Thread: How should I set up my business with multiple websites

Create different company names for your own records but create one umbrella corporation for tax purposes. That way you don't have to get 25 different EIN to file taxes.

Zahid references "umbrella corporation" in the subsidiary, branch or division context. For
n00wbies, his description begs elaboration. I interpret his suggested strategy as:

Form one business entity (Corp, LLC, etc), obtain Fed TIN, open bank account
in business name. Subsidiary implies multiple entities, division implies single entity.
"That way you don't have to get 25 different EIN to file taxes."

Note: Single Member LLCs are exempt from separate tax filing and may be treated as a division.

Separate the 25 websites into "divisions" (or "branches"). A division is an internal
method to segregate and track costs associated with a product or service. For example,
Mercury and Ford Tractor are divisions of Ford Motor Co. Though accounting for
Mercury or Ford Tractor production is, technically, a line item for Ford Motor Co.,
the accounting department will segregate income and expenses to reflect the
profitability for individual products within a single business entity.

In the web site context, division accounting offers management analysis tools
designed to detect profitable or unprofitable products. Division accounting is a 300
level accounting course and may be impractical for QB N00wbies. I recommend
Excel to track income and expenses related to each product line. Zahid may differ, his
forte is QB development.

As Pat commented in a previous post, Accounting is a process of artful recognition
of income and expense and compliance with governmental monetary regulations.

100 accountants rarely agree or disagree, they bicker.

Q To Zahid: QB is capable of mimicking division or branch segregation of income and expenses
for product accounting?

Corp vs LLC debate is complicated. Review AccountingBlock debate, Corp v LLC, in Video section.
http://www.accountingblock.com/video...-compared.html


Multiplemember LLC offers the ability to eliminate Self Employment Taxation (SET).
Single Member LLC is not entitled to avail of IRC 1402(a)(13) exemption from SET.

If your accounting inquiry is tax driven to:
1. eliminate employment related taxes and,
2. reduce income with business expense deductions
Then, division style accounting may be burdensome. If you want to carefully examine induvidual website
performance, division accounting may be assistive.

Corp v LLC, in short:
1. Yes, division accounting, in LLC form, is possible.
2. Zahid prefers S-Corps, Helse prefers LLCs. Pardon the Ambiguous answer.

Note: Corp or LLC creation expense estimate: less than $500.

Here's what i found,"umbrella corporations are not a category of corporation but instead are a way of structuring corporations to offer benefit either to the customer or to the corporate entities housed. "

Hi,

I see there's a few answers about the legal side and having 25 businesses. You currently have 25 websites and they operate in similar markets, it would improve your listings in google if you put all the content onto one website domain, this can be done by setting up a 301 redirect from your other domains to the main one (usually best to use the one receiving the most traffic, established the longest). Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Chris

Regarding Umbrella Corporations:

Accountants are keenly aware accounting is divided into:
General Ledger
Accounting Taxation
Accounting Technology

An "Umbrella Corporation" (Holding Company) is not a legal phrase, nor an accepted tax term.
Corporations with wholly owned subsidiaries are often created to separate tax and/or general ledger considerations.

To confuse the phrase Umbrella "Corporation" modernly,
Publicly traded corporations prefer to create single member LLCs as "subsidiaries" or divisions.