Legal Business Advice

E.,
I had a really good experience talking to the people at The Shah Center it is associated with McHenry County College. Through the Illinois Small Business Development Center there I was able to get counseling for free to answer questions just like yours in addition to small business issues I had not even thought of and also get referrals for services in the area like business insurance, etc. Hope this link helps.
http://www.ildceo.net/dceo/Bureaus/Entrepreneurship+and+S...
Good Luck with your business and the baby!

E., First I think you are doing this the right way. DON"T make any mistakes that could come back to haunt you in the end. I tried to use a small local accountant for my first few years in business and I paid a fraction of the cost of my current accountant however last year my new accountant saved me $5000 (yes thousand) because he was just more knowledgable. I was a sole proprietor for 5 years in business and am now incorporated. I think the first three people you need to talk to are: accountant (sales taxes are hugely important), lawyer (legally you don't want to make any mistakes) and a business insurance person (if not insured properly you can lose it all). A client of mine cut her finger on a pair of scissors and the parents could have sued me for all the medical bills. Those bills would have cost much much more than my insurance does.

I would be happy to have all three of my "people" call you if you privately send me your phone and/or email. They usually get back within 24 hours so they can help you before the new baby comes.

My lawyer I have been with since the beginning. The accountant and insurance guy I switched to after finding them better than what I had. Let me know. P. ____@____.com

you should check with your local municipality and see if they have rules about at-home businesses or business licensing. also, for some extra help you should check with the local chamber of commerce. I am sure that there are other businesses that are at-home businesses that might be able to help you out with extra info. plus, you should join the chamber for important networking opportunities and local advertising. your community might also have a local economic development corporation that could provide you with some info.

E.,

I work for an accounting firm, but I don't get too involved in the tax side of things so I'm by no means an expert. I have filled out REG-1 forms for businesses; they're not that hard and you do need to do one as far as I know. Go online to http://www.revenue.state.il.us and look under the Businesses section for information. To get a REG-1, go to the Forms section and click on Registration. I'm assuming you don't plan to hire any employees, but if you get busy enough to need help, there are a number of other registration requirements, payroll taxes to pay, etc.

You'll DEFINITELY want to leave tax preparation at year end up to a professional, and at that point, they can help you with anything else that may need to be done. If you run your business out of your house, you can write off a portion of your mortgage, property taxes, utilities, etc, as a business expense. A professional will help you do the calculation and make sure your return is done correctly.

Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck!

Take a step back and really make sure you are doing everything right. Sales tax is really important as far as you collecting it and reporting it to the State of Illinois. Illinois has one of the toughest audit policies. I worked for a company that had to collect sales tax on their product and I filled out the paperwork each month to report it. It's not that difficult if you take the time a really read the paperwork. You can also call the state and talk to someone in detail about it. As the other poster wrote there are other forms too for a business. If you are employing anyone you will have payroll, unemployment taxes and you will also need worker's compensation insurance.

First I think I would find a real accountant. How on earth could an accountant not know about sales tax? I would think you would charge sales tax based on where your business (office/home) is located. It would be county and state sales tax you would have to pay. (I had a friend who did in-home sales of a product and her sales tax was based on the county she lived in.) Also, I would contact the SBA like another poster said. You will need to figure out things like insurance, and possibly setting up a corporation so that your business and personal finances are separate. The folks at the SBA could direct you to a good accountant and a good lawyer because you will need both to set up a business.

www.loribrownphotography.com

This is my friend's business and while she resides in another state, she might have suggestions where to turn for reliable info. J.

this site may be helpful: http://asmp.org/
or this one: http://www.ppa.com/
While not precisely what you asked, I would recommend you check into obtaining business insurance, particularly is you're planning on a lot of location work. Insurance will protect your equipment should something be stolen while you're working and protect you should something become damaged in someone's home, accidentally.
Congrats on your growing family!

Go to www.sba.gov and you will find such a wealth of information, it's the Small Business Administration. They can also connect you with a mentor through SCORE which is a corps of retired executives. You won't find an instant answer to your question, but you will find the resources to answer anything in the future. That is how I financed my first business (restaurant). Good luck!