- What is the best LLC registration process?
- How to form an LLC in Washington State
- What is the best address for your Washington State LLC?
- Scaling your Washington LLC with digital tools
Q: How can I form an LLC in Washington State? Do I need to live in Washington to do business there?
A: If you’re wondering how to form an LLC in Washington State, it’s just as straightforward as forming an LLC in any other state. Through the use of a Virtual Office, you can procure a professional and well-known address in Washington that you can use to register your business. Hypothetically, you could form an LLC in Washington State without even going to the state.
The modern market rewards flexibility.
Thanks in part to Virtual Offices and other digital tools, registering a business has never been easier. And although experience and knowledge of the competition are still as important as ever, the barrier to entry is considerably lower than it was in the past.
Today, business owners have a cost-effective and streamlined way to register their businesses in any state they’d like — with little to no hassle.
The only thing you need to do is decide on the state in which you’d like to register your business.
The best states offer an attractive combination of tax laws, registration fees, and other state-specific benefits.
Washington is one of these states with attractive tax laws, a reasonable registration fee, and fair rules for business owners.
Learning how to form an LLC in Washington state is just as straightforward as learning how to form an LLC in any other state. The good news is that we’re about to cover both.
In this article, you’ll learn how to register an LLC in the United States, form an LLC in Washington State, choose the best address for your Washington State LLC, and scale your business with effective digital tools.
So, if you’ve ever searched, “How do I start an LLC in Washington State”, then keep reading – this guide is for you!
- What is the best LLC registration process?
- How to form an LLC in Washington State
- What is the best address for your Washington State LLC
- Scaling your Washington LLC with digital tools
What is the basic LLC registration process?
Before we get into how to form an LLC in Washington state, let’s take a look at the basic concept of an LLC.
An LLC is a limited liability company, and doing business through an LLC protects your personal assets from losses and liabilities incurred by your business.
In other words, you won’t lose your house or your car if your LLC goes bankrupt, and you won’t be personally sued if your products end up harming people.
As Americans continue to fear a coming recession, business owners need to take the necessary steps to protect their personal assets.
Read more: The Complete Guide to Making Your Business Recession Proof
In order to form an LLC, you’ll need to register your business and go through a specific application process with the federal government.
Below, we’ve written a quick, basic guide to the LLC registration process. We’ll get more into specific questions like “how much does it cost to set up an LLC in Washington state” shortly.
- Pick a name
- Appoint a registered agent
- File your articles of organization
- Receive your EIN
Pick a name
The first step in legally creating any kind of business is creating a name for your organization.
You have a lot of freedom when it comes to naming your LLC. That said, there are a few specific state guidelines that prevent you from choosing certain names. Also, you need to have a unique business name.
Feel free to use the U.S. Small Business Association’s website to check the general guidelines. Most states have databases on their websites that allow you to do more specific checks as well.
Appoint a registered agent
Next, you’ll need to appoint a registered agent.
A registered agent is someone who is designated to handle official correspondence with the government.
A registered agent generally must live in the state. They must also be at least 18 and available during business hours.
Technically, business owners can act as their business’s registered agents. But this can be quite stressful, and the penalties for missing official documents can be severe. Instead, you might want to use professional registered agent services.
Articles of Organization
The guidelines for registration might vary slightly from state to state, but you’ll need to file articles of organization regardless of your specific location.
Your articles of organization include basic information about your business, such as your registered agent’s name and address, your company name, your company address, the nature of your business, and other general information about your operations.
Essentially, your Articles of Organization are used to explain to the government how your LLC is going to be managed.
Visit the website of the state you’re registering in to file your articles with the government.
Employer Identification Number
Finally, you’ll be assigned your EIN.
Your EIN is your business’s social security number. You use it to file annual reports, file your taxes, and build your business’s credit.
Read more: How to Build Business Credit: Building Credit for Your Small Business
Your Employer Identification Number will be used for any lines of credit or bank loans that you need to take out for your business.
Although your LLC protects you from any losses your business incurs, lenders may check your personal credit when determining whether or not to give your business a loan – especially when your business doesn’t have much credit history.
Regardless of how good your credit is, it’s important to start building your business credit early. The goal is to make it easy for your business to get loans in the future without involving your own personal credit history.
As you can see, the process of forming an LLC is fairly straightforward. Keep in mind that the U.S. Small Business Association has a website that can help answer any questions you might have about the process.
If you’re already wondering “how long does it take to form an LLC in Washington State” then don’t worry — we’re about to fill you in.
How to form an LLC in Washington State
If you’re wondering how to form an LLC in Washington State, the process is very similar to many other states.
