Whew! You made it through the crazy-busy tax season, and I hope you and your fellow accounting professionals are enjoying some much-deserved time to relax. With the lion’s share of your firm’s revenue secured in the first four months of the year, you may now be considering ways to augment your services and keep cash flowing.

Enrolling in a partner program may be an ideal answer! A partner program provides an opportunity to create additional revenue streams for accounting and CPA professionals. So, after high tax season has passed, accountants can continue to earn income steadily all year long. Generally, companies that offer accounting partner programs allow their accounting firm partners to earn income for recommending and selling their products and services.

Affiliate vs. Referral Partner vs. Reseller

Resellers typically pay a discounted price for a partner program company’s products and services and then brand and resell them as their own—usually at a markup to generate profit. This differentiates them from referral partners and affiliates, who receive a commission for recommending a company’s products or services.

The difference between referral partners and affiliates is a bit more nuanced. Generally, referral partners have a closer relationship with the clients to whom they recommend the partner program company’s offerings.

Affiliates, on the other hand, typically advertise the partner program company more broadly and do not have a personal or professional relationship with prospective customers. An affiliate will earn morning when a website visitor clicks on an affiliate link and then purchases the product they were promoting.

Both resellers and referral partners take more of an advisory role than affiliates. They evaluate a client’s needs and offer solutions that will meet them.

In an affiliate or referral partnership, the accounting firm is involved in the sale but not ongoing support. In a reseller partnership, the accounting firm is the customer’s point of contact during the sales process and beyond.

How to Evaluate Partner Programs

What should your accounting firm look for in a partner program? First and foremost, it should enable you to bring additional value to your clients while reinforcing your reputation as a trusted advisor.

Other qualities to review and consider:

• Transparency up-front about how the program works
• No fee to participate
• No minimum sales requirement to join or get paid
• The flexibility of selecting a reseller and referral option, with the ability to participate in both if desired
• A 100% customer satisfaction money-back guarantee
• Ability to support and service clients in all 50 states
• Dedicated account manager with specialized expertise in the program and the services sold through it
• Multiple support options that include phone, email, live chat, and Zoom
• Professionally designed marketing materials that make it easy for you to re-brand and white-label services as your own
• Wholesale discounts of no less than 20% for resellers
• Commissions of no less than 20% of service value for referral partners, with options to waive all or a portion of your commission and pass some or all of the savings to your clients instead
• Intuitive online portal for ordering wholesale services
• Volume-based discounts for enterprise resellers
• Multiple referral commission payment methods to suit your preferences (e.g., check, PayPal, ACH)
• API for integrating the program into your own website or app
• Stands by expertise and accuracy with errors and omissions insurance
• Generous cookie duration (2+ months) for affiliate link-based plans (how long a customer has to make a purchase after clicking an affiliate link for the affiliate to be entitled to a commission)

Keep in mind, that while this checklist won’t apply to all situations, it will help you research and evaluate available programs for your accounting firm.

Partner Programs to Explore

Various companies with services complementary to those of accounting firms offer partner programs. Commission structures, rates, and terms and conditions vary. Below are some highlights of various programs (according to the company websites).*

Business Formation & Compliance Filing Services

• CorpNet Partner Program
  • Referral and reseller options available
  • Referral commission of no less than 20% and up to 30% of service value (with options to take a lower commission and extend savings to clients instead)
  • Reseller wholesale discount of no less than 20% and up to 30% off service fees
  • Commissions paid monthly by PayPal or ACH via Bill.com with no minimum threshold (commissions of $100 or more are eligible for payment by physical check)
  • Service backed by 100% money back guarantee
• LegalZoom Partner Program
  • Commissions based on volume
  • Choose from a simple affiliate program and a more advanced, product-integrated program (Details not disclosed on the website)
• Rocket Lawyer^® Affiliate Program
  • Commissions for referrals from the affiliate link on the partner’s website when customers order Rocket Lawyer services
  • Details not disclosed on the website
• ZenBusiness Affiliate Program
  • Base payout of $100 for every new business formation order that comes to the ZenBusiness website from the affiliate link on the partner’s website

