Posted by 101livescan on 5/14/13 11:06am
Msg #469852
Business Licensing for Companies in our Industry
I'm required to have a business license in Santa Barbara for my office, but not for my home office. I have a very small office, none the less, I'm required to renew my license year to year. This year the DOJ of CA requested a copy of my license as part of their review of my fingerprinting facility, among other things on their exhaustive checklist.
So one of the things we need to add to our VERIFY LIST to make sure of company's legitimacy is DO THEY HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSE, liability insurance, E&O insurance, car insurance, D&B rating, BBB rating, and are they a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, LLC, Corporation, etc.
Unfortunately, most of us don't start asking these questions until it's too late. Unpaid assignments for over 60 days, website down, phones disconnected, principals nowhere in plain site. POOF! Vanished into thin air.
Too late to ask these questions when this occurs. Try to get this information before you agree to work for them.
Can't be to difficult to produce if the company is a legitimate, properly licensed business entity. Better to operate on the side of caution from the get go.
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Reply by SharonMN on 5/14/13 12:25pm
Msg #469859
Please note that you do not always need to have a business license to be legitimate. In my town (and apparently in yours as well), a business license is not required if you work out of your home if you only do clerical work there (no clients visiting or inventory stored).
Although your list is good food for thought, I think the experience of others in the industry (via Signing Central, etc.) is probably a better and easier to check barometer.
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Reply by MW/VA on 5/14/13 2:55pm
Msg #469888
I got a business license in my locale when I started up. Since I'm working out of my home, I didn't want to have any issues later on. It's really about fees & taxes--we all know the game.
The main reason I did it was because we fight for credibility in this industry--you know, the "just a notary" tag. Since I run a legit business I have found that I'm always treated with respect. I know the majority of notaries in my area don't do that, and don't report a lot of their income, either.
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