Posts by Chris Ruiz10

I guess I've got a knack for making money. I'm good with it.

Listen up, everyone: YOU CANNOT INSTALL HARDWARE PROTECTION (it's not software)

Whatever, I guess it's just interesting to see how people think. I'm sticking to quality, and I'm hoping that if someone actually adds that feature, most people will still buy the product anyway.

And one last thing: just because some people steal or use pirated versions doesn't mean I'm okay or right if I do the same thing. Stealing is stealing. Imagine some thief in court arguing, "Well, everyone else is stealing, so why am I being punished and thrown in jail?!" Go catch all the other thieves first before you come after me for what I took. 🤣

Setting up protection is basically impossible.

I don't download movies from torrents or watch them on my computer. I go to the theater, hit up the video store, and if I actually like a movie—I buy it.

It’s funny how some people spend all their energy trying to "protect themselves" while stealing, instead of just making money and buying the original.

JPK, do you seriously think the courts can't touch them? What happens if someone gets caught with a hard drive full of pirated movies? I don't get it. Does the law just not apply because the data is digital or something?

Lurker, I can't set up any kind of protection, but I guess I hope you're telling the truth.

Joseph Watson3, look, I believe in quality too, but seeing these kids who grew up on "free" stuff online without ever having a real job... I'm a little skeptical.

restlessnomad16, yeah, it's all wonderful and free until the day you actually need to earn a living. You'll see when your boss, say, refuses to pay you because, well, what you made won't sell since everyone just downloads it for free from the internet. You'll start thinking differently then. Cheers.

Jesse Torres4 said:Hands down one of the best movies from 2008. To be honest, since it was a Van Damme flick, my expectations weren't exactly sky-high. I'll admit, back in the day, I was obsessed with his action and martial arts movies, though looking back now, I realize just how rough some of them were—even if they’ve somehow earned cult status over the years.

I hadn't read a single thing about this project beforehand; the movie just popped up, and I downloaded it expecting the usual predictable plot and cliché ending. Who could have guessed we'd get an experimental piece where Jean-Claude actually delivers a real performance (even while playing himself)? He's genuinely good in a film that feels reminiscent of Being John Malkovich. Perhaps, just perhaps, this is the direction he should take.

So the movie just "showed up online," huh? And you're just some innocent bystander who happened to download it. 😂

If only you had to actually live off your own hard work while others just shamelessly steal it and enjoy it for free (there's that "showing up online" bit again) while you're just trying to make ends meet. 👎

I was thinking about selling this to regular people (nothing niche for a tiny circle).

The thing is, I feel like it could easily end up on torrent sites. That’s fine since there's clearly interest, but it sucks for me. 😢

Hey everyone,

I might have a massive problem on my hands and I could use some help.

I've poured tens of thousands of dollars and years of my life into this one thing. Now I'm trying to actually sell it and make some money.

But I'm worried the whole thing will just end up on some torrent site and all that work will basically go down the drain.

Any advice on how to stop that? 🤷

What would you guys do if you were me? How do you protect your work when you're actually relying on it to pay the bills and can't just give it away for free forever?

That's exactly why I wrote that sentence earlier:

Quincy:

It’s probably smarter to get all your equipment once you're officially set up for sales tax. It just ends up being cheaper that way.

Right here you've got all the answers, plus even some calculators for running payroll.

It’s probably better to get the company set up after you register for sales tax, since that makes everything cheaper.

Yeah. I could probably take a look at your software setup if you want. Just make sure you're buying legitimate stuff.

Andrew Wells58 said:If I can jump in here... If I already run a sole proprietorship and then decide to set up an LLC, could I serve as the manager of that LLC without being officially employed there? I'm wondering if I'd have to pay additional payroll taxes or social security on top of what I'm already paying for my small business.

Yeah, you can.

Can you use real estate as initial capital for an LLC if it was bought with a mortgage and you just started paying it off?
From what I gather, you always have to pay $3.25 in cash, and everything else counts as assets.

I guess you might not be able to use property that still has a mortgage on it. You could do 10 grand in cash and another 10 in assets. Just watch out, because there's usually at least a 50-50 ratio required. So if you want to start a company with property worth $167, you’d probably need to put in 500,000 in cash.

Betty Garcia3 said:Has anyone ever booked sales tax on an "R" invoice received for "XYZ LLC in formation"?

I was looking at an example in Brkanić:

1. Startup costs 0100 19,826.72
Sales tax on received deliveries 1400 3,563.28 (total sales tax from all "R" invoices)
Liabilities to founders for current purchases 2330 23,390.00

Brkanić also mentions (in Entrepreneur Accounting, 2005) that fees during company formation should be paid via bank transfer. Why isn't cash considered acceptable here? I mean, if we're just recording the liability to the founders, why does it matter how they actually settled the bills?

