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  1. #1
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    Registered company - important?

    Would you attribute any significance to a hosting business being a registered business, from a customer's point of view?

    Actually, I am not sure I fully understand what this even means, I just happened to read something about some hosting companies being registered businesses and others not, and I was wondering what this meant in general, and to the customer in particular.

  2. #2
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    Yes it is significant.
    Matt Wallis
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  3. #3
    Yes it should be registered legally from customers and owners, both points of view.

    It is significant for both.
    Last edited by etechsupport2; 05-24-2005 at 09:45 AM.

  4. #4
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    Yes it is very important to be a legally registered entity even if you run a reseller account and work from your bedroom PC.

    It re-ensures the customer that you are a serious company and also psychologically tells yourself that you are really serious in this and not just wanting to "play" around.

    I had a few clients specifically checked my registration number before they would consider hosting commercially with me.....
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  5. #5
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    Well lets think about this... either pay tax on money you take in... or go to jail. Thats a tough one. I think i'll opt for registering my business for less than $100 and keep my freedom.

    You need to head down to your local county clerks office and file for some sort of business. I would recommend an LLC. So you are at least covered for some liabilities. If you are going to do it, please do it the right way. Good luck!

  6. #6
    Originally posted by Redcoat
    Well lets think about this... either pay tax on money you take in... or go to jail. Thats a tough one. I think i'll opt for registering my business for less than $100 and keep my freedom.

    You need to head down to your local county clerks office and file for some sort of business. I would recommend an LLC. So you are at least covered for some liabilities. If you are going to do it, please do it the right way. Good luck!
    Whether you register a business or not has nothing to do with whether you pay your taxes or not. It's perfectly possible to pay taxes on income from an unregistered business.

    If you plan to accept checks under the name of your business or website, you'll probably need at minimum a DBA to show the bank to open an account in that name to cash them. Registering as an LLC costs ~$100 in most states, or ~$200-300 if you go through one of the online companies that will do the paperwork for you (minimal as it is).
    Dan Grossman - dan @ awio.com
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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
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    Here is something to consider

    We had an issue (Before the new Icaan rules about domain transfers) in transferring a domian where our company was the registrant and a "not to be named registrar" would not unlock the domains we wanted to xfer. We had to prove we were a company, not just letterhead and phone numbers or ID but we finally sent them our filings with the secretary of state to get the locks removed.

    You never know what is going to come up.

    What if someone takes you name and files it before you, could cause a huge problem.

    As for a customers point of view I guess it depends on how savvy they are, if they check or not, but I think the others reason are more important for registering your business name.
    Regards,
    Randy
    Okie Net Web Hosting

  8. #8
    WHen looking for a host i always used to look if they are registered or not. Im currently registering mine and it should come through soon so i can start trading...

    I see it as one of the most important things... WOuld you buy hosting off a person who is a one man ship who offerers 24-7 support etc.?

    Exactly

  9. #9
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    Dan said it best It is indeed important though. It tells your customer that you are serious about what you are doing and not just somone looking to make a quick buck and then drop out.
    [color=#666666]Ackoo Solutions, LLC

  10. #10
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    What, exactly, are you referring to when you say "register"? Register with who/what/where?

    --Tina
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  11. #11
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    Yes, rules and regulations vary considerably from place to place.
    "Obsolesence is just a lack of imagination."

  12. #12
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    Re: Registered company - important?

    Originally posted by okok
    Would you attribute any significance to a hosting business being a registered business, from a customer's point of view?

    Yes. I would not personally feel comfortable doing business unless that business was properly registered.
    Actually, I am not sure I fully understand what this even means, I just happened to read something about some hosting companies being registered businesses and others not, and I was wondering what this meant in general, and to the customer in particular.
    It means that depending on your local laws, you've registered your business name, or registered your company name. In Aussie there's basically 2 levels of what you might call business registration.

    (1). You can go down to the Office of Consumer Affairs, and register a business name. That will cost you (I think) around $100.00.

    (2). You can also register a PTY LTD company. This is handled through your accountant, or you can do it yourself. That costs around $900.00.

    My way of thinking is that if someone has gone to the trouble and expense of properly registering their business name with their local authorities, then they're in it for the long haul.
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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
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    The only legal reason to register in the state of Ohio, USA is if you want to protect the name you are using to do business, unless you live in a city or municipality that requires some sort of business license. There are no USA federal requirements to register a business - you can simply operate as a sole proprietor.

    As for how it appears to your customers, I guess that depends on what your target market is.

    Scott

  14. #14
    By register i mean; register it to the UK Goverment as a company.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    May 2004
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    I'm going to go against what everyone said. It is not important to register if you are starting out. Why would you pay taxes on your small earnings (I know you have to earn some amount before you actually do pay), when you don't need to? Why fill out all those papers, and worry about taxes each month? Nobody is going to arrest you, don't worry about it.

    Once you have at least one server filled, then it might be time to think about registering, not anytime before. A lot of companies think it makes them special, but guess what? It doesn't.

  16. #16
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    Originally posted by Lev
    I'm going to go against what everyone said. It is not important to register if you are starting out. Why would you pay taxes on your small earnings (I know you have to earn some amount before you actually do pay), when you don't need to? Why fill out all those papers, and worry about taxes each month? Nobody is going to arrest you, don't worry about it.

    Once you have at least one server filled, then it might be time to think about registering, not anytime before. A lot of companies think it makes them special, but guess what? It doesn't.
    That would have to depend on your local government.
    Some DCs wouldn't allow you to have a business connection without a business registration Number.

