arjawn

Ha unfortunately the state/gov doesn't provide APIs so what we've done is build as much automation as we can around the "manual pieces"

It's programmatic + fully automated for the platform to call our API -> behind the scenes on our side, most of the end to end process is automated with some "human in the loop" reviews at key points for filings or taxes.

Hey great question, the goal with this is to enable a platform to offer this to their users easily in-app (vs having their user need to leave to go DIY on the state website).

One example use case: if you are a bank and your user needs an LLC + EIN to open an account with you, instead of giving them a guide and saying "here is what you need to do" -> they could use our API -> offer formation + EIN directly in app -> seamless process to now onboard.

Hey we don't have multi-currency support (yet) but it's on the roadmap

And we can help with 2024 catchup

You can book a free demo here, excited to help if we can: https://www.doola.com/bookkeeping/book-a-demo/

Hey, Arjun here, CEO of doola (Business-in-a-Box for LLCs) (YC S20)

If you are a solopreneur or run an Ecom business and are looking for support with dedicated bookkeeping (including a human bookkeeper), check out https://www.doola.com/bookkeeping/

Happy to support anyone looking for help with bookkeeping + business tax filings for their business going into the new year (we support Non-US tax filings as well if you are a Non-US founder)

This is a cool use case thanks for sharing

Hey! We're beginning to onboard customers, it's not completely "self-serve" yet and even in future, we will have to see if we can bank certain types of companies (ie we can only do LLCs, C Corps, DAO LLCs, no sole props / trusts) and we can't serve money service businesses, adult entertainment, gambling etc!

hey! the bank will run KYC + AML and it's also why we require identification, full documentation on the company, as well as the beneficiary owners!

No way around KYC + AML, but can streamline process via formation + EIN + bank account integration!

these are I ate 4 though by accident so maybe doesn't help with my cut but holy crap for "keto cookies" they taste legit

Hey! If you're interested in other banking options check out https://www.doola.com/rewards. Feel free to email us at hello at doola dot com as well and we can see if we can intro you to the banking partner!

Thanks Jack You are 100% correct, people don't really want an LLC, they want a way to transact globally in the US dollar and to do that they need a US bank account + US payments.

We work with many different banking and payment partners (https://www.doola.com/rewards) and not only help folks go from 0 -> bank account but also keep the LLC compliant in the background (annual compliance, IRS tax filings, and more!)

Hi! Arjun here from doola. This is spot on, we have worked with 1000s of customers and we believe we're experts BUT that doesn't justify not having enough value in our offering and we are always on the lookout / prowl to add additional services/products to our suite to truly provide a "one-stop-shop" offering!

Hey! Responded to steves comment above with more color on what is included in our plan (tldr we do include IRS tax filing + annual compliance and more) but it is again very valuable for us to see that we are not messaging this clearly enough on our pricing page!

Hey steve, arjun here from doola, this is really valuable feedback because *we do your taxes (form 5472/1120) AND your annual compliance as part of our plan! Our messaging / copy clearly doesn't indicate this / message this properly so we are going to implement a fix asap that improves this.

As to justifying the cost for our plan, if you factor in the cost of having a lawyer/CPA do your IRS filings (there can be heavy fines up to $25K for not filing or incorrectly filing form 5472 https://www.doola.com/blog/filing-requirements-for-foreign-o...) and certain CPAs can charge well upwards of $1000 for this filing alone + your annual report with the state + registered agent, US address, our entire perks and rewards database (https://www.doola.com/rewards), and access to us on a monthly bases for free tax consultations, LLC amendments etc, we've heard there is lots of value BUT we are always on the lookout to add more and as a little sneak peek, stay tuned for some bookkeeping, payroll + banking stuff we have in the works (note we can help with all three of these things now but we do it through partners, we have some ideas to more tightly integrate / embed this in to our offering to provide even more value and a better customer experience).

