Registering an Online Business

blue-army

Hi all,

I'm looking for advice on registering an online business - What's the best way to go about it?

The business is centered around a facebook group/community in a niche industry based in the USA, which I set up when living there 4 years ago. The group has grown to 20k+ active members, and there are various monetization avenues which I am now looking to explore. (PR, Advertising and membership fees)

I'm assuming that I cannot register this business in the US?
Are there restrictions to doing 100% of my dealings with the US if I register the business in Ireland?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

mneylon

blue-army wrote: »

I'm assuming that I cannot register this business in the US?

You probably could in Delaware.
Whether you should or not is another matter entirely

blue-army wrote: »

Are there restrictions to doing 100% of my dealings with the US if I register the business in Ireland?

From whose perspective?

pedroeibar1

You can set up the registered office of a business wherever you want provided you comply with the legalities. If you chose the US, Delaware, as suggested above, would be appropriate for a variety (mainly legal) reasons. However it would be a much more costly option than Ireland as the fees for filing, reporting, etc. are considerably higher in Del.

There are no restrictions on an Irish company having 100% of its transactions offshore provided Irish law is respected. If it’s an on-line business your location should not be important. However, depending on your activity, an Irish registration could cause you image or marketing problems when selling into the US. Outside the coastal city areas the average US citizen is woefully ignorant and very suspicious of ‘foreign’ and buying from overseas so it would affect sales.

If you need to set up a company (IF) why not use any of the specialist firms here to do it for you – also talk to an accountant on the need for a company, on tax issues and also s/he might have a bit of advice on insurance.

vintagecosmos

I came across this before from Stripe https://stripe.com/atlas

No experience in using it, but thought it looked pretty good.

blue-army

vintagecosmos wrote: »

I came across this before from Stripe https://stripe.com/atlas

No experience in using it, but thought it looked pretty good.

That looks perfect! I'm trying to get in touch with my local enterprise board first before going ahead with this, but thanks a million for your help.

vintagecosmos

curious to know how you get on. I had plans to try and do smth like Bono and save a load on tax, but never progressed it

PattyO88

The rationale to register an online business is the same as if you had a storefront or physical presence. Do you want to limit your personal liability, save money on taxes, have complex ownership or employees, or add credibility to your business? If so, then registering with the Department of State is necessary.

There are many types of entities to form. Typically, registering with the state involves filing a formation document, along with submitting a fee, to the state’s Corporation Division. The state will review and hopefully approve your application.

Just as if you had a storefront, it usually makes the most sense to register (that is, incorporate) in the state in which you, the owner lives and works. For example, if you run an ecommerce business from your home in Minnesota, start by registering in Minnesota. Many websites and even professionals will tell you to incorporate in Delaware or Nevada because of their tax-friendly environments. We usually find that the home state is more cost effective for a small business.