When Do You Have To Register To Be A Business In Georgia

To Get-go a Business in Georgia, Follow These Steps

Are you set up to start your own business?

Creating a Georgia business of your own can be challenging. Yous volition need acceptable funding, fourth dimension, personal support, and professional person support in guild to movement forward successfully with your entrepreneurial dreams.

To see if you're prepared to take the leap, check out our Entrepreneurship Quiz.

Skip Ahead To:

Choose the Right Concern Idea
Plan Your Georgia Business concern
Get Funding
Choose a Business concern Structure
Register Your Georgia Business
Set up Cyberbanking, Credit Cards, & Bookkeeping
Get Insured
Obtain Permits & Licenses
Hire Employees
Define Your Make
Build a Business organisation Website
Promote & Market Your Business organization

Pace 1: Choose the Correct Business organisation Idea

The first step toward business organisation ownership is deciding what kind of business organisation to start. Look for an idea that suits your interests, your personal goals, and your natural abilities. This will assistance y'all stay motivated when the going gets tough and will profoundly improve your odds of success. Nosotros accept assembled a comprehensive list of small business organisation ideas to assist you get started. Need inspiration? Hither were the most popular ideas among our Georgia visitors in 2020:

Drive-In Movie theater
Clothing Boutique
Grocery Shop
Liquor Store
Dog Breeding Business concern
Gas Station

Find the Right Business Idea for You

Our complimentary Business Ideas Generator will help you identify slap-up businesses that match your interests and lifestyle.

Business Ideas Generator

Footstep two: Plan Your Georgia Business

Successful businesses are congenital through careful planning. Before committing a significant amount of money and other resource toward your business in Georgia, critically analyze your thought, and create a game plan. At a minimum, y'all should consummate the following:

Name Your Business

What volition you proper noun your business? When naming a business organization, you'll want to cull an bachelor name that follows Georgia's naming rules and resonates with your customers. Use our Business Proper name Generator to find the perfect make name and website.

Before you reserve your business organization name, brand sure your domain is available.

Find a Domain Now

Once you register a domain proper noun, we recommend choosing a business telephone system to enhance your customer service. Phone.com provides a high-quality phone service that integrates with all devices. Try Telephone.com.

Find a Business Location

Practice you know where your business volition be located? Whether you're opening a brick-and-mortar institution or starting a business organisation from dwelling — your business location informs the type of licensing and permits y'all'll need as well as your business concern'due south growth potential. Doing your enquiry on Georgia'south popular areas such as Atlanta or Savannah can aid increment foot traffic and drive customer interest.

Conduct Marketplace Research

Take you lot gotten to know your market? Earlier y'all write your business organisation plan, conducting thorough market research is crucial. This can involve conducting surveys, doing search engine optimization (SEO) research, or holding focus groups. The goal of market research is to better understand your target market place and competitors in gild to craft an constructive concern plan.

Write a Business Plan

Take you lot written a business plan? Our Business Plan Generator makes writing your business plan easier than always; just add your business'south information and y'all're washed!

A well-crafted business plan doesn't just help you get organized while you commencement your modest business organisation in Georgia. Business plans are used to obtain business funding and assistance you attain important milestones.

Here are some of the chief components of a well-written business plan:

Product Evolution: What problem does your business concern solve? What will set your product or service autonomously from the competition?
Sales & Marketing: Who are your potential customers? How volition y'all go their attention and catechumen them into buyers?
People & Partnerships: What roles will yous need to hire, and what professional relationships will yous need to form in order to succeed?
Fiscal Planning: How many clients or sales will you need in guild to break even? How much money will it take to get there, and where volition you lot become the funding?

Stride iii: Get Funding

Information technology'south no clandestine that y'all need funding to start a business organisation, simply before you tin can secure the money you demand to cover startup costs, at that place are a few things you demand to exercise first. Calculate your business costs before seeking outside funding. This will help yous choose the correct funding source for your Georgia business's needs. Next, be smart with your spending and become organized by creating a detailed fiscal program.