Yup, we at doola have a Delaware C Corp but because we "do business" in NYC (physical office, HQ is there, employees there) we have to do the "foreign LLC filing" to stay compliant and in the clear.

Hey biztos, arjun here from doola, you're 100% correct here. A common mistake people make is form an LLC in a state that they don't live in. They then have to "foreign qualify" in the state they "do business in" = the state they live in. The definition of "do business in" is essentially you have a physical presence there = you live and work there, have a physical office there, W2 employees etc.

The best advice to "what state should I form my LLC in?" is: - IF you live in the US: form in the state you live in (to avoid the foreign qualification in another state). - IF you don't live in the US: you can choose any state. The most popular states we see at doola are Delaware and Wyoming but Wyoming is the most popular due to the lower ongoing annual fees ($50 to WY vs $300 to DE) and Wyoming has demonstrated it's willingness to innovate when it comes to regulation (like the DAO LLC legislation passed on 7/1/21.)

For more on DAOs check out this blog post: https://www.doola.com/blog/what-is-a-dao-llc-your-complete-g...)

And for a complete answer to "Best state to form an LLC in" check out this blog post: https://www.doola.com/blog/what-is-the-best-state-to-form-my...

Hey Brajeshwar, Arjun from doola here, thank you so much for sharing us

Be careful when deciding C Corp vs LLC! Brian's story here was crazy but a great lesson! https://twitter.com/arjunmahadevan_/status/14059908807674839...

Great q, I can see if a CPA in my network has a good answer to this (feel free to shoot me an email, link in bio, with more context as well)

And yes we can help with these filings but the circumstance above where a previous filing wasn't completed is an interesting case so will have to see what the best option is give that!

Ah if you are getting sued most formation services won't provide / cant provide "official legal counsel" so you will need a lawyer for that

Are you forming a C Corp or an LLC? You'll need a registered agent regardless BUT you shouldn't pay too much for a registered agent!

California actually started to waive this fee in year 1. "As of June 2020, the $800 franchise tax fee has been waived in the first year in California."

However even with this fee waived it still makes A TON OF SENSE to file your LLC in the beginning of the year vs the end (OR do a delayed effective filing https://www.startpack.io/blog/what-is-an-llc-delayed-effecti...)

Otherwise, you end up paying the annual fees twice in ~ 1 year.

Here's an example before CA started to waive this fee of how brutal this could be in CA for LLC owners:

California has an annual franchise fee tax of $800. This fee is due every calendar year, not every 12 months.

Calendar Year: January - December

Every 12 Months: 12 months from Today

So this means if you were to start an LLC that was "born" or "officially created" on December 31st, 2020, you would be responsible for paying the full $800 franchise tax fee for the year of 2020!

Fast forward to January 1st, 2022, one year and one day later, even though essentially only one year has passed by, instead of owing $800 to the state of California... you would owe $1600!

To make things worse, the first annual franchise tax fee payment is due within the first 3-4 months from when your LLC is formed, and from then on, due by April 15th each year. So if you were to create a California LLC that went in to existence on December 31st, 2020, you would have to pay $1600 in the first 5 months!

Correct, this is an important note for international LLC owners as well as many folks think the "in-state" US tax laws apply, however, if you don't have a US physical presence you might only have an informational filing requirement (vs a US 1040NR tax filing requirement). I wrote a full thread on this here in case anyone is curious! https://twitter.com/arjmahadevan/status/1380556571395112960?...

For C Corps, correct! But for LLCs my candid thoughts are form in Delaware only if you have plans to in the future convert your LLC to a C Corp (to raise venture capital from U.S. investors) or you really want the "prestige" of saying your company is from Delaware. Some people say this matters to them and if it does, it is your business, your choice! Otherwise, I recommend Wyoming. Why? Wyoming is the most popular state for non-residents who are online businesses, e-commerce businesses, or business owners who want an easy and simple way to form and manage their company. It's the most popular state among https://startpack.io customers, has lower annual fees ($50 vs $300 in Delaware), a low filing fee ($100), and was the first state to ever create the LLC. Also don't sleep on Wyoming's prestige as well :) It has a friendly business environment, also allows you to protect your personal info when filing with the state (use the registered agents info) and has even been called "The Switzerland of the Rocky Mountains" (I don't know who coined this term though haha)

100% not worth the headache so better to file in the state you "do business in" = home state!

