In the Clear

The State Dept. of Taxation cleared me for property tax.

She referred me to the Charter Division to follow up with the TA form needed to keep things straight with PNC bank. I have another check to deposit at some point too.

I'll want to set up a reminder to submit the Property tax form in subsequent years.

I also need to look into some type of incorporation to protect my personal assets. I don't mean for my business to bankrupt me.

The Checks in the Mail

Nine starter checks were not going to last, no matter how miserably this business venture was going to fail.
So, I needed to get some business checks. The bank wanted top sell 150 of them to me for 40 dollars which struck me as steep. Throw in a check stamped and I was looking at 50 bucks plus.

I did a little shopping around on teh net and settled on the evil empire:
http://www.walmartchecks.com/product.aspx?lineid=6&productid=1118

Yes. WalMart sells business checks.
They sold me 600 checks and the stamp for $39.14 including tax.

Be sure to save a starter check and deposit slip to verify your account with them.
The process of ordering and mailing the VOIDed checks took me a few days, but if you were organized about it, you could have the whole thing done in less than half an hour.


Next, I check on the TA name and property tax forms.

Mileage and Employees

Ugh. My tax consultant tells me I'll need to make 1099 forms for my buddy since I'm paying him more than 400 bucks.

If I plan ahead maybe I can avoid some of this paperwork.

I submitted 2007 mileage so that should be good for a few bucks.

Marketing strategies are occurring to me to minimize time away from family which will make the income less of a sacrifice to obtain.

It is very easy in life to lose track of important things for the sake of money.

Soon I should check the status of my Trade Name application and property tax form and submit it to the bank to dot my i's and cross my t's.

Bank Account completed

PNC bank was permitted to make a DBA (Doing Business As) account for me as long as my paperwork with the state had been submitted.

I received 9 starter checks and deposited the check from my main customer.
Funds should be available Friday. I mean to mail my check off to my colleague on Wednesday so he'll be willing to work with me again if necessary.

Next, I can follow up with my contact at the State Taxation Dept to ensure my application was filed and then check to see what I'll need to worry about as the business grows.

I also need to compile a reckoning of the miles I drove for work purposes. At 44 cents a mile, this is not an insubstantial deduction.

Finally, I'll need more than 8 checks after Wednesday but those provided by PNC were quite pricey. I'll get some quotes together.

Trade Name Application

I'll approach PNC bank for my business checking account first.
They appear to offer a small business checking account free of charge with no minimum balance as long as you're not making more than 5 grand per month.
I'm abandoning ING because it does not appear they offer business checking.

https://www.pnc.com/webapp/unsec/Solutions.do?siteArea=/PNC/Home/Small+Business/Checking/Free+Business+Checking

Meanwhile, I can fill out my Trade Name Application found at:
http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/sdatforms.html

It asks for a personal property account number, aka an "L number".
This was what I got by filling out the AT3-73 earlier, the "Application for Unincorporated ID Number" found at:
http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/personal.html#forms


A friend suggested I relay the time and expense of this process so I'll tell you now that submitting the Trade Name Application is the first expense I'll be incurring: $25.00

Not much time has been involved in filling out this paperwork and the rapid response at the state dept. has allowed the ID number to be secured in less than two days. It was slower because of me, not them.

The Property Return and Trade Name application will be snail mailed.
I will pass on any news of the disposition of these forms as they arrive.

AT3-51, naturally

The AT3-51 appears to be the next step.
To fill out the AT3-51, aka the "Annual Personal Property Return of Sole Proprietorships..." I needed a Department ID #.

I got that but sending in an Unincorporated ID Number Application from:
http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/personal.html
aka the AT3-73. Sent to which goes to the Program Manager's Office of the Business Personal Property Division of the Department of Assessments.

The lady who emails back is exceptionally helpful. I'd name her if I thought she'd appreciate it. Maybe I'll ask.

Now, with the Department ID #, I have finished the AT3-51.
I'll print, it, sign it, and mail it back to SDAT. (Can't email this one.)

Then I'll figure out the next hurdle.
Perhaps getting the Bank Account?