I'm starting a sole proprietorship in the state of IL. It is a ecommerce (internet only sales) business and it is retail. The inventory will be kept at a storage facility and not at my home. I do not want my business to be considered a 'home based business' because of the restrictions my town has for that.
After searching for an office or store front, I have realized that while it is doable, I would rather spend my money on marketing, website development and inventory. I found the 'virtual office' option online where you have access to an office for so many hours a month, they handle your mail, answer your phone etc. I am considering this option as it is much cheaper.
My question is: Is this good enough to say this is my legal business address though I am not there everyday and only have access for so many hours a month/week?
I would have access to the business lounge which I would likely be using frequently. The address I would have with this service would be registered with the post office I was told and is considered my business address. I just want to make sure what I am doing is legal. The sales rep told me that for a LLC you have to have a full time accessible office so that made me wonder about sole proprietorships.
I don't see why you would have any problems with that. Most state's require a registered person and this person can have any legitimate address as long as it is in the state. A virtual office should have a legitimate address. They just want a place that you can be contacted - via mail.
My business uses a P.O. Box and I can guarantee you that my P.O. Box does not have half the stuff your virtual office does - very hard to hold meetings in there.
That is a very interesting legal question. The company I own is in a 4 story building and we have the first floor. On the 3rd floor there is an office space co-working office which allows people to basically use that office so many hours per month, have meetings, etc. I never thought about legally how that would work and if you can say it's your address. One thing you may want to think about too, is that if someone looks up that address in Google they may find a ton of companies in one address. Could look a little strange.
ChristineL | Former Moderator |
3/29/2010 - 7:58 am
Hi melissa2583,
I suggest you ask your IL county clerk that you need to register your business with for IL regulations for online business.
Does anyone have suggestions to add?
Regardless of the business format, most states require a registered business to reside or have an agent within the state.
I have one corporation, one LLC, and one sole proprietorship. Registering each business required that I meet the above condition.
For a partnership to be registered in a state, one of the partners must reside within the state.
Now, operating as a Doing Business As (DBA) business doesn't require you to register, in most cases, unless you want to protect your business name through the state. Registering with the secretary of state can help you avoid litigation in the future.
Of course, if you sell taxable products or services you need to obtain a sales tax permit. This does not mean that your company name retains any protections against others duplicating your business name.
One of my companies provides online store software to businesses of varying sizes. Some of them work from home with UPS Store boxes, PO Boxes, and other non-working environment solutions to receive their postal mail.
I'm confident that your accountant and attorney can help you properly set up your business.
If you have questions you feel I may be of assistance with, please let me know.
BriaS | Community Moderator | 12/14/2010 - 7:38 am
phanio | Contributor | 12/13/2010 - 10:52 am
OuterBox | Performer | 12/12/2010 - 3:02 pm
ChristineL | Former Moderator | 3/29/2010 - 7:58 am
LRoberts | Window Shopper | 12/23/2010 - 6:34 pm
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