is this legal 1

[inusrat]

Hi,

I want to know if is is legal to have a ecommerce business different from your registered business.

Suppose a business is registered under the name "XYZ" and they are in bookkeeping business. Now they want to open a website selling sun glasses with the name "Glass house"..

I don't think they need to registered a new business.. right? they can prpbably open a merchant account under the name "XYZ" and start processing payments........


thanks

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[BocaBurger]

I would suggest talking to a lawyer for this type of question.



BocaBurger
<===========================||////////////////|0
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword hurts more!

 

[CoreyBryant]

You can do it - I would register the Glass House as a DBA and then make sure you have XYZ in the footer and (Visa Regs) on the payment page & receipt

__________________________
Corey

http://www.merchantaccounts4less.com/

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[BocaBurger]

Would you ask a lawyer to write code for you?



BocaBurger
<===========================||////////////////|0
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword hurts more!

 

[CoreyBryant]

Would you ask a lawyer to write code for you?

Depends on the lawyer - but we have hundreds of merchants that do this. They have a few different websites and each business does not warrant a merchant account but with all the sales combined - it is fine.

You just need to make sure the consumer knows where his/her money is going to.

__________________________
Corey

http://www.merchantaccounts4less.com/

http://www.merchantaccounts4less.com/promo/tek.asp

 

[BocaBurger]

Main problem with lawyers writing code, is that it would only work when run by another lawyer, and print "hello world" would require 6000 lines of code.





BocaBurger
<===========================||////////////////|0
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword hurts more!

 

[inusrat]

it might be a dumb question . What will happen if someone have a business and XYZ opens a website ABC (with out doing paper work for DBA) connect it to paypal and start selling stuff using the bank account of XYZ for ABC revenues.

I guess when XYZ wil file taxes than it wil be problem..

http://www.786Marriage.com

http://www.amasspharma.com

http://www.ambdex.com

 

[CoreyBryant]

Not too sure at all about income tax - I would say consult your CPA for that. I only know about the merchant account part.

__________________________
Corey

http://www.merchantaccounts4less.com/

http://www.merchantaccounts4less.com/promo/tek.asp

 

[foxdev]

What will happen if someone have a business and XYZ opens a website ABC (with out doing paper work for DBA) connect it to paypal and start selling stuff using the bank account of XYZ for ABC revenues.

It depends a lot on your jurisdiction, but generally I'd say that if no fraud or deception is intended, and that if you clearly state in your "About us" page that ABC.com is owned and operated by XYZ, I don't see a problem.

Example: our company (say, Low Cost Widgets LLC) has established a Web site WidgetWarehouse.com. "WidgetWarehouse.com" is NOT our company name; it is merely the address of our business. Other prominent and actual examples: Reference.com is owned by Lexico Publishing; Pets.com is owned by Petsmart, Inc. In other words, the site name isn't necessarily the true company name.

Some merchant account providers prefer they be the same, because this cuts down on chargebacks.

--------------
art prints

http://www.artlot.com

 

[inusrat]

thanks foxdev, so your company "Low Cost Widgets LLC" has not done any paper work at where you register businesses etc. and filed or obtained any sort of document for DBA, you just mentioed it on your 'about Us' page..... well thats good, lesser legality the better.

I understand customer geting little confused but that thing can be taken care of.....

http://www.786Marriage.com

http://www.amasspharma.com

http://www.ambdex.com

 

[foxdev]

I think you misunderstood. Our company ("Low Cost Widgets LLC" in this example) IS fully registered in every way required by law: we filed articles of organization in our state; have completed annual registration; have a business license from our county; and have a state sales tax certificate.

What I was trying to convey is that we did not repeat these steps with our Web site domain name WidgetWarehouse.com or any of the other Web sites that Low Cost Widgets owns and operates, since they are merely pseudonyms for our business.

--------------
art prints

http://www.artlot.com

 

[inusrat]

Thanks for your reply, I knew what you meant, I was refering to the website too..

I know domain does not have to be the name of your company.
A company "Computer Genius" that makes routers decides to sell shoes online and opens a website with domain shoes.com
thats perfectly legal.

But I am sure it will not be ok if you go to shoes.com and on front page at header instead of saying Shoes.com it says "Chicago Shoe Outlet".
Because if there is a registered business "Chicago Shoe Outlet", then you can not use that name on your website.

In that case probably after making sure there is no business "Chicago Shoe Outlet", you need to file for DBA..

Computer Genius DBA as Chicago Shoe Outlet

http://www.786Marriage.com

http://www.amasspharma.com

http://www.ambdex.com

 

[cookie101]

So, in short, you need to register as a DBA. My company, Anonymous, Inc. has several DBA's, websites, etc. A biggest portion of DBA's is the parent company. The parent company Anonymous, Inc. may have Anonymous Services, Inc., Anonymous Systems, Inc., Anonymous Management Company, etc. But all the money goes to each DBA. Let me explain:

A customer wants to purchase an item from the DBA Anonymous Services, Inc. The customer pays their money through the online purchase site. The money goes to account #1234567890 for Anonymous Services, Inc. The parent company, Anonymous, Inc. can legally move the money from one profitable company, in this case Anonymous Services, Inc. to a not profitable company, Anonymous Management Company. This is a great way to "balance" accounts between the companies. It can lead to problems, though. ever heard of Enron? You MUST be careful.

Banks REQUIRE a DBA name and registration with IRS before opening accounts for said company. So, the DBA MUST be registered with local, state, etc. before accepting funds to ANY account, including a Paypal account, or the IRS gets jealous.

However, a sole proprietor, albeit not a smart company organization due to lawsuit laws, has benefits that the others do not. You can register a number of "companies" under one Employee Identificaiton Number, or your Social Security Number if you are the only employee. If you have more than one employee and they receive a paycheck from the company, you can have one EIN set up by the parent company. The catch is strict rules on IRS filings.

In short, there's all sorts of rules, regulations and tax codes that forbid any company from recieving funds and not reporting it. Be careful in a DBA. You MUST register it - and file religiously.

Don't just take my word for it, check with a tax attorney/lawyer. They are great sources of information. Try to find one that sets up new companies and has a good track record.

Garrett
CCNA

"The only knowledge you need is that which you do not have. Keeping what you have is the hard part.

 

[Nikki2454]

can you not just revise your current filed articles of organization in your state and have a state sales tax certificate.

Few Questions to consider:
How long has the bookkeeping company been in business?
Has the IRS ever done an audit? If no, is there a good probability that they would?
How much profit will you make from the sunglass hut? (Will you file it on taxes).
If you answer yes to any of the questions I would definitely do the paperwork so it doesn't come back to bite you on the butt.

Plus if someone were to sue for some freaky sunglass incident, how much would you lose? Without doing the proper procedures, (even if it is not required) considering the vase difference in products (Sunglass vs. bookkeeping). They may have a case that stands in court. Think it over!

 

[dpk136]

yes you can do it. companies do it all the time on e-bay. They open up an account in a different name. because if that venture is a flop, they don't want it connected with them. i know that very large companies have done this. But as with all legality quesions, you should probably contact a lawyer and talk it over with them.

David Kuhn
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http://www.davidpkuhn.com