Below, we’ve detailed an actionable guide that explains how to form an LLC in Washington State. Wondering: “How much does it cost to form an LLC in Washington State?” Don’t worry — we’ve answered that too.
- Choose a business name
- Appoint a registered agent
- Create your business’s articles of organization
- Create an operating agreement
- Obtain an EIN
Choose a business name
First, you’ll need to decide on a name for your business. Knowing how to form a Washington LLC isn’t much help if you can’t pick a name for your company.
Before you check whether your business name is already taken, let’s go over a few quick guidelines for business name creation:
- Name can’t mislead customers
- You can’t try and trick your customers with your business’s name. If a company is already named Bob’s Taco Truck, you can’t just name your business Bobs Taco’s Truck in an attempt to steal market share.
- The name must be unique
- You can’t register your business with a name that is already in use. There are different business name checkers you can use.
- LLCs must include the phrase “limited liability company”
- While you aren’t required to put “limited liability company” on your company’s branding or marketing materials, you’ll need to include the phrase when you’re registering your business.
- Can’t create an intentionally vulgar company name
- Adding swear words or other obscene words to your business’s name is not only incredibly unprofessional, but you wouldn’t get through the registration process anyways.
While there are a few more specific guidelines to consider in Washington State when naming your business, these are good rules to follow no matter what state you’re in.
Thankfully, the Washington State Department of Revenue has three different tools you can use to check whether or not your business’s name is already in use.
First, you can use the Washington State Business Lookup to determine if there are any businesses with similar names in the state.
Second, the Washington Secretary of State has a website that allows you to look up the names of trademarks, corporations, charities, and other entities.
Third, through the United States Patent and Trademark Office, you can search for federally registered business names and other trademarks.
Follow these guidelines, and you’ll find that deciding on a name for your business is simple.
Appoint a registered agent
Next, you need to appoint a registered agent.
Registered agents must be residents of Washington, over the age of 18, and available during your business’s operating hours to receive official correspondence from the government. They must also have permission to operate in the state of Washington.
Now:
In addition to wondering how to form an LLC in Washington State, you’re probably wondering if you can cut out the middleman and act as your business’s registered agent.
Technically you can… But you probably shouldn’t.
Acting as a registered agent means receiving official documents from the government on behalf of your business.
This includes subpoenas, summons, complaints tax information, class actions, and many other documents.
Mishandling or missing important correspondences like this is an excellent way to find yourself in trouble. In some cases, judges will side with the suing party solely because you’ve failed to respond.
Outside of the sheer importance of properly handling these documents, acting as a registered agent adds yet another job onto your workload.
After all, you’re running a business! You have things to do and operations to oversee. Acting as your business’s registered agent is risky and not worth the hassle.
Fortunately, you can easily use a registered agent service to fill this role if you don’t have an individual you trust to act as your business’s registered agent.
Create your business’s articles of organization
After handling your registered agent, you will need to create your LLC’s articles of organization.
These need to include the following:
- Name of LLC
- LLC duration
- LLC address
- Registered agent’s name
- Registered agent’s address
- Whether the LLC will be member or manager-managed
- Whether the LLC will provide professional services or not
- The name and address of each of your LLC’s organizers
- The name and address of at least one managing member
As you can see, figuring out how to form an LLC in Washington State is just like learning how to form an LLC anywhere else. Just like in every other state, the articles of organization are used to explain the purpose of your business.
Fortunately, the Washington Secretary of State has an easily accessible website that shows you the forms you’ll need to file to register your business.
At this stage, you’re probably wondering: “How much does it cost to set up an LLC In Washington State?”
Once you’ve finished with your articles of organization, you can submit them along with a $200 fee via mail or electronically.
So how much does it cost to get an LLC in Washington state? Costs may vary, but the $200 filing fee represents one aspect of your startup costs.
Create an operating agreement
After submitting your business’s articles of organization, you should create an operating agreement.
Technically, an operating agreement isn’t required in Washington State — but it’s an excellent idea nonetheless.
With your operating agreement, you can lay out how the company is going to operate and define specific roles for owners and managers.
Because the operating agreement isn’t required, it may be difficult to find a form template in Washington. Regardless, you’ll get more out of your operating agreement if you write it yourself.
Obtain an EIN
Finally, it’s time to obtain your Employer Identification Number by filing on the IRS website.
Thankfully, this can be done for free.
Remember, your business’s EIN is effectively your business’ social security number. You’ll need it for just about any major decision your business intends on making — financially or otherwise.
Moving forward
Once all of these steps are completed, you are ready to go.
If you are the sole member of the LLC and don’t want to be taxed as a corporation, you don’t need to obtain an EIN.
That said, it is still highly advised that you do so — as you will need your EIN for things like business banking, securing lines of credit, and countless other applications.