Explore Business Funding Options

Bootstrapping: This is the do-information technology-yourself approach to business funding which ways yous provide the capital for your business through personal savings every bit well equally your electric current income. In one case your concern is in operation, profit is reinvested back into the business to continue its growth.
Friends and Family unit: Financing your business concern through friends and family loans can be a great manner to get the capital letter you lot need to start your modest business. When mixing business concern with family unit and friends, information technology's a adept idea to establish a written agreement and repayment plan.
Small Business Grants: Small concern grants are essentially concern funding for your business you don't have to pay back. You can obtain a pocket-sized business grant by completing an awarding procedure with a grantor.
Minor Business organization Loans: You can typically apply for modest business concern loans through a banking company or other lending institution. This funding method requires repayment simply will provide you with the uppercase to embrace startup costs or more than.

Learn how to plan, raise, and manage your funds by visiting our guide to Small Business concern Finance.

Stride 4: Cull a Business Structure

Registering your Georgia company every bit a legal business entity — such equally an LLC, corporation, or nonprofit — has two major advantages:

Increased credibility
Protection from personal liability in the event your business is sued

Find out which business structure is right for your new business organization in Georgia.

Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is an informal concern structure that isn't incorporated or separated from its owner. This means that 100% of the business'southward profits go to the possessor; however, 100% of the financial liability should the business accrue debt or get sued falls on the owner also.

Partnership

A partnership, like a sole proprietorship, is an informal unincorporated business construction just with multiple owners. Similarly, partnerships do not accept liability protection that yous find with a formal concern structure.

LLCs

A express liability visitor (LLC) combines the personal asset protection of a corporation with the flexibility of a partnership or sole proprietorship. Almost small businesses prefer the LLC structure due to its easy maintenance and favorable revenue enhancement treatment. Observe out if you lot should get-go an LLC for your small business organisation.

Corporations

A corporation is a separate legal entity that is endemic past its shareholders. Corporations have more formal regulations than LLCs and tend to be more attractive to investors. Nigh large companies like Apple tree fall under the corporate category.

Nonprofits

A nonprofit organization is one that is funded by donations instead of investors. Nonprofits are typically created to further a social cause and are exempt from paying taxes. The Red Cross is an case of such an organization.

If y'all choose not to register your company as a business entity, yous will be held personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of your business concern.

In addition, partnership and sole proprietorship business owners may need to file a DBA, known in Georgia as a trade name.A DBA is not a business construction and does not give you and your personal belongings the protection like an LLC would.

Observe out more about how to file a DBA in Georgia with our guide.

Step v: Register Your Georgia Business

Once you've chosen your concern structure, the next pace is to course your business organization. No affair what formal business structure y'all choose, there are a few common steps, including:

Naming your concern
Choosing a registered agent: an private or business entity that accepts tax and legal documents on behalf of your concern.
Getting an Employer Identification Number (EIN): a number assigned by the Internal Acquirement Service (IRS) to help identify businesses for tax purposes.
Filing germination documents.

In addition to these steps, each business structure has its own requirements that are unique to that business structure.

Hither are the steps you need to accept to register your business:

Class an LLC in Georgia

LLCs are the simplest formal business organisation structure to course and maintain. With less paperwork than other concern structures, you lot tin can easily form an LLC in v easy steps.

Proper noun Your LLC
Cull a Registered Agent
File Your LLC With the State
Create an LLC Operating Understanding
Go an EIN

To file Articles of System for an LLC in Georgia, you must submit your germination documents to the Georgia Corporations Segmentation online ($100 filing fee) or by postal service ($110 filing fee) along with a completed Transmittal Information Form.

Read our full guide on How to Form an LLC in Georgia or have a professional service class an LLC for you.

Kickoff a Corporation in Georgia

If you call back starting a corporation is right for your business, at that place are 6 steps to starting your business equally a corporation. Additionally, you'll demand to decide the type of corporation your business will be, such as a C corporation or S corporation.

