Currently we have our business formed as an LLC, we just purchased a small host. Our company's main focus is consulting, however lately we've been doing more hosting business than anything. My question is, should we file a DBA for our current company and switch all hosting over to the company that we are purchasing? or should we form a separate LLC? which would be more organized? either way, I want the company to have its own merchant account etc.

If we do file a DBA, do you have to call up IRS too? (There was a spot on the form for DBA when we filed for our EIN)

Not sure how other companies do this, I am open to suggestions...

Do your hosting as a subsidary(sp?)

Wouldn't this still require a DBA? so that we could bill customers using the domain name on their CCs statements via a merchant account.

I am not sure. Business Registration is different in Canada then the US.

Originally posted by neonlexx
Wouldn't this still require a DBA? so that we could bill customers using the domain name on their CCs statements via a merchant account.

The traditional use of the DBA is to allow you to accept funds under the DBA. Banks, for instance, will require a DBA in order for you to accept checks in the name of the DBA. I would quess that this applies to merchant accounts as well, but it may not. Call 2-3 providers and ask. If it is not legislated where you live you may be alll right.

In any event, I am pretty sure you could file your DBA under the name of the current LLC and forego doubling your minumum tax and state fee overhead.

DBAs are supposed to function as public disclosure, but the whole notion is ridiculous because no one reads the damn things but direct marketers.

Disclaimers: consult your attorney or tax advisor.:D

The DBA statement is used when you're doing business using a name which is different from the "legal name" of the entity.

If the name that you use with the public is different from the name you chose when you filed your LLC paperwork then, yes, you probably need to file a DBA statement.

The question of whether you want one LLC or two is a little different. Do you need to insulate one business from the other because of concerns about liability? Will one entity have different owners/investors/creditors than the other? (e.g., it might make sense to form another LLC if you anticipate bringing in investors to help pay hosting startup expenses, but you don't want to give them a cut of your consulting income.)

You should also think about the overhead involved with a second entity - that's another set of books to keep and tax returns to file. Here in California, every entity pays a minimum $800 tax per year - so forming an extra entity isn't exactly free.

If you already have a company you should just include hosting with it if you can.

LLC - you usually only need if u plan on having employees.

DBA - if you plan on just doing business solo i suggest just getting a DBA

my 2sense - i dont kno if im right or wrong ;) im not a highly recommend financial advisor :)

Well this part of the business, won't have any extra investors etc. Is it possible to file multiple DBAs for an LLC? and possibly even have merchant accounts in two different names?

Stick with 1 LLC and get a DBA for the hosting.

You never want to go solo as mentioned above (no liability or tax protection). We are currently an S-Corp and it has great liability and tax advantages. Speak to your Business Lawyer or CPA for the best fit, hell thats why they are there for. Always surround yourself with advisors where your skills are lacking.

Can anyone tell me if its possible to file multiple DBAs for an LLC?

You can have several Doing Business As or Fictitious Names under any company. You can file as many as you would like as long as you are willing to pay the annual fee.

Theoretically, you could have a corporate structure like the following:

My Hosting Conglomerate LLC
DBA Hosting Company #1
DBA Hosting Company #2
DBA Hosting Company #3
DBA Hosting Company #4


However, you said you purchased another company and this is the one you want to do business under.

Is this company incorporated in your state already?
If it is then you might be better served asking the owner to submit changes to the filing reflecting the new officers of the corporation and registered agent. Then you can absorb it by doing a merger. What you want to avoid is keeping several corporations for a only a small amount of business as every corporation takes some expense for tax filing. It is better to have one consolidated set of financials.

Thanks, that explained almost everything perfectly. For each DBA that I file, I must then show my bank and they will add it to the account...as I understand it. Thus allowing me to cash checks in whatever name the DBA paper has on it.