but to the individual founders.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm just happy that the startup costs can be reimbursed eventually (at least from future earnings).

Best,

gogo

It’s not half bad, though I can't help but wonder if it actually holds up under legal scrutiny... I mean, what would the regulatory boards even make of it?
Creative, for sure.

John Davis8 said:If your articles of incorporation specify that the corporation will reimburse the founder for the initial setup costs, you can draw those funds from the amount paid as $6667 initial capital...

LP

Actually, I don't think you can touch that initial $20,000; it’s gotta come from future earnings.

In my specific situation—while a notary was drafting our Articles of Incorporation of ABC LLC—one of the clauses was phrased like this: Members/founders of the corporation cannot demand that the corporation reimburse them for what they contributed as initial capital if doing so would result in a reduction of the corporation's base capital.

Then, in the very next section titled "incorporation costs," there's this line:
The corporation is required to reimburse founders for incorporation costs up to a maximum total of $3333, provided that these incorporation costs aren't paid out directly from the initial capital.

So, even though you might be able to spend that $6667 on whatever you need—office furniture, laptops, phone bills, all that good stuff—you can't just claim those setup costs against that specific pool of money.
Once the LLC starts bringing in its first $3,000-$$1333, then you can draw those incorporation costs back and record them under account 0100 (STARTUP EXPENSES) for example:
2444.80 incorporation costs - notary public
55.00 state registration fees
400.00 court filing fees
810.00 publication fees in local newspapers
Put those on the left (debit) side of your T-account, and under account 2134 (LIABILITIES TO OWNER) on the right side, using the same example:
2444.80
55.00
400.00
810.00

(The LLC is brand new, so I'm still picking this up from my accountant.)
The bottom line is that the notary really needs to anticipate this issue and bake it right into the Articles of Incorporation of ABC LLC.

Best,

Richard Lewis16 and Bryan Peterson25.

While it might seem like there's a general trend toward banks being more relaxed about opening checking accounts lately, you still can't just walk into any bank and open one without showing some regular monthly activity. Just to illustrate the point, here are two examples:

http://www.wellsfargo.com/Home.aspx?PageID=34
http://www.erstebank.com/gr_tekuci.asp

For those who don't feel like wading through entire web pages, here are two quick snippets:

Wells Fargo:
The bank may open a checking account to any adult, legally competent domestic or foreign individual who ensures a regular inflow of funds into the checking account in an amount exceeding what is established by the limit decision.

ERSTE:
You can achieve client status at Erste Bank very simply—by opening a checking account at Erste Bank and maintaining a regular monthly inflow (salary, pension, etc.) through said account.

Also, when I called Hypo Bank about nine months ago to ask if I could open an account without steady inflows (meaning, without a regular paycheck), they told me no—they actually repeated that three times during a single short conversation—but suggested I could still visit a branch in person.
So, I did exactly that, and they ended up opening the account for me anyway. The teller asked for my employer's details, and I just told her (as if) I was currently in negotiations with someone regarding a new job.

I also get the impression that nowadays, more banks are willing to open a checking account without regular income (JPMorgan Chase, in New York City, etc.).

Furthermore, according to the law, only deposits where taxes and other duties have already been paid (salary, pension, etc.), or deposits that aren't subject to them, should go into a checking account. Any other payments (like freelance work, for instance) ought to go into a business account.
Of course, in practice, things don't always work that way.

Best,

Even if you aren't bringing in a steady monthly paycheck, you can technically open a checking account somewhere, but they’ll usually just toss you a basic "Debit" card. And honestly? Those things are often useless for anything online—you’re basically stuck using them just to pull cash out of an ATM. I have no idea if they'd even let you get a credit card tied to an account like that, though I highly doubt it.

The thing is, most big banks won't even let you open a standard checking account without proof of regular income. If you call them up or try to handle it over the phone, they'll give you a hard "no." But... there's always a loophole. If you actually walk into a branch—say, a place like Hypo—and tell them you're in the middle of a job interview or just finalized a deal with a new employer, a handful of banks might actually cut you some slack and open the account for you.
Along with that, you'll just get that same basic debit card.

Maybe—and this is a big maybe—if you open a foreign currency account or stash some cash in there first, they might consider giving you a credit card that actually works for online shopping. Still, from their perspective, that's a massive gamble. Without a steady stream of income coming in, what happens if you go on an online shopping spree, drain the account to zero, and just... vanish? They're the ones left holding the bag.

At the end of the day, a credit card is just a loan. And no bank is going to hand out credit just because you have a friendly face; they need some kind of guarantee that you’re actually going to pay them back.

Best,