Keepin’ it Legal

Tweet I am determined to get all the legal-y business stuff I’ve had on my to-do list done by the end of this year.  I probably should have started much earlier considering I have another show to prepare for, my Etsy store to keep stocked through the holiday rush, and a silly long list of Christmas gifts I wanted to make for friends and family.  I did cross one thing off my list, so that’s progress, right?

1. File my “Doing Business As” paperwork.  This is technically titled the “Certificate of Firm or Partnership Engaged in Business
   Under Name Other Than Their Own” here in Marion County (whew, what a mouthful).  This is basically just officially stating that I am doing business under the name bobaloo!, and it serves as a link between the business name and my name.  This has been on my to-do list on the left sidebar since I started this blog way back in July.  All I had to do was print out the paper, write a check for $14.50, and stick it in the mail to the Marion County Recorder’s Office.  Why did it take me so long?  Oh, this is the one that’s actually done as of yesterday morning.
2. Get my license to collect sales tax.  I really tried to knock this one out yesterday.  Evidently you can do this online here in Indiana, but I ran into a problem with the online system and didn’t have time to call an actual person today.  I swear I’ll try again soon. 
3. Find an accounting system.  I’m using a spreadsheet I bought on Etsy, which has been working pretty well for me.  I’d definitely recommend it – I use it to manage both my inventory and sales, plus it generates reports.  I think I’d like to try out something that will help me out at tax time.  Has anyone used Quick Books?  I tell you what, if someone out there made software for Etsy sellers, they’d make a fortune!
4. Meet with an actual accountant.  I’ve always done our taxes (I’m the money manager in our house), but I feel like I may be in over my head with business income on top of our regular stuff.  My friend Lisa’s mom is an accountant, so I really need to give her a call, too.

This tax and legal stuff honestly makes my head spin.  Hopefully meeting with the accountant will help me at least sort the tax stuff out.

On an unrelated note, I really really want to tell you guys about the handmade gifts I have planned, but a bunch of the recipients probably read my blog and I don’t want to ruin any surprises.  I hope I have time for it all – I’ve already switched my plan around a couple of times and settled for gifts handmade by someone else.  Anybody else feel like they'll never finish their Christmas gifts?  I hope your holiday planning is going better than mine!