Name Your Corporation
Cull a Registered Agent
Hold an Organizational Meeting
File Formation Documents
File a Notice of Incorporation
Get an EIN

To file Articles of Incorporation for a corporation in Georgia, you lot must file your formation documents with the Georgia Corporations Division online ($100 filing fee) or by mail ($110 filing fee) along with a completed Transmittal Information Form.

Read our full guide on How to Start a Corporation in Georgia.

Form a Nonprofit in Georgia

Choosing to grade a nonprofit involves many of the same steps as a corporation or LLC; yet, with this business construction, y'all tin utilise for tax exemption, otherwise known as 501(c)(3) condition, through the IRS.

File a Proper name Reservation
Name Your Nonprofit
Choose a Registered Agent
Select Your Board Members and Officers
Adopt Bylaws and Disharmonize of Interest Policy
File the Articles of Incorporation
Become an EIN
Apply for 501(c)(3) Status

To file Articles of Incorporation for a nonprofit in Georgia, you must file your formation documents with the Georgia Corporations Division online ($100 filing fee) or by postal service ($110 filing fee) along with a completed Transmittal Data Form.

Read our full guide on How to Form a Nonprofit in Georgia or have a professional service course a nonprofit for y'all.

Footstep 6: Set up Business organization Banking, Credit Cards, and Accounting

Using defended business concern banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business concern accounts are mixed, your personal avails (your home, auto, and other valuables) are at risk in the effect your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to equally piercing your corporate veil.

Y'all tin protect your Georgia business organisation with these iii steps:

ane. Opening a concern bank account:

Separates your personal assets from your company'southward assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Visit Divvy to apply for their easy-approving business organization credit card and build your concern credit rapidly.

Apply With Divvy

3. Setting upwardly business accounting

An accounting system helps yous rail the functioning of your business and simplifies almanac tax filings. Quality accounting software lets you download your bank and credit card transactions, making accounting fast and like shooting fish in a barrel. Learn more than most the importance of accounting and how to get started with accounting today. Or, hire a concern accountant to help you navigate all your business accounting and tax needs from payroll to sales tax.

Recommended: An accounting service could be saving your concern thousands of dollars a year. Try our recommended accounting sotware today to help but your taxes.

Step 7: Get Insured

Business concern insurance helps you manage risks and focus on growing your business in Georgia. The most common types of business insurance you should consider are:

Full general Liability Insurance
Workers' Compensation Insurance
Professional Liability Insurance

We recommend that all small businesses, including home-based businesses, purchase a general liability policy. Businesses selling professional advice or services, such every bit consulting and accounting firms, should also consider a professional liability policy.

In Georgia, businesses with 1 or more than employees, including LLC members and corporate officers, are required past law to accept workers' compensation insurance.

Step 8: Obtain Permits and Licenses

To operate your new concern legally, you lot will need to comply with federal, state, and local government regulations. In many cases, this involves obtaining one or more business organization permits and/or licenses. For example, a restaurant will likely need wellness permits, building permits, signage permits, etc.

To commencement a business organisation in Georgia, you'll demand unlike licenses and permits depending on the type of business concern you're operating. Find out the licensing your business organization needs by performing a business license search or past utilizing the post-obit resources:

Federal: Use the US Small Business organisation Administration (SBA) guide.
Land: Visit the Georgia Secretary of Country website.
Local: Contact your local county clerk and ask most local licenses and permits

Recommended: Use a professional person service to help you obtain required licenses.

Step 9: Hire Employees

For any business (unless you plan to be your business's sole employee), edifice a strong team is a crucial adjacent pace in starting a successful business concern. But it isn't only about finding the right people; yous demand to ensure yous stay compliant with requirements for hiring employees legally. This includes ensuring that you lot are registered with the IRS for employee taxes and reporting new hires to the Country of Georgia.

Register for Georgia Land Employee Taxes

Unemployment Insurance Revenue enhancement | Withholding Revenue enhancement

Once you've built your team, we strongly recommend utilizing a payroll service to consequence paychecks, track fourth dimension, and make tax flavour more than manageable.

