Consultant’s Corner
Consultant’s Corner: Paying Employees for Training Activities
Q. Do I have to pay employees when I require them to do training activities after hours (e.g., attend seminars, watch videos, study for tests) if it results in a promotion and pay raise after completing the training? We have provided labor law information and general business comments below for your consideration; however, since your…
Read This Article
Consultant’s Corner: Transitioning to a Commission Pay Structure
Question: How do I go about hiring a sales team to work on commission instead of salary? Is it legal for me to have a person working for me that gets paid nothing? Minimum Wage Regulations The following information from the Department of Labor indicates that outside sales jobs are not subject to minimum wage…
Read This Article
Consultant’s Corner: Tax Consequences of Adding a Member to an LLC
Q. I have a Single Member LLC. I am in the process of adding a partner, and want to know how the IRS will view this change relative to potential tax consequences. What would be the best entity selection for the new two-partner business? An LLC is unique in that it can be taxed as…
Read This Article
Consultant’s Corner: Filing for a Sole Proprietorship
Question: How do I file a sole proprietorship under the same name in the state of California? You can review the other basic steps to forming a sole proprietorship in California through the following government and business resources, which include these general considerations: File for a fictitious business name (optional) Obtain Licenses, Permits, and Zoning…
Read This Article
Consultant’s Corner: Destroying Personal and Customer Data on Old Devices
Q. I bought a new printer and I want to get rid of my old one safely. My concern is that the hard drive has a lot of personal information on it for me and my customers. How can I be sure that when I hand it to a recycler they will destroy the data?…
Read This Article
Consultant’s Corner: Starting a Nonprofit Association
Q: I wish to start an “unincorporated nonprofit association” as a nonprofit enterprise to help disabled veterans. What steps should I take and what are the limits of an “association” rather than a 501[C](3) nonprofit organization? These informal groups are called unincorporated associations. The advantages of being an unincorporated association is that there are (generally)…
Read This Article
Consultant’s Corner: Regulations for Teenage Workers
Q. What is the minimum legal age for a home care worker performing non-medical tasks in Illinois? My understanding is that as long as the environment is not hazardous, 16 or older is a legal age for teenage workers. We have provided labor law reference information below for your consideration; however, since your GSB general…
Read This Article
Consultant’s Corner: Should I Hire an Executive Management Team?
Q. I am writing my startup business plan with the goal of presenting the plan to investors. I have no business ownership experience, so should I hire someone to manage my business and give investors more confidence? If you lack any experience in starting and running a business, then you may need to consider hiring…
Read This Article
Consultant’s Corner: Business Vehicle Asset Transfers
Q. I am looking to pledge my truck into my existing LLC. What should I do next? We do not know the details of your LLC and its tax status or your business use of the truck, but our response assumes that your LLC is a single member LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship and that…
Read This Article
Consultant’s Corner: Paying the Members of an LLC
Question: Can a three member LLC, being taxed as a partnership, place the three members on a payroll service with other employees of the company? The members of an LLC taxed as a partnership cannot take W-2 salaries or wages like employees of the LLC and cannot therefore have their compensation processed through a payroll…
Read This Article