Chris Ruiz10, I think under Sections 202 and 393 of the Business Corporation Act, you aren't allowed to directly reduce the company's capital. So—if I'm following this correctly—is that why we book the expenses to account 0100?

Sure, but look at what it actually says here:

Section 202
The board can manage stock subscriptions once the company is registered with the Secretary of State. You aren't allowed to use the corporate capital to pay out special fees, refunds or bonuses. Founders don't get to touch those stock subscription funds.

Obviously, someone can't just deposit money and then grab it back. But still...

Section 393
(1) Founders cannot be paid reimbursements from the base capital for prep work or incorporation costs, and you definitely can't count those costs as part of the initial capital contribution.

(2) Reimbursement for incorporation costs is only allowed up to the maximum limit set in the articles of incorporation. Unless the bylaws say otherwise, founders cover incorporation costs proportional to their initial stakes.

So, if you had to fly to Germany ten times to set up your business, you can't write off those plane tickets. But you could probably claim the notary fees or the legal paperwork costs—provided you actually put that stuff in the articles of incorporation.

Betty Garcia3 said:So, a colleague just mentioned today that he’s also been booking things under Gogo account 4 instead of 010.
He also told me that once he finished his business registration and filed for his sales tax permit, he went ahead and requested an R-1 from the advertising agency, and they actually provided one.
If I’m reading this right, for any invoice issued by a company registered for sales tax, you can technically request an R-1 or R-2 later based on the original invoice. It seems to me like it might be possible to ask for a retroactive R-1 including the tax ID, especially since that number doesn't really impact the issuer's side—it doesn't change their actual tax liability at all, does it?
I'm honestly not sure how he handled the invoice from the notary.

Well, yeah. You use 010 if we're talking major expenses, but I'm pretty sure I saw in a small business accounting guide that you don't actually do that—it goes to 4 (period costs). Otherwise, you'd be depreciating startup costs over several years. Seems pointless.

Usually, you wouldn't be able to claim the input tax credit, but if they issue an invoice datedAFTER you've registered the company for sales tax, just claim the credit.🙂

gentlehound15 said: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,

I didn't write it like that, and I just paid the costs straight out of the capital. 🙂
I also didn't book those costs under 0100, I put them in class 4 so they count as expenses.

I’m with Banderas on this whole thread. Props to him. 👍

Regarding the investment side, being in the VAT system only makes sense if you're building a hotel, a factory, or some massive complex where you can write off millions in VAT. For a tiny startup just buying a laptop and some office furniture? It’s pointless. Especially if your customers are just regular people. If most of your clients are other businesses—excluding banks and insurance companies—then maybe it's worth it since VAT is neutral for them, and you get to offset the tax on your own bills for stuff like phone service and utilities.

Joshua Chavez said:I mean, if there's a dispute, verbal agreements count just as much as anything on paper. 😁 Once people start playing dirty, you have to stick to the rules... even if they're being dirty about it.

Sure, they count—you just have to actually prove them. 😉 And I think the burden of proof falls on the plaintiff, if I remember correctly.

Run away from him, but don't let him touch the money you make from your jobs. Clients need to be paying your bank account directly (go meet with every single one of them in person and explain what's going on), and honestly, just let him sue you over whatever verbal agreement he thinks you made. 🙂

Fixed costs for an LLC:

- $18 monthly dues to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- $120 annual corporate tax
- bank fees (roughly 10-$$6.75 a month depending on the bank)
- you don't have accounting costs if you aren't actually doing anything and you're considered "inactive"

otherwise, there’s no such thing as a "frozen" LLC—that’s just a deal you make with the IRS, but I guess I don't see how that works in reality when the bank automatically pulls fees from the account (for maintenance), which creates transaction history and expenses, meaning you aren't technically "inactive." Maybe just don't open a business account at all? 😕

Paul Walker8 said:Instead of just playing populist and attacking banks, Sanders should have looked inward at his own administration. Maybe if they actually led by example and helped small business owners get loans through government-sponsored programs—people who can't even get off the ground because they can't get guarantees from federal agencies—things would be different.
You really should clean up your own backyard before you start lecturing everyone else.

Spot on. Any single bank—and I mean ANY bank—would hand out loans without a second thought if the United States actually backed them with guarantees. If the SEC just handed out those guarantees, you'd see credit flowing everywhere.

Best,
Chris Ruiz10

Either way works, I guess. The only exception is when certain banks don't actually list your real account number on the card—instead, they use some internal ID, and you have to use that for the payment reference.

Regarding that 1000000013 code, a lot of banks use it, but some have their own specific numbers. Since I have no clue where to find those specific codes—maybe on a bank's official website or something—I just stick to the method I mentioned before. It's easier.

Best,
Chris Ruiz10