Payroll Solutions Providers

• ADP^® Accountant Revenue Share Program
  • From 25% to 75% of referrals’ monthly payroll invoice fees based on actual billings over their first 12 months
  • Residual commissions of 10% the following four years for active clients (must have over five eligible referrals)
• Gusto Affiliate Program
  • $200+ commission per sale for every valid business customer
  • 120-day cookie duration
• Gusto Partner Program
  • From 5% to 20% revenue share for the accounting firm or discounts for the firm’s clients (rate depends on the number of clients)
  • Fee payroll subscription for your firm
• Justworks Partner Program
  • Referral bonuses from $100 – $300 per employee (depending on the number of Justworks PEO clients referred) or from one to three months of admin fees waived for clients
• Paylocity Accountant Advantage Program
  • Reseller and revenue share options available
  • Discounts on products, services, and integration setup

Cloud Accounting, Financial Management, and ERP SaaS Providers

• FreshBooks® Affiliate Program
  • Up to $10 commission per free trial signup and up to $200 per paid plan subscription
  • 120-day cookie duration
• NetSuite Accounting Program
  • 10% commission on the first year’s license for referrals that become new NetSuite customers
• QuickBooks® Business Affiliate Program
  • Allows participants to offer discounts to their clients or earn commissions on QuickBooks Online subscriptions
• Sage Affiliate Program
  • $5 commission on free trial signups; $10 commission on subscription purchases
  • 7% commission on physical product sales
  • Affiliate income direct deposited into a bank account
• Wave Affiliate Program
  • Payout for every time your affiliate link leads to a qualified referral; no commission limits
• Xero™ Partner Program
  • Free subscription for your accounting practice; earn discounts for clients
  • Earn points to unlock additional perks
• Zoho Books Affiliate Program
  • 15% – 20% commission rate (depends on volume) per qualified sale
  • $100 credit to referrals when they try Zoho

Banking and Payment Solutions Providers

• PayPal^® Partner Program
  • Co-selling opportunities; monetary incentives and rewards
• Relay Partner Program for Accountants and Bookkeepers
  • One-time cash reward of $50 – $200 per client (depending on number of clients) onboarded to Relay
  • One-time cash reward for each client when a $10,000 balance is met within the first 12 months
  • If 20+ clients, receive a monthly revenue share of up to 10% of the interest Relay earns from its partner bank
• Square Referral Partner Program
  • Revenue share rewarded when referred customers adopt Square

CorpNet’s Partner Program Is a Win for You and Your Clients

Numerous affiliate programs exist that put extra dollars in the bank when someone clicks an affiliate link. But a true win-win partnership provides an opportunity to strengthen your relationship with your client as you generate additional revenue.

We created the CorpNet Partner Program to not only add dollars to your bottom line but also empower you to expand the ways you can serve your accounting clients, thus building loyalty and trust for the long term. Our program offers opportunities to resell our business formation and compliance filing services under your brand — or refer clients to us — providing you with optimal flexibility and unlimited potential. You can even participate as both a reseller and referral partner if you wish.

CorpNet’s program offers:

• Join for free
• Earn revenue with no minimum sales commitment
• Enjoy unlimited income potential
• Get peace of mind with personalized, USA-based support
• Brand our services as your own with our Reseller Program and we act as your silent fulfillment partner behind the scenes
• Enjoy generous discounted pricing on our services, and you charge what you want to your clients to achieve your desired profit margin
• Earn a generous percentage-based commission on our services as a Referral Partner

No matter which program you choose, a dedicated CorpNet account manager will be there to answer questions and support your efforts. And we back our service quality with a 100% money-back guarantee.

*Accessed April 30, 2024

The CorpNet Partner Program allows CPAs, accountants, bookkeepers, and other financial and tax professionals to create an additional revenue stream for their businesses while building trust and loyalty with their clients. By enabling you to resell CorpNet business formation and compliance services — or get a commission when you refer clients to CorpNet — you can augment your income and maintain a steadier bottom line when the crazy-busy tax season has passed.

As a Reseller, you collect the necessary information from your clients, and CorpNet prepares their forms and submits them behind the scenes as your silent fulfillment partner. You get special wholesale pricing on our services and then resell them to your clients at whatever price you choose. As a Referral partner, you direct your clients to CorpNet, and we handle the entire process. We give you a commission (a percentage of the service price) on the sales we obtain from the clients you refer to us.

You may be thinking, “This sounds great, but I don’t have time and don’t want to invest the money in developing all the marketing materials necessary to promote the service offerings.” Fortunately, that need not be a concern! When you become a CorpNet partner, we give you turn-key marketing assets and all the resources you need to assimilate our services into your business model. We recently presented a live webinar on the topic, and I’d like to share that information with you in this article as well.

