Clean It Time

I operate as a sole proprietorship. What types of things can I write off as deductions on my taxes for my computer repair business? Also how should I keep and organize all my reciepts/records.

You can probably deduct anything involving computers, books about computers, potentially gas money/car money.

Also, I’d recommend you swapping your business to an LLC. Since you work in the computer repair field, if you were to break something further, you could easily be held personally liable. But if you were an LLC, then your business would be held liable and not you. It only takes a little extra paperwork and almost no money to register as an LLC; but if your ever on the wrong end of a lawsuit, you’ll be glad!

I would like to get enough money to rent a small shop with a workbench and such, and pay licensing fees on a remote administration software program so I can brand the software I use to remotely fix computers. Also I need funding for government fees to register an LLC in the state of Pennsylvania. I guess $5,000 should cover the start-up costs. Any suggestions?

First step is developing a comprehensive business plan that will highlight your business, marketing, operational and marketing plan that will show whether your venture is likely to succeed or not

Hello! I would like to start a mobile computer repair business in California.

Is there any California law that states I have to have a certification to do such work?

I know I have to register the company, but what do I do after that?

Thanks.

Contact the local Small Business Development Center office. They provide assistance to start-up businesses for free. Google it to find the office nearest you.

Introduction

 

 

It is every American’s dream. To own and operate their own business, to be their own boss, to be in charge of their life! Every new business is started by someone who gets an ‘entrepreneurial seizure’. That is, they believe they have an idea for a service or product that is better than, faster than and of better quality than what some others can do. In a fury, they quit a job and start their own business haphazardly and end up getting in a jam because they didn’t follow the natural order of beginning their own business. This article will explore what those steps are, and how, if they are done correctly will greatly benefit the one taking them.

 

 

•I. Check your State’s Business Website for possible conflicts in naming your business.

 

 

When you choose a name for your business it should be unique, and yet say something about what you do. Some have chosen the route of using humor to get their point across. “The System’s Down” for a computer repair business, “He’s Not Here” for a bar infamous for refusing to tell wives where their husbands’ are. What you don’t want to do is give your business the same or almost the same name as another company. Check the local sites and make sure you can legally use the name you choose.

 

 

•II. Get your EIN number.

 

 

It’s as easy as logging on to the IRS.gov website and filling out the online form to receive your EIN instantly, don’t check the box to wait for it to come in the mail, you want to get started ASAP, so make sure you get the number and print the page it appears on. You will need that number before you finish any of the next steps.

 

 

•III. Incorporate your business. (What forms you will need.)

 

 

In order to incorporate correctly, a lot of people have used online help. It’s not cheap, but it is far cheaper than the possibility of making a mistake and having to dissolve a new corporation and begin again. Unless you have done this before, you can leave it to the experts and skip a few of the next steps entirely. The next question is what kind of incorporation do you need? You have two choices for an incorporated business. There is the S-Corp, by far, the most popular option because of the taxation advantages. And then there is the C-Corp, which does have its own advantages which the double taxation drawback can sometimes more than makes up for. The other option is not incorporating at all and sticking with either a sole proprietorship or partnership. Both are easier to deal with at year end and cheaper to get taxes prepared but can leave the business owner open to getting personal property taken if there were a bankruptcy or lawsuit. In my humble opinion, the form of business with the most headaches is a partnership and the best form is the S-Corp. But that’s just my opinion.

 

 

•IV. Create your Article’s of Incorporation.

 

 

The cheap way to do this is to cut and paste another corporations’ Article’s of Incorporation and replace their name with yours. You can do this legally, but as I am not a lawyer, I would take the safe road mentioned previously and get an expert to do it for me.

 

 

•V. Create your company’s Charter.

 

 

Let’s face it; before I started my own business, I wasn’t sure what someone would be looking for in a Charter. It basically spells out the days for board meetings and who will succeed who should there ever be a vacancy. Again, I would prefer to put something like this in the hands of someone who does it regularly as they will know who to ask what and put it together for you professionally. A lot of online services have popped up; make sure you deal with a reliable one if you go that route.

 

 

•VI. Open your business bank account.

 

 

This is the step that most people START with. Then they learn that the business name they chose is taken, or that now they are incorporated, they need a different kind of bank account. The most important thing to remember with the business bank account is that it is supposed to forever be separate from your personal accounts. This is to protect the corporate veil, i.e. that layer of protection afforded to you in a potential lawsuit.

 

 

•VII. Register with the state to pay for unemployment taxes, sales taxes, etc.

 

 

Each state will have its own site to pay taxes online, in Florida; before you register you are given a brief quiz about the kind of collecting you will do in your business. Are there vending machines involved or fuel subsidies? Etc. Most businesses will only have to worry about the SUTA or State Unemployment Tax. Paying online is important as the states are usually stricter than the federal in collections. Fines and penalties are what build a lot of bridges in this state.

 

 

•VIII. Register with EFTPS to pay payroll taxes online.