But as an international resident world is your oyster and you can choose any state :)

For international LLC owners, Wyoming has lower ongoing annual fees! $50/yr in Wyoming vs $350/yr in Wyoming!

Also I call out international above because if you are a US resident you should form an LLC in your "home state" aka the state you do business in!

Have learned a ton about LLC formation in Delaware + other states from working on https://startpack.io.

tl;dr if you live in the US form an LLC in your home state, if you don't Wyoming is a very popular option for online, digital businesses / ecommerce businesses, and Delaware is so popular because, in my opinion, it has "prestige" but as an international resident, you won't automatically get tax savings by being in Delaware vs Wyoming for example (if you don't have a physical presence in the US)

If you live in the US -> form an LLC in the state you live in. If you form an LLC outside of your home state you’ll be required to register that out-of-state LLC as a Foreign LLC in your home state. For example, if you form an LLC in Nevada (but you don’t live there), then you’ll be required to register that Nevada LLC in your home state (as a Foreign LLC) in order to do business in your home state. This means you now have 2 LLCs (one in Nevada and one in your home state) so you have to pay 2 State filing fees and 2 Annual report fees

If you don't live in the US -> you can form in any state. If you are an online digital business Delaware and Wyoming are the two most popular states.

Delaware is the most popular state in the US for business formation. I think part of this is because of 1) the prestige of creating a "Delaware C Corp" in the state and 2) it does have a very solid business reputation. However if you are an international, online business, Delaware might not be the best option if you are trying to save $. In Delaware there is a $300 annual payment due to the state each year.

Wyoming is extremely popular for LLC formation for international residents because of the lower ongoing annual fees ($50 vs $300 in Delaware). Wyoming has also built a reputation as one of the most popular state for non-residents who are online businesses or e-commerce businesses. Also dont sleep on Wyoming's prestige as well; it has a friendly business environment and has even been called "The Switzerland of the Rocky Mountains."

Again the thing here which is important to highlight is you end up creating twice the work / twice the costs if you live in the US and form an LLC outside of the state you "do business in" so be careful here!

And internationally, if you're forming an LLC, you can choose any state and if you don't have a physical presence in the US, you actually might not have a US tax filing requirement, but you do have an informational filing requirement if you are a foreign owned US Single Member LLC (Form 5472/1120). If you are a foreign owned multiple member LLC, you file a partnership return. And if you are an LLC that elects to file as a C Corp you file a C Corp return!

If you live in the US, correct! It's best to form an LLC in the state you live in.

If you live internationally, you can actually choose any state to form an LLC in (and Wyoming + Delaware tend to be the two most popular options, Wyoming for online digital businesses due to the lower ongoing annual costs = $50 per year to the state vs $300 per year in Delaware!)

Hey! We support residents of Singapore!

And a US C Corp is a great option if you are looking to raise venture capital (there can be other reasons too in specific cases but at a high level if you are raising venture capital or will in the future, then a C Corp is the best option)

Hey Arjun here! Ah I understand your question. Yes there are ways to accept payments (with Stripe or even other payment processors from certain countries!)

But we've found that founders in countries that even have access to Stripe or payments are still interested in getting access to US banking and Stripe because they are global, digital first companies and having a base in the US helps when selling globally! Also having a US LLC company gives you access to the US startup ecosystem.

Let me know if this makes sense / if I can help clarify anything!

Hey sorry could you clarify what you mean by Public Law?

Certain banks and payment providers do have restrictions among which countries they can serve and they publish these lists on their website!