Marketing Resources for Partners

Your clients have grown to trust you and know they can rely on you for exemplary service. With their confidence in you already established, I expect they will be thrilled to know you can now help them — or refer them to CorpNet for assistance — with registering their entity and handling ongoing compliance filings. With your help, they’ll have more time to concentrate on other essential aspects of their business.

We aim to make it as easy and straightforward as possible for you to roll out our business formation and compliance services to your clients. Whether you sign up for our Reseller or Referral program (or both!), we provide professionally developed marketing collateral to help you get the word out about your new service offerings. Our white-label design allows you to brand the materials as your own — or co-brand them with CorpNet. Ultimately, you choose what makes the most sense for you.

Below, I’ll share the various marketing and promotional pieces we give you when you sign up as a CorpNet partner. If you have any suggestions regarding other materials that would help your efforts, I encourage you to reach out to your account manager.

Marketing Brochures and Checklists

Our brochures provide an overview of all the CorpNet services you can offer your clients, and our checklists give your clients a rundown of the common tasks and requirements they need to fulfill when starting a business. We have these materials branded with CorpNet’s name and contact information (for Referral partners) and white-label versions (for Reseller partners) with logo and contact information areas you can customize with your logo (or co-brand with your logo and CorpNet’s) and company contact information. And if you’d like us to add anything to the brochure’s content, we can make changes upon your request.

• CorpNet Company Brochure
• Service One Page Brochure – CorpNet Branded
• Service One Page Brochure – Editable File for Partner Contact Information and Logo
• New Business Checklist and Brochure – CorpNet Branded
• New Business Checklist and Brochure – Editable File for Partner Contact Information and Logo

Website Content for a Dedicated Services Page on Your Website

Naturally, you’ll want your website to include the services so that your existing clients and prospective customers can learn that you’ve broadened what you can provide. We’ve created a template for website copy, which you can modify as you see fit and include on one of your existing website pages or a new one.

I think you’ll find it quite helpful and time-saving. It provides basic information describing the different business entity types and the services we offer you as our partner.

Formation

• Sole Proprietorships
• Partnerships
• C Corporations
• S Corporations
• Limited Liability Companies (LLC)
• Professional Limited Liability Companies (PLLC)
• Professional Corporations
• Nonprofit Corporations

Compliance

• Business Owner Information Report*
• Doing Business As (DBAs)
• Business Name Searches
• Business Name Reservations
• Assign a Registered Agent
• Obtain a Federal Tax ID Number (EIN)
• Register for Sales and Use Tax
• Register for Payroll Taxes (SUI/SIT)
• Obtain a Business License

*This new reporting requirement (effective January 1, 2024) applies to newly registered business entities that meet specific criteria. Companies created or formed during 2024 have 90 days after their entity is registered to file their BOI report. Those created or formed on or after January 1, 2025, must submit their BOI report within 30 days of registration. Entities created or formed before 2024 are also subject to it and have until January 1, 2025, to submit their BOI report.

Email Copy for Deploying an E-Newsletter to Your Clients

Email is an ideal way to announce to existing clients that you can help them with their business formation and ongoing compliance needs. With our email copy template, you can spread the word without writing content from scratch. Edit the text to meet your specific needs and offerings, include it in your e-newsletter or marketing e-blast, and link it to your website page that describes the services. You can use it as you wish! Whether your recipients use a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer, the pre-formatted email will look professional on any device.

Client Questionnaires to Help Clients Determine Their Needs

Every client is different! So, we’ve prepared a set of questions for your clients to complete when they are forming an LLC or Corporation so you can gather important information from them. These questionnaires can also be used for clients with an existing LLC or Corporation who want to move or expand their business into another state.

Your clients’ answers will also help you determine the various formation and compliance services they need. For example, registered agent services, state payroll tax registration, DBA (fictitious name) filing, Form 2253 to elect S Corporation status, etc.

FAQs About the Tax Savings Advantages of LLCs and Corporations

We also provide a list of FAQs you can give your clients to educate them on the different entity types, how they’re treated for tax purposes, and what’s involved in setting them up. You are welcome to brand our FAQs piece with your own logo.

While many entrepreneurs start their companies as Sole Proprietorships or General Partnerships, eventually, they may want to protect their personal assets by forming an LLC or incorporating. These FAQs will help them consider which entity might offer the most advantageous tax outcome. Of course, they are meant as informational resources and not as a substitute for professional tax or legal advice!