 

 

Every pay day you have, you must set aside half of your employees’ payroll taxes out of your account and half deducted from your employee’s pay, along with the Federal Withholding. Using the online payment option at the EFTPS site means you won’t have to be sending checks that could get lost or late. Register now even if you don’t have employees yet and get your internet passwords written down.

 

 

•IX. Build your company’s website.

 

 

These days a company without a website is not a company. Simply put, if you cannot point potential customers to a site featuring your work and some information about your business, those potential customers will go elsewhere. The internet today is what the Yellow Pages were 20 years ago. Often, if you get email, your internet provider will give you internet space for free. For example, EarthLink will give you a certain amount of space for free, and using the Trellis builder allows you to build, change, and update your site easily. Go to a hosting site, such as Go Daddy and pay for a redirect to your email free site. (Don’t pay for the hosting, just the redirect!)

 

•X. READ articles on promoting your site through QuickBooks, Google, and Yahoo search engines.

 

 

I don’t know about you but my Yellow pages books are under my old couch, holding it up where the legs are uneven. When people are looking for services today, they use Google, Yahoo, or Craigslist. A lot of advertising can be done through your QuickBooks software by clicking on the Google Marketing Tools icon. Read all you can about successful people using these sites. It is not necessary to pay for a pay per click campaign when you use some FREE common sense steps to market your business to your clientele.

 

 

•XI. Start your marketing campaign. (Business cards, postcards, etc)

 

 

If you are struggling to put together the green after paying to incorporate, etc you may not exactly have the ability to market your business with essentials. (Business Cards, Post Cards, Brochures, etc.) All of these can be found for reasonable prices online, I use Vistaprint as the specials they have with 250 free cards, 500 free postcards, etc have filled out my marketing ammo for nothing but shipping. I prefer not to use the Office big box stores as they don’t sell quantities less than 5000 and I took a while to find a professional design that worked for me, you will too, don’t worry about that.

 

 

•XII. Build your clientele.

 

 

Remember that if you are following this step by step, you are still gainfully employed somewhere. You have to build a clientele slowly, possibly spending your first year as a part time corporate president, until you have enough regular clientele that you can comfortably ease up on your day job. Your clientele are more than just a source of immediate income, they have friends, relatives and neighbors that you don’t have. So on to the next step.

 

 

•XIII. Ask your satisfied clientele for referrals.

 

 

A satisfied client can gloat on you; just make sure that you deliver the goods when they do. Then, you have two satisfied clients. Ask them to fill out referral forms so you can tap into their market and do the same for them as well.

 

 

•XIV. Finally, as soon as the money is rolling in regularly quit your day job.

 

 

You didn’t start this business thinking that you want two jobs forever. As soon as you can pay your bills comfortably, and perhaps have somewhat of a surplus in your business account, fire your boss! Use the spare time you have now to promote your business and its’ services with the following tips.

 

•1. Join a local chamber of commerce. – My membership at the Kissimmee chamber has paid for itself a hundredfold and more. Become an active participant and join a leads group. You will get more clients out of the relationships you make than you will in making a hundred sales pitches.

 

•2. Join a BNI – like a chamber of commerce, just less formal.

 

•3. Volunteer time (or services) at the local YMCA; sponsor a team with shirts or equipment.

 

•4. Spend that extra time you have with family, because as busy as you may get, you want to have the joy of watching your kids grow. And if you don’t have any kids, spend that extra time in making yourself more successful by taking time OUT of business and reinvigorating yourself. Take classes, go to seminars and LEARN!

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

Success is not a goal for the future. It is a journey, doing something you love doing and getting paid for it. I’ve met many a wealthy person who would trade it all to take that risk they never took and enjoy their lives and work all the more. Good luck all of you.

 

David Steven Roberts

My husband and I are starting up a Computer repair business and eventually retail computer parts and buy customizable computers business in Indiana. We are not using our names, and do not plan on hiring anyone. Any advice on the legal work would help wonders… I know that we need a general business license, a DBA Reg, and a state sales tax permit… (i believe we need these :)) But everything else could basically be in another language. Like i said, any advice from some one whose done all this and what to avoid and what to definately NOT skip or over look would help! THANKS!!

just have everyone sign something similar in nature to the software license agreements, we all agree to which basically
says " we are not responsible for damages other than, and limited to the cost of the software"

Hi everyone, me and my friend are really good at computers and have repaired them many times before, of coarse for free though. Now we were seriously thinking if we could make some money out of it. Here are my questions, do we need a business license? A computer certificate for technicians? Do we need to register for anything? And can we actually post this in the newspaper, like an ad for repairing computers. Also what would happen if something were to go wrong? Do I need liability insurance? Thanks and any other advice would be great!

I would definitely recommend starting up a real business so that you will have the capacity to write off business expenses and get other business perks. Liability insurance is a must in case there is a serious problem like a house fire where you would have to replace all the computers that you are fixing for people or a burglary where all the computers are stolen. As far a credentials go you will have to check within the city statutes for licensing. Your best bet at this point is to consult a local attorney for advice on how to get started.
You can bypass all of the above to try to build a business but of course you will be taking the risks. Talk to some investors about some start up funds.

