Form the entity. Elect the right tax treatment. Run payroll the day it makes sense.
Most "LLC setup" services file the paperwork and walk away. That's the easy part. The hard part — and the part that decides whether the entity actually saves you money — is the S-corp election timing, the reasonable comp model, the accountable plan, and the operating agreement that fits how you actually run the business. We do all of it.
You need an entity. Or you need the right one.
- First-year 1099 ready to form an LLC and run it correctly from day one
- Sole prop clearing $100K+ where the S-corp election should already be in place
- Existing LLC that's still taxed as a sole prop because Form 2553 never got filed
- S-corp set up by a prior preparer that's never had reasonable comp modeled
- Real estate investor deciding between LLC, S-corp, partnership, or holdco structures
- Multi-owner business that needs an operating agreement and an entity-tax election
- Spouse-co-owned business where the spouse-attribution and ownership questions need answering
- Out-of-state business that needs Texas (or other) registered-agent coverage
Pick what you need. The Discovery call confirms the right combination.
Most clients pick LLC formation + S-corp election together. Some just form. Some are already formed and just need the election. Pricing is modular.
LLC Formation
Form the LLC the right way, with the operating agreement that fits how you'll actually run it. Includes filing fees in most states.
- Texas (or other state) LLC filed
- EIN issued and verified
- Operating agreement (single or multi-member)
- Banking-ready documentation package
- FinCEN BOI report (where applicable)
- Year-1 compliance calendar
S-Corp Election + Setup
The election filing plus the operational setup that makes the structure actually work — payroll, reasonable comp, accountable plan, distribution policy.
- Form 2553 filed (late election if applicable)
- Reasonable comp benchmark modeled + documented
- Payroll provider setup (Gusto / Run / similar)
- Accountable plan + reimbursement templates
- Owner distribution policy memo
- Solo 401(k) or SEP framing if it fits
- Year-1 quarterly estimate schedule
Registered Agent
Annual registered agent service for Texas (or other state). Includes the annual report filing in states that require one. Out-of-state operators welcome.
- Registered agent of record
- Annual report filed where required
- Service-of-process forwarding
- Texas Public Information Report included
Four steps. Most owners are filed inside 10 business days.
- Step 01
Model the structure <em>before we file anything</em>
The Discovery call answers the strategic questions. LLC or S-corp? Single or multi-member? When does the election make sense? Spouse on the docs or not? We answer all of it before we pull a single form.
- Step 02
File the formation + apply for the EIN
State LLC filing, EIN application, FinCEN BOI report if applicable. Documents land in your Basecamp portal as soon as they're back from the state.
- Step 03
Build the operating agreement + (optional) S-corp election
Operating agreement built around how you'll actually run the business — buy-sell, profit allocation, distribution policy, dissolution. If the S-corp election is on the table, Form 2553 ships in the same package.
- Step 04
Operational setup · payroll, accountable plan, banking
If you elected S-corp, we set up payroll with reasonable comp, ship the accountable plan templates, and walk you through the banking-and-card structure. The entity is operational the day we close engagement, not "filed but not working."
Four traps we won't walk you into. Even if you ask.
Every business-formation page has happy talk. We're going to tell you the opposite — the cases where forming an entity is the wrong move, and where the S-corp election will lose you money.
S-corp election under $80K net
The payroll-tax savings don't beat the cost of running payroll until your net business income is roughly $80–100K. Below that, S-corp election is a money-loser. We'll model your numbers and tell you so directly.
Rental properties in an S-corp
Rental real estate generally should not be held in an S-corp. The reasons are technical (loss-passthrough rules, distribution issues) but the consequences are real. LLC taxed as a partnership is usually the answer for multi-property real estate.
Forming when you don't have revenue yet
Forming an LLC before you have a customer or contract is mostly a way to pay annual fees for nothing. We'll tell you to wait until the business is real, then come back.
Multi-state entities for SEO / privacy theatre
Forming a Wyoming LLC because someone online said it'll protect your privacy is, in practice, mostly a way to pay double the compliance cost. We'll route you to the state where you actually do business.
What clients actually ask before signing.
How long does the whole thing take?
LLC formation: 2–10 business days from filing to having the EIN. S-corp election + setup: another 1–2 weeks for the operational pieces (payroll, accountable plan, agreements). Most clients are fully operational inside 14 business days.
Can I file the S-corp election retroactive to January?
Often yes. Section 1362(b)(5) "late election" remedies allow retroactive S-corp election in many cases. We model whether the late election is worth filing during the Discovery call — sometimes it is, sometimes you wait for the next tax year.
Do you do formation in every state?
Yes. We file LLCs and corporations in all 50 states plus DC. Registered agent service is currently Texas only — for other states we coordinate with established registered-agent providers and stay involved in the compliance calendar.
What if I formed already but never got the S-corp election right?
That's the most common case we see. We pick up the existing LLC, model the late election, file Form 2553, and rebuild payroll + reasonable comp + accountable plan. If the prior preparer left a mess, we clean it up as part of the engagement.
Will you set up payroll, or do I have to?
We set it up. Gusto is the default; we'll use Run, Patriot, or your existing provider if you have one. Reasonable comp is calendared and documented before the first payroll runs.
One 15-minute call. We confirm the right structure together.
Forming the wrong entity is more expensive than forming late. The Discovery call is where we make sure you're forming what fits the business, not what fits a template.
Book the 15-min Discovery →