Industries
STEPS forms companies, registers them for tax, files their licences and keeps them in good standing — and none of that changes because of what you sell. If your industry is not below, we will map it and come back to you with what applies.
Below is what formation, licensing, tax and ongoing compliance usually involve, industry by industry. The specific list for your business — every federal, state, county and city requirement, with a link to each application — comes from the licence report.
These are the industries STEPS has already mapped. The list grows as clients ask, which is the honest way round: nobody benefits from a page claiming to know an industry it has never filed for.
What usually applies
Entity, EIN, and a registered agent. Licensing is usually light, but sales tax can apply the moment you package advice as a product.
The part that catches people out
Selling a course, a template or a subscription alongside your advice can turn an unlicensed service business into a taxable one.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
Entity, EIN, registered agent, contractor licensing at state and county level, and lien paperwork on almost every job.
The part that catches people out
Florida’s lien process starts before the work does — a Notice of Commencement is recorded at the beginning, not the end.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
Entity, EIN, sales and use tax registration, a resale certificate, and a fictitious name if the storefront is not the legal name.
The part that catches people out
The marketplace collecting tax for you does not always remove your own duty to register and file.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
Entity, EIN, registered agent, premises and occupational registrations, and sales tax on memberships and retail.
The part that catches people out
Membership contracts are regulated separately from the business itself in many jurisdictions.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
Entity, EIN, registered agent, health and food-service permits, sales tax, and employment tax as soon as you hire.
The part that catches people out
Permits usually attach to the address, not the company — a second location is a second application.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
Entity choice matters most here, plus EIN, registered agent, facility and professional registrations, and payer enrolment.
The part that catches people out
Several states restrict who may own a practice, which can decide your entity type before anything else does.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
Entity, EIN, registered agent, individual and establishment licensing, and sales tax on any product you resell.
The part that catches people out
The practitioner’s licence and the shop’s licence are two different filings, and one does not cover the other.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
Entity — often a professional association or PLLC — EIN, registered agent, and board registration for the licensed activity.
The part that catches people out
A regular LLC is not always a permitted form for a licensed profession.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
One entity per property or per portfolio, EINs, registered agent on each, annual reports on one calendar, and deed and lien documents.
The part that catches people out
Six entities means six annual reports, all due the same day.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
Entity, EIN, registered agent, state and local rental registration, and transient rental tax alongside sales tax.
The part that catches people out
City and county rules are usually stricter than the state’s, and they change more often.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
Entity, EIN, registered agent, and sales tax analysis — because whether software is taxable depends on the state and on how it is delivered.
The part that catches people out
Remote employees create tax and registration obligations in their own states, not yours.
Get the list for your businessWhat usually applies
Entity, EIN, registered agent, operating authority and vehicle registrations, plus fuel and weight-based filings for some operators.
The part that catches people out
Operating authority is federal, the rest is state and local, and they run on different clocks.
Get the list for your businessIndustry decides which licences you need. It does not change the four things underneath every business.
We file the same day you send us your details. LLC or corporation
Your bank will ask for it, and so will most licence applications. How it works
Every state requires one, at a staffed address. What arrives, and when
The annual report, the agent renewal, every licence renewal. One calendar
Tell us what you do and we will research it — the entity that fits, what has to be registered, what has to be licensed, and what recurs — and come back to you with the list. Then it goes on this page for the next person.
We would rather add an industry because a real client asked than pad the list with ones we have never filed for.
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