I went to our local courthouse for some info, all they told me is that I need an "assumed name" form to register my business name with the state. But that doesn’t seem like what I was looking for.

I wanted to know if I need a business license to repair computers. Or do I have to register my business name?

Thanks, any info will be helpful!

Go to www.score.org/ and in the upper left hand corner, enter your zip code. On the next screen, you will get information on the nearest SCORE chapter. Call them and arrange for a free meeting with a volunteer SCORE counselor. They will guide you through the process.

SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide and is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

SCORE has 389 chapters in locations throughout the United States and its territories, with 10,500 volunteers nationwide. Both working and retired executives and business owners donate time and expertise as business counselors.

Computer repair jobs in large companies are one of the first areas that the pencil pushers attack when the economy goes south. It’s an easy slow moving target that is pure cost, with no direct line to profits.

New projects, software and hardware upgrades, and ongoing service take a back seat to sales and marketing efforts. This is never a good thing for both the users, who don’t get the support they need, and the computer technicians who need a job.

Most IT departments represent a big cost. And the payroll is usually well above many of the other business units. To find and keep good technicians, you have to pay a good price. Which is good during an economic boom but when money gets tight, it’s one of the first targets of opportunity for cutbacks.

A downturn in the economy is a good time to take the entrepreneurial spirit out of the closet and put it to work for enterprising computer technicians. A good computer technician can make a decent living doing onsite computer repair and service.

Most small companies have no IT staff and need to use a freelance computer repair guy or gal to do the miscellaneous software and hardware chores. Companies that have just enough employees, say over 7 but fewer than 20, are a perfect market for the independent computer repair and service entrepreneur.

Many don’t realize it but small companies make up the bulk of employees in our economy. The number of small businesses is huge and it’s a large and lucrative market for many service companies of all types. Since many companies rely on computers and software to run their business, it’s a top priority.

The biggest problem for the transition to freelance computer repair is finding the clients and running the basic business aspects. Most technicians are already technically qualified but lack basic marketing and day-to-day operational skills for running a computer repair business.

After 30 years in the business I can tell you that it’s not brain surgery but there are a few tricks to making it work. The number one thing to keep in mind at all times is that you are in a service business. That means you make sure the customer is satisfied.

You also have to adhere to any local laws and licensing. All you really need to get started is a DBA (go to your local county offices and register a business name for doing business as), a bank account that recognizes the DBA (for paying bills and making deposits). Most states require that you collect sales tax so the next task is to apply for a sales tax permit.

Most states allow you to do this online and you can do a search for sales tax permit and state name to find the website. It will have all the basic rules and information you will need to register and get your permit. By the way, do not fail to file your sales tax reports or you will be fined in most states, even if you had no activity.

One of the easiest ways to make sure you do all the basic accounting for tax purposes is to buy one of the several small business accounting packages. They take you step by step through the setup and can teach you a lot about what transactions need to be tracked and why. You can also look for a local accountant that deals with small businesses in your area that can help you get started.

One of the first questions I get asked by potential clients or even people who are thinking about doing computer repair is what do I charge. This is dependent on a couple of things. One is the market area, large metro areas like Los Angles or Houston mean higher hourly rates. Small rural areas will have lower rates.

Scope of work and client have a bearing on your compensation. If you deal with high-end services and difficult technical issues, you can command a higher rate. If you are setting up a 3 user home network, probably a lesser rate.

The whole compensation side is dictated by competition, market area and size, and often complexity of the service. So just call around and see what the going rates are and charge accordingly. Always remember you can go down with little resistance but going up is a much tougher scenario.

The primary area of confusion for the new computer repair business owner is marketing your services. Obviously business cards to hand out with contact information and type of services you plan to offer is the cheapest and quickest way to start.

Handing out flyers with more detailed information, talking to friends and business associates, advertising in local papers or publications are all good marketing techniques. But one often overlooked marketing method is recommendations by satisfied customers.

Good people skills are a must. You want every client to be happy when you leave and recommend you to others. This means that you need to communicate well with any and all levels of users.

Never talk down to an inexperienced user, be careful to explain any issues in plain English and don’t go computerese on them. Keep it simple and easy to understand.
Many of the most common repairs are working with the users, not hardware or software problems.

When you have your own business, time management is critical. Don’t under estimate what it will take when giving quotes. In the field anything can happen and it’s better to be a hero and finish early than to have to explain why it took longer.

So if you find yourself a victim of our slowing economy, have some computer skills, you do have the option of starting your own computer repair business. There will always be a need for computer repair services, as long as there are computers.

If you want to learn more about starting a computer repair business, check out the links below in our signature. The more you know the better decision you can make.

John Dow
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/computer-repair-jobs-market-turning-ugly-643979.html