Digital Display Banners for Attracting New Clients

For our referral partners who wish to get a commission for sending clients to CorpNet rather than branding our services as their own, we have designed digital banners you can add to your website or social media platforms. You choose the banner you’d like to use and then embed it with the unique referral partner URL we give you. When someone clicks on the banner, it will direct them to the CorpNet website. If the individual places an order, it will recognize our Partner ID, and you’ll get credit for the sale.

As a referral partner, you can take your full commission or use our banners with coupon codes embedded in them to pass a portion of your commission on to your clients as a discount on their orders.

Articles, Webinars, Videos

We are constantly updating our collection of information about everything related to starting and running a business.

Specifically for our partners, we offer webinars and videos on various topics to augment their knowledge and help them feel more comfortable speaking with their clients when reselling or recommending our services.

You will find valuable insight into everything from a deep dive into the LLC structure to how to structure multiple businesses to the 2024 BOI reporting mandate and more.

Also, our website’s Launch Blog covers virtually every topic imaginable, enabling you to augment your knowledge of the services you can sell through our partner program.

One thing I want to mention: As an accounting professional, you must be careful to avoid engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. In other words, do not offer legal advice without a license to practice law! However, you can give insight pertinent to your certified area of expertise and credentials and provide clients with information that helps them come to their own conclusions about what entity might be most advantageous for them. And, of course, you can direct your clients to a licensed attorney for legal guidance.

Interactive Business Structure Wizard Tool

Our Business Structure Wizard is a helpful tool for identifying the most beneficial entity types for a client. After answering the series of questions our tool asks, you can see the best matches. The tool scores each entity type, giving it a percentage score. The higher the percentage, the more likely the business structure will be a good fit. The tool is an excellent starting point for homing in on which business structures to consider.

Feel free to give your clients the link to the Business Structure Wizard so they can complete it themselves, or you can complete it for them while you’re meeting with them face-to-face or over the phone.

Free Business Name Search

When you have a client who wants to start a business or change their existing business’s name, they can check to see if the company name they want to use is available by using our free Business Name Search tool. Like our Business Structure Wizard, the Business Name Search Tool is part of CorpNet’s website and unavailable in white-label format. If you’re a Reseller partners and want only your brand in the spotlight, you can use the tool on your client’s behalf to check business name availability or reach out to your CorpNet account manager, and we can check the name for you.

Performing a business name search is valuable because if another company registered in the state already uses the name your client desires, the state might reject your client’s formation documents — and filing fees are not refundable.

Portal with Compliance Checks

The CorpNet Compliance Portal is your dashboard for staying on top of your clients’ compliance responsibilities and due dates. It provides alerts for when filings (such as annual reports, BOI reports, registered agent renewals, business license renewals , etc.) are approaching. The portal is free of charge, and you incur no fees for the setup and maintenance of your dashboard.

You may have as many clients in the portal as you want. Before we add them to your dashboard, your CorpNet account manager will do a compliance check to determine which ongoing filings and reports each client is responsible for.

You can view them at any time by logging into the portal. You will also receive email notifications when upcoming compliance tasks are nearing their due dates so you can remind your clients of their responsibilities and help complete them.

Because states’ ongoing compliance requirements and deadlines vary, your dashboard simplifies tracking what’s due when for clients regardless of which state — or how many states — their business is located in.

Steps to Maximize Revenue

Now that I’ve covered the marketing and informational resources you have at your disposal, I want to discuss how you can effectively use them to generate income for your company.

1. Determine what CorpNet services you’d like to offer for business formation and ongoing compliance – You can pick and choose! For example, you may decide you’re wholly comfortable branding certain services like filing a DBA and payroll tax registration as your own and reselling those CorpNet services to your customers under your name but would rather refer clients to CorpNet for filing articles of incorporation and dissolutions.
2. Create a website page that lists the services you’re offering – Make it easy for your website visitors to distinguish between which services are related to forming a business entity and which are associated with maintaining compliance after a business is registered.
3. Send an email to your clients (or your marketing mailing list) to introduce them to the services you’re offering – Emphasize that you’ve expanded your offerings to provide clients with convenience and additional value.
4. During your tax planning and preparation meetings, take a moment to introduce your ability to help your clients with their business formation and compliance needs – Give them the brochure and checklist and share the website link so they are aware of how you can help them.
5. Remind your clients when their critical compliance tasks are due and how you can help – This will build trust and make it easier for them to keep their business entity in good standing with the state and tax authorities. Many new entrepreneurs don’t realize they have ongoing entity maintenance requirements and they miss critical deadlines. You can keep them on track!
6. Ask your clients to help you spread the word – Chances are, they’ll be happy to let their fellow business owners know you can save them time and hassle.

