Starting a business in Michigan can be easy
With the New Year comes new goals; perhaps a burning desire for a new business start-up. Explore how to make this dream a reality.
January 3, 2013 - Author: Paul James Werner, Michigan State University Extension
If you ever considered starting a business, and you just don’t know where to start, you can find all you need to know from the Michigan Business One Stop website. This is a website allows you to register your business and obtain all of the necessary permits and tax licenses to be a legal business entity in Michigan.
Starting a business takes much effort, but this effort could bring you huge rewards. For this article, the author assumes that you have already researched your business idea, obtained the funding and decided to actually start your business.
Here are six things you must do to register your business in the State of Michigan.
- Obtain a FEIN. Your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) is a tax ID assigned to you for your business. It is required to open a checking account and to facilitate other financial transactions like opening a credit account with a vendor. Obtain your FEIN here. I like to refer to it as your business’s social security number.
- Register the assumed business name with the County Clerk. If you’re going to operate your business as a sole proprietor and you’re not using your complete legal name (First and last name) as your business name, you will need to register your business name as an “assumed name.” This used to be called DBA (doing business as); however, it in now referred to as assumed name.
- Obtain UIA Number. You can get your Unemployment Insurance Account (UIA) online from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. You must have this account prior to hiring employees; you’ll also need this number to file your quarterly tax reports. It only takes moments.
- Obtain a Sales Tax License. Some sales are not taxed; some sales are taxed. Regardless if you make taxable or nontaxable sales, it is best to have a sales tax license. It legitimizes your business. Also, this license allows you to make purchases for resale without paying sales tax to the vendor. Get your sales tax license from the Michigan Department of Treasury.
- Register your business with the Michigan Department of Treasury. Michigan requires business enterprises to register, allowing you to make your collected tax payments.
- Obtain all necessary permits. Some businesses need special permits or licenses. You can search what permits are required, and obtain the applications from Michigan Business One Stop.
After completing all of the above steps, you are officially in business. Review information from Michigan Business One Stop and from Michigan State University Extension for direction as you move further along in your journey of business ownership.
