Doing Business As / Trade Name / Assumed Name For Your Aged Shelf Company

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There are times when the name of the shelf company isn’t exactly what you wanted, or the name doesn’t exactly match your industry. There’s an easy solution for this.

First, let’s cover what is a Doing-Business-As (DBA). A DBA, or “doing business as” name, is an assumed business name used for registering a company, such as a corporation or LLC. It’s a marketing name for the company. When the DBA is filed, it should be owned by the company. The DBA should not be owned by you. In fact, the company you own will apply for the DBA and will own it in the company name. It is important to register a DBA if the name under which a corporation operates differs from its legal name. Some states require business owners to register a DBA to protect their customers. A DBA does not change the ownership or liability of a company, but it can help with banking and branding. A company may set up a DBA to expand into new products, services, or brands, or to use a different name than their own.

A DBA allows a corporation or LLC to create multiple brands or lines of business under one company.

It is important to note that the DBA should be owned by the corporation or LLC and not in a personal name. Again, don’t hold the DBA in your personal name. If you already have the DBA, it can be assigned to a shelf corporation or shelf LLC acquired later.

In some states, the DBA is filed on the state level. In California, the DBA is called a Fictitious Name Registration, and it is filed with the County where you seek to do business. In other states it may be called a Trade Name or an Assumed Name.

DBA filings for a corporation or LLC often require proof of good standing. The application may require that you submit a certificate of good standing from the state where you seek to do business and a certificate of good standing from the state where the company was originally filed.

The DBA And The Employer Identification Number (Ein)

If you already have the EIN for the company and the bank account is opened, then update the IRS and the bank about the DBA. We’re not tax advisors here. You may ask your tax advisor about IRS Form 8822b.

Then you update the lenders, the telephone service provider, the internet service provider, the landlord of your commercial space or virtual office, and anyone else that does business with the company. You want to make sure that anyone who reports business credit to the business credit bureaus will report information on the original company name and the DBA.

If the EIN is not yet applied for, then include the company name and the DBA on the EIN application. Then when the bank account is opened, the bank will acknowledge the original company name and the DBA. Then do the same with everyone and every organization that does business with your company. Consistency here is key. Your goal is that all public sources of information about your company are consistent with the information on the loan application.

Doing business-shelfcompanyinfo
Doing business-shelfcompanyinfo

Should you change the name of the company or obtain a DBA?

A change of name may be considered by loan underwriters as a reset of the age of the company. This is usually done by filing an amendment with the Secretary of State where the company was originally filed. Such an amendment may trigger the reset of the respected age to zero.

For the age of the company to stick, don’t change the name of the company. You’re much better off filing for a DBA. In this way, the original name of the company remains unchanged and you’re able to use the DBA name in marketing efforts.

Foreign Filing and Name Availability Issues, & the Free DBA

I bought an aged shelf company and then the state where I am foreign filing (qualifying the company to do business) already has that name occupied. What should I do?

Let’s say you acquired an aged New Mexico LLC and then you seek to file the company into Texas.  The name of your aged shelf company is already taken in Texas.  What are you to do?  This is easy.  Texas will grant you an alternate name to do business in Texas.  If that name is available, you’ll be able to use that alternate name as a DBA.  That DBA is free.  The state will grant you a free DBA because you’re filing the out-of-state company into TX, and they also want to resolve the name conflict by granting you an alternative name.  So, you’re getting the DBA for free.  Other states do the same.  California, New York, Florida, and the rest of the states do the same thing.  They seek to attract business into their state to increase their tax base.

Remember that other states attract business to their state.  They encourage out-of-state (foreign) companies to file into their state so they can generate tax revenue.  Your out-of-state shelf company has the same rights and responsibility as any other company that’s domestic in that state.

Thank you for reading about our clean aged shelf companies and how to use the DBA to your advantage.

For a list of our clean aged shelf companies, please email us at Assetprofile@gmail.com.

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