Partner With Us and Grow Your Revenue!

We’re here to help your accounting business thrive and grow! Contact your CorpNet account manager if you have any questions about our marketing and other resources.

Whether you’re an accountant, tax advisor, coach, or consultant, your clients inevitably turn to you for insight into improving their business’s bottom line. One question they might ask is, “What is the best business structure?”

You need to be ultra-careful in advising customers about this because offering legal advice without a license to practice law is unlawful. However, you can give insight pertinent to your certified area of expertise and credentials, and of course,  you may direct clients to the right resources for legal guidance.

And after a client has decided on a business structure, you can help them make the transition by preparing and submitting the necessary forms on their behalf. It is not considered the practice of law to file business registration and compliance paperwork for clients. Moreover, by doing so, you can increase revenue for your business and provide additional value and convenience to your customers.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the considerations your clients must contemplate when selecting the best business structure to meet their needs.

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing an Entity

• Owners’ Liability Risks – How much personal legal and financial risk an owner is willing to assume will influence which legal entity type to choose. Some types of businesses have a greater potential to run into litigious situations and significant debt than others. Formally registering a company as an entity separate from its owners offers a higher degree of personal liability protection than operating an unincorporated business.
• Tax Impact – How the IRS, states, and other tax authorities apply taxes to business profits varies according to a company’s legal structure. Some structures (known as pass-through entities) are set up to have taxes flow through to the business owner’s personal tax returns, while others result in the business paying taxes as its tax-paying entity. Under some structures, business owners pay a larger percentage of their earnings for Social Security and Medicare taxes. Your clients will want to weigh their options carefully to determine which scenario will offer them the best tax outcomes.
• Ownership and Management Flexibility – Different business structures have different ownership structures. When more than one owner is involved, things can get complicated, so it’s critical for clients to understand the advantages and disadvantages of their options.
• Growth Potential – Some structures are better suited than others for entrepreneurs who foresee needing to raise capital to fuel growth and expansion. In addition to considering the opportunity to sell stock, some structures generate more confidence and credibility when approaching investors and lenders.
• Costs and Complexity – Another detail business owners will want to keep top of mind is how much it will cost to file formation paperwork and fulfill ongoing compliance requirements. Some structures have simple and few obligations, while others come with more complicated (and costly) formalities.
• Succession Plan – Hopefully, your clients are also thinking about their business in the long term. What will happen to the business after they die? What if a business partner decides to leave the company? Some business structure types cease to exist after an owner passes away, while others live in perpetuity.

Business Structures Your Clients Might Register

Now that I’ve set the stage for what clients should think about, let’s look at a few of the most popular business entity types to give you more insight into each.

Sole Proprietorship

A one-person (or married couple’s) business will automatically be regarded as a Sole Proprietorship if it’s engaged in commercial activities but not registered as a business entity. A sole proprietorship doesn’t have to file formation paperwork with the state, nor does it have any formal compliance requirements to fulfill. However, it may need licenses and permits depending on the type of business it conducts and where it’s located. Also, if the owner chooses to use a fictitious name, it must file a DBA to provide products or services under a company name that doesn’t include the owner’s legal name(s).

A Sole Proprietorship is legally and financially considered the same entity as its owner. This means the owner is personally held liable for debts and legal obligations of the business. So, if the business can’t pay its bills or someone sues the company, the owner’s house, vehicles, bank accounts, and other property could be at risk. Another drawback of a Sole Proprietorship is limited financing opportunities. The company may not sell shares of stock, and lenders might not be interested in funding the business. So, sole proprietors may need to depend on their savings account, home equity loans, and assistance from family to fund big-ticket purchases like property, equipment, etc.

As an unincorporated business, a Sole Proprietorship reports its business profits on the owner’s individual income tax return. Because all income and losses flow through to the individual level, the owner must also pay 15.3% in self-employment taxes (12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare taxes) on the business’s profits.