    But then some places you don't have to pay taxes for small earnings. For example in my country if your earnings ( Profits ) do not exceed S$21,000 you do not have to pay any form of taxes.

    And registering for a company and a home office is less than S$100 so its really very easy to be "legally" running a company.

    but it varies between countries so have to check with your local government on this.
    -=- GQ Hong -=-
    GalacNet WebMaster

  17. #17
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    Originally posted by Lev
    I'm going to go against what everyone said. It is not important to register if you are starting out. Why would you pay taxes on your small earnings (I know you have to earn some amount before you actually do pay), when you don't need to? Why fill out all those papers, and worry about taxes each month? Nobody is going to arrest you, don't worry about it.

    Once you have at least one server filled, then it might be time to think about registering, not anytime before. A lot of companies think it makes them special, but guess what? It doesn't.

    Yet another perfect example of why you should NEVER take legal or tax advice from WHT.

    Who's going to be held accountable when you follow wrong advice? Certainly not the person giving the misinformation.

    --Tina
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  18. #18
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    Indeed, I agree with Tina on this one, this is terrible advice. Even if you are operating as a sole-proprioter you will need to report your income. That is unless you are using a reseller account or something minimal. Otherwise, you DC will report your server as income and your name will go into the IRS database.
    [color=#666666]Ackoo Solutions, LLC

  19. #19
    Originally posted by scottc
    The only legal reason to register in the state of Ohio, USA is if you want to protect the name you are using to do business, unless you live in a city or municipality that requires some sort of business license. There are no USA federal requirements to register a business - you can simply operate as a sole proprietor.

    As for how it appears to your customers, I guess that depends on what your target market is.
    Scott
    This is exactly correct as far as US laws go.

    But the question was does it matter from a customer's point of view?

    The question, as I understand it, could be restated to ask "will a customer receive better value and quality services from a "registered" company (or a US Corp, LLC, etc.) than they will from a person operating only as a sole proprietor?"

    The answer, in my opinion, is no, it doesn't matter. A customer could receive superb and excellent service from a unincorporated sole proprietor. They could just as well receive lousy, crappy service from a registered (U.S. incorporated or DBA) company.

    All things being equal though, I think a customer would be wise to choose a company that has has legally and/or officially established itself.
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  20. #20
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    Originally posted by Ackoo
    Otherwise, you DC will report your server as income and your name will go into the IRS database.
    Again, even with the best of intentions, you have given misinformation.

    I don't want anyone to think I'm bashing everyone else's advice thinking I have all of the answers. I don't. My point is, even logical sounding advice can be 100% incorrect. Follow that advice and rely on it to run your business and you're going to be in BIG trouble. How do I know? I learned the hard way, when I first started out, and I'm still paying off a big tax debt to Uncle Sam.

    I can't stress enough the importance to talk to a REAL professional when it comes to tax and legal advice.

    --Tina
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  21. #21
    Why would you pay taxes on your small earnings (I know you have to earn some amount before you actually do pay), when you don't need to? Why fill out all those papers, and worry about taxes each month? Nobody is going to arrest you, don't worry about it.
    • You'd pay taxes because you are supposed to.

    • You'd fill out "all those papers" because you are seriousl about starting a business.

    • "Nobody is going to arrest you" is a poor determining factor for which business decisions one ought to make. Nobody will arrest you for providing poor service either. Does that make it advisable?
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  22. #22
    if you are serious about your web hosting business and your clients, you should at least have your company registered.

    And in most cases, a registered company is necessary in order for you to open a business checking account and merchant account.
    ******** - ASP, ASP.NET. Windows 2008 Hosting - Windows Reseller Plans

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  23. #23
    Join Date
    May 2004
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    Originally posted by AH-Tina
    How do I know? I learned the hard way, when I first started out, and I'm still paying off a big tax debt to Uncle Sam.

    --Tina
    Honestly Tina, how long did you wait before registering your income? Were you earning $50k + for months/years? That's the way you made it sound, otherwise how could you still be paying off the tax debt?

    I see no reason to register your company if you are earning less than two thousand dollars, please explain to me why I am wrong? How big could the debt really be on that small amount of money?

    Originally posted by bravelion
    • You'd pay taxes because you are supposed to.

    • You'd fill out "all those papers" because you are seriousl about starting a business.

    • "Nobody is going to arrest you" is a poor determining factor for which business decisions one ought to make. Nobody will arrest you for providing poor service either. Does that make it advisable?
    Not until you are earning a certain amount, I'm not exactly sure what it is in the US.

    You'd fill out all the papers because you are an idiot wasting your time on a $500 income. As I said, being registered doesn't make you serious about anything, when you register to report very small incomes it means you don't know when you can ease your work load.

    I was responding to people's comments about IRS busting down their door, not going to happen.
    Last edited by Lev; 05-25-2005 at 10:22 PM.

  24. #24
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    Singapore
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    Hmm... I, too, have intention to register my business in the States since I think it is going to be much cheaper than registering a company in my country. Any advice for that?

  25. #25
    As a majority opinion here your business should be legally registered from where you operate it depends on the local government. It is important to you being a good citizen and as a business practice; otherwise you will get targeted by Government official and legal department to face the music.

    If you are not doing that, you are losing your valuable customers as well as their credibility, and your mental peace.
    Last edited by etechsupport2; 05-26-2005 at 05:13 AM.

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