Step 10: Define Your Brand

The strongest and most memorable businesses are congenital on a solid brand. When developing your brand, you should consider:

what your business organization stands for
what are your core values
what will earn customer trust

One time yous feel confident about your answers to these questions, it's time to move onto your business name. Your concern proper name is the cornerstone of good branding and a successful business. To learn more than most creating the all-time name for your business, read our How to Name a Business guide.

Concluding simply not least, endeavor our Free Logo Generator to go a unique logo for your business in Georgia. Our logo maker is free (no sign-ups or email address needed) and it comes in all social media sizes. Information technology's easy and hassle-free--with no design experience required! Or, if you want to explore your options, you can also use this gratis logo maker by Tailor Brands.

Footstep 11: Build Your Business Website

Later defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business concern.

While creating a website is an essential pace, some may fear that information technology'due south out of their attain considering they don't have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fright dorsum in 2015, web engineering has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn't delay building your website:

All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business organization does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
Social media accounts similar Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are non a replacement for a business website that you own and command.
Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Architect have made creating a bones website extremely simple. You don't need to hire a spider web programmer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Using our website building guides, the process will be simple and painless and shouldn't take you any longer than 2-3 hours to complete.

Step 12: Promote and Market Your Business organisation

Promoting Your Georgia Business

There are many unlike methods to promote your business organization in Georgia, just the virtually effective methods are:

Press Releases
Facebook
YouTube
Google My Business

Press Releases

Press releases are a cracking way to promote your brand and are ane of the most cost-effective strategies equally they:

Provides publicity
Plant your brand on the web
Improve your website'southward SEO, driving more customers to your website
Are a ane-fourth dimension cost in terms of effort and money
Take long-lasting benefits

Recommended: TRUiC has negotiated a 25% discount for you on a service that volition write and distribute printing releases for you.

Facebook

A Facebook page is a great, free way to interact with your customers. But, it does require ongoing endeavour to be successful.

A Facebook page can be used to:

Found your local business concern presence
Showcase your business products and services
Communicate with your customers
Go and share reviews from customers
Promote your business through ads, though this may non exist suitable for your business.

YouTube

With billions of global YouTube users, there is a giant client base of operations looking for content your business could exist producing. A YouTube aqueduct for your business can be used to:

Better your SEO by boosting your Google ranking and conversion rate.
Bulldoze social media date and create stronger bonds with your customers.
Provide detailed explanations about products and services.

Google My Business organization

Google My Business organisation is a helpful tool that allows businesses to manage how their business concern appears on Google'southward search engine results page (SERP) and Google maps.

Google My Business can be used to:

Link to important information virtually your business such as your website, physical address, hours of operation, phone number, and customer reviews.
Increase make awareness by improving local SEO and driving traffic to your website.
Engage with customers and increase credibility.

Get Assist From Local Resource

To help y'all beginning your business, nosotros have identified the best resources beyond the state of Georgia that can support yous in your entrepreneurial endeavors.

Atlanta
Augusta
Savannah

Georgia Formation Guides

How to Grade an LLC Georgia
- Should I Kickoff an LLC for My Minor Business?
- Cost to Grade an LLC in Georgia
- Georgia LLC Proper noun Search
- How to Cull a Registered Amanuensis in Georgia
- How to File LLC Manufactures of Arrangement in Georgia
- Georgia LLC Operating Agreement
- Georgia LLC Annual Study
- How to Dissolve an LLC in Georgia

How to File a DBA in Georgia
How to Start a Corporation in Georgia
How to Showtime a Nonprofit in Georgia
- How to Keep Your Georgia Nonprofit Compliant

Other Guides

How to Register a Business Name in Georgia
Coronavirus Small Business Relief for Georgia
Georgia Sales Revenue enhancement: Small-scale Business Guide
How to Register a Business in Georgia

Business Tools

Business concern Ideas Generator
Business Proper name Generator
Business Plan Generator
Entrepreneurship Quiz
Logo Maker