Efficiently Ending Your Business: 3 Things to Keep In Mind

efficiently ending your business

Are you thinking of closing your company and searching for ideas and recommendations for efficiently ending your business and eliminating future liability?  When the time comes to close your business there are many steps which must be completed to properly dissolve your business entity.  We’ve outlined a few of the most significant ones here.

Properly file dissolution documents.

Depending on your type of business, there are forms that must be submitted to the government of your LLC or corporate dissolution. If you fail to do this, you expose yourself to significant liability for additional taxes and filings. Keep in mind that a sole proprietorship may not have to file papers in certain states, however, you should consult an attorney to be sure.

Part of dissolving your LLC or company and efficiently ending your business will be canceling any applicable licenses or permits that your business has pursued, but will no longer be needing. In addition, you should be sure to cancel your business name registration with your local government.

Abide by employment and labor laws.

Efficiently ending your business means complying with all federal, state and local laws and regulatory requirements.  For example, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act was created to protect employees and their families by establishing certain standards for companies to follow when dissolving.  The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration specifies who is subject to WARN standards:

In general, employers are covered by WARN if they have 100 or more employees, not counting employees who have worked less than 6 months in the last 12 months or those who work an average of less than 20 hours a week. Private, for-profit employers and private, nonprofit employers are covered, as are public and quasi-public entities which operate in a commercial context and are separately organized from the regular government. Regular Federal, State, and local government entities which provide public services are not covered.

In some states, even companies with less than 100 employees may also be subjected to WARN standards, so check with your local government or an attorney to find out.

Finalize your financials.

This one is pretty easy to wrap your head around, but often gets overlooked. Pay all taxes, settle all debts, complete payroll, and don’t forget to close all business accounts (credit cards, bank accounts, etc). Failing to do so can create unnecessary headaches down the road.

You will need experienced, proven San Diego business dissolution attorneys to help craft a strategy for efficiently ending your business while protecting you from future liability.  The Watkins Firm can protect you from legal entanglements and expensive fines and penalties which may result from missed steps or mishandled processes. If you are exploring the options of dissolving your business, let our experienced team advise you during the dissolution to keep it as smooth and simple as possible. We invite you to contact us or call 858-535-1511 for a free consultation to learn more.

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