What is the best address for your Washington State LLC?
A Virtual Office helps you register your LLC in Washington state, whether you are a local Washingtonian or you’re operating your business from another location.
Below, we’ve listed some of the key benefits associated with Virtual Offices and LLC registration.
- Cost-efficient
- Private
- Operate anywhere
- On-site staff
- Physical space
Cost-efficient
Compared to a traditional office, a Virtual Office will save you a considerable amount of money.
Traditional office leases often have minimums that range from three to five years. With one of Alliance’s Virtual Offices, that minimum starts at only 6 months.
In addition, having a Virtual Offices means you aren’t responsible for the increasingly expensive utilities, upkeep, or supplies associated with a physical space.
This cost-efficient alternative makes it easier to grow your business and retain more capital to invest in other operations.
Private
A Virtual Office gives you privacy.
Scams are ubiquitous. As more consumers fall victim to these schemes, more consumers are taking steps to avoid scams and scam businesses.
While a home address isn’t necessarily indicative that your business is a scam, it certainly doesn’t look as professional as an address in a central business district. Sometimes, a disreputable address is enough to scare customers away.
Part of understanding how to form an LLC in Washington State is understanding how to best use the tools at your disposal.
Using your home address to register your business means that your address is being added to the public domain. Once it’s there, it’s easily accessible.
We’re talking spam mail, disgruntled customers, frustrated ex-employees… The list goes on. These issues might force you to move.
A Virtual Office allows you to keep your home address completely private.
Also, you can pick a professionally recognized location for your LLC in Washington that adds legitimacy to your operations and improves your standing in the eyes of consumers and potential investors alike.
Remember, you can choose a Virtual Office in any major city.
Operate anywhere
Virtual Offices allow you to register and operate from anywhere.
It doesn’t matter whether you work remotely from home or halfway across the globe.
With Alliance Virtual Offices’s robust mail-forwarding system, all of your mail can be forwarded so that you never miss out on key communications.
On-site staff
One of the most noticeable benefits of an Alliance Virtual Office is the presence of friendly and professional staff in all of our offices.
Whether you’re utilizing our easily reservable meeting rooms, professional coworking spaces, or just dealing with technical issues from home, our Virtual Office staff is ready to provide friendly and attentive care.
Physical space
Best of all, you have access to on-demand meeting spaces whenever you need them.
Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs find themselves using expensive hotel conference rooms, crowded public coffee shops, or even their homes to host important meetings with clients or investors.
While hotel conference rooms might be professional enough, they’re also incredibly expensive – and they lack tech support. Coffee shops are loud and unsafe, especially when you’re dealing with sensitive business information. Hosting a business at your home just isn’t a great look for your company.
Thankfully, all of Alliance’s Virtual Offices are backed by physical space, which means that you have access to a range of private and professional meeting rooms that you can use to host your meetings without breaking the bank.
This physical space simplifies your virtual operations and adds a layer of professionalism to your business.
Now that you’ve learned how to form an LLC in Washington State and the benefits associated with one of Alliance’s Virtual Offices, it’s time for you to see how to scale your Washington LLC with other digital tools.
Scaling your Washington LLC with digital tools
Figuring out how to form an LLC in Washington state isn’t much different than figuring out this task in other states.
You’ll need a dedicated address within the state of Washington, a registered agent, and the ability to receive important registration mail from the government.
A Virtual Office from Alliance is the ideal solution for your Washington business address.
In addition to Virtual Offices, Alliance provides several other tools for established entrepreneurs to use in conjunction with their Washington LLCs.
Our Live Receptionists offer a friendly voice to anyone calling your business, allowing you to stop worrying about the phone and focus on improving your business’s daily operations.
Our receptionists personally answer and screen each call, giving each customer their full, undivided attention and a great first impression.
With our Virtual Phone Numbers, you can easily connect with your team members while using a dedicated business phone number.
Trying to manage your business on the same phone you use for personal activities is a recipe for disaster, and often leads to increased burnout and poor work-life balance.
Thankfully, our business phone numbers come with unlimited extensions, which means you can easily onboard new hires and streamline training exercises — all while keeping your employees’ information private.
For more information on the services that Alliance Virtual Offices provides, check out our website!
Further reading:
- The Complete Guide to Making Your Business Recession Proof
- How to Build Business Credit: Building Business Credit for Your Small Business
- Get a Virtual Address For LLC Registration
Alliance Virtual Offices is available to help even the newest entrepreneurs get started in their business ventures.
Whether you’ve just learned how to form an LLC in Washington State or you’ve expanded a second business to Washington, we’ve got you covered.
Contact us today to see what Alliance Virtual Offices can do for your business’s operations!