Partnership

A Partnership, when two or more people own a business, is an attractive option for entrepreneurs who want minimal compliance formalities. Like a Sole Proprietorship, a Partnership is an unincorporated business. Owners (partners) divide profits and report them on their individual income tax returns. Partners must also pay self-employment taxes on their share of the profits.

Partners typically work with an attorney to create a Partnership Agreement that sets forth how profits get divided and details about what happens if any of them retires, wants to get out of the business, declares bankruptcy, or dies. Some partnerships have a buy-sell agreement in place, as well, to ensure that the company can continue to operate if something happens to one of its partners or if a partner decides to leave.

Partnerships come in several varieties:

• General Partnership – The partners in a General Partnership manage the company and assume personal responsibility for the business’s finances and legal obligations.
• Limited Partnership (LP) – In a Limited Partnership, there are general and limited partners. While general partners take an active role in the business’s daily operations, limited partners typically have a financial interest without managing the business’s activities. The general partners are the owners who assume personal liability for the business.
• Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) – An LLP is similar to a Limited Partnership. The primary difference is that every partner has limited liability and is personally protected from the debts and legal issues of the business.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

An LLC offers its owners (a.k.a. members) the benefit of limited personal liability while maintaining compliance simplicity. Some refer to it as a hybrid between a Sole Proprietorship and a Corporation.

A Limited Liability Company may be a single-member or a multi-member LLC (if more than one member). Multi-member LLCs can have an unlimited number of members. The business structure offers choices in how it’s managed. An LLC may be member-managed (its owners run the day-to-day operations) or manager-managed (the owners hire someone to manage it or appoint one or more of its members to handle business operations). LLC members usually create an LLC operating agreement defining individuals’ roles and responsibilities.

From a tax perspective, the IRS will view an LLC as a pass-through entity. As such, its profits and losses get passed through to its members rather than the company paying corporate taxes. Like owners of Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships, LLC members must pay self-employment taxes on business profits.

However, an LLC has some tax flexibility. Members can instead elect to be taxed as an S Corporation. I’ll explain more about S Corporation tax treatment later in this article, so keep reading!

With a single-member LLC, the business dies with the owner unless provisions in the LLC operating agreement state otherwise. Multi-member LLCs also may have a limited life if any members leave or pass away. Some states will require members to dissolve the LLC and form a new one with new members if there isn’t a buy-sell agreement establishing the rules for transferring ownership.

C Corporation

A Corporation, sometimes called a C Corporation, is a legal entity separate from its owners and provides the most personal liability protection for its owners (shareholders). C Corporations also may take some deductions that other business entity types may not. It costs more to incorporate than to form other business structures, and corporations have more oversight, record-keeping, and reporting responsibilities to stay in good standing and operate legally. Some compliance requirements that C Corporations must fulfill include designating a board of directors, holding directors’ and shareholders’ meetings, adopting bylaws.

Corporations may sell stock to raise funds. Because they are independent entities, they can remain active even when individual shareholders leave, die, or sell their shares of stock.

A C Corporation pays taxes on its profits, files its own income tax returns, and is legally liable. In many cases, corporate profits get taxed twice — something referred to as double taxation. When the company makes a profit, the Corporation pays tax at the corporate income tax rate, and then the profits paid as dividends to shareholders are taxed again on shareholders’ personal tax returns at the applicable income tax rates. If a C Corporation meets the eligibility requirements, it can elect S Corporation tax treatment to avoid double taxation.

In addition to the C Corporation, other forms of Corporations may be an option depending on the state where a company is registered:

• Benefit Corporation (B Corp) – A Benefit Corporation is a for-profit corporation that exists to serve a societal or environmental mission, contributing to the greater good in addition to generating a healthy bottom line. Examples of some well-known certified Benefit Corporations include Kickstarter, Ben & Jerry’s, and Patagonia.
• Closed Corporation – A Closed Corporation is usually run by a small group of shareholders without a board of directors. Rules vary by state, but typically, a Closed Corporation may not participate in public trading of stock.
• Nonprofit Corporation – A Nonprofit Corporation is organized for charitable, religious, educational, scientific, or literary work. It may apply to the IRS and state to be exempt from paying federal and state income taxes on its profits.

S Corporation

An S Corporation is a tax election option rather than a business structure in its own right. C Corporations and LLCs can elect to be treated as S corporations for tax purposes (by filing IRS Form 2553) if they meet IRS eligibility requirements.

Federal income tax obligations for an S Corporation pass through its owners. Therefore, C Corporations that choose the S Corporation election avoid double taxation because profits are taxed only at the shareholders’ personal level. The advantage for LLCs that elect S Corporation tax treatment is that not all business profit is subject to self-employment taxes. Instead, members pay themselves wages through the company payroll and only pay self-employment tax on that income. Profits paid to LLC members as distributions are not subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. State rules for how taxes are applied to S Corporation profits vary.

S Corporations can have a maximum of 100 shareholders (or members in the case of an LLC), and other restrictions also apply. An LLC or C Corporation that chooses an S Corporation election must fulfill its underlying entity’s compliance requirements.

How to Help Your Clients Register a New Business

How can you help your clients make informed decisions while avoiding the risk of giving them guidance you’re not legally authorized to provide? First and foremost, ensure you only provide advice within your realm of expertise and the authority of your licensure and credentialing. So, as a licensed accountant or tax advisor, you may educate and advise on how a business structure will affect your clients’ tax obligations. However, you may not advise about the liability ramifications associated with any business entity type.

Examples of questions a licensed accountant can safely answer include:

• Will pass-through taxation, S Corporation tax treatment, or taxation as a C Corporation be most beneficial financially to a client who is forming an LLC?
• What options does a General Partnership have if its owners want to lower their self-employment tax burden?
• Which states offer the most favorable tax rates for a Corporation?
• What does the client need to do to register their business entity for payroll taxes?
• If a client has multiple businesses, how should they structure them for optimal tax outcomes?

Examples of questions when you should recommend clients seek the advice of an attorney:

• What are the personal liability advantages of changing from a Sole Proprietor to an LLC?
• What should clients include in their operating agreement?
• Which state will offer the most favorable legal environment for a corporation?
• Is the client legally responsible for submitting a Beneficial Ownership Report?

Enroll in the CorpNet Partner Program

Now that you have a basic understanding of what the types of questions you can answer and guidance you can give without venturing into the troubled waters of unauthorized practice of law, let’s explore how you can help your clients with their formation and compliance filings after they’ve decided on their ideal business structure.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s not considered the practice of law to file business documents for your clients. Fortunately, CorpNet has a program in place to allow you to assist your clients with business formation and compliance, opening a new stream of revenue for your business — with minimal effort on your part and at no cost to you. You can enroll for free in the CorpNet Partner Program as a Reseller or Referral Partner.

As a Reseller Partner, you can private label our services and offer incorporation, LLC formation, and corporate compliance filings in all 50 states. Our intuitive online portal makes it easy for you to submit requests, and CorpNet takes care of all the rest behind the scenes. Our portal also allows you to track filing and reporting deadlines, so you can help your clients stay on top of their upcoming responsibilities and offer your assistance as those due dates approach. You get discounted pricing on our services and then set your pricing to your clients as you wish.

As a Referral Partner, you refer your customers to CorpNet, and we work directly with them on their filings. You can earn a commission on the service value or request us to pass the savings to your clients instead.

Best of all, you can participate in both programs if you wish, selecting which services you want to resell and brand as your own and which you’d like to refer your clients directly to us for.

Here’s a list of some of the filings you can help your clients complete through the CorpNet Partner Program:

• Incorporation of C Corporations, Professional Corporations, Nonprofit Corporations (Articles of Incorporation)
• Registered Agent Designation (CorpNet provides Registered Agent Services in all 50 states)
• Business Name Searches and Reservations
• Fictitious Name Registration (DBA)
• Beneficial Ownership Reporting
• Business License and Permit Applications
• Foreign Qualification (to conduct business in other states)
• EIN Applications (IRS Form SS-4)
• 501(c)(3) Filings
• Initial and Annual Reports
• Sales and Use Tax Permit Registrations
• State Payroll Tax Registration (State Unemployment Insurance and State Income Tax)
• Articles of Amendment (changes in company name, address, etc.)
• Annual Meeting Minutes
• Entity Conversions (changing from one business entity type to another)
• Certificates of Good Standing

CorpNet even has customizable, turn-key marketing resources for digital and print marketing:

• Brochures and checklists
• Website content
• Email copy
• Digital banner ads for website and social media

Contact us today to learn more about the CorpNet Partner Program and the powerful way it will help you help your clients while boosting your business’s bottom line!