End-of-Year Compliance Checklist

Tackle these items before 2023 begins!

Since business licenses, registrations, and annual reports run on the calendar year, now is the best time to have a heightened awareness around your compliance obligations for these final months of 2022.

No matter what this was bound to become priority in Q4, but especially if your organization’s entity management habits have gotten lackadaisical, your department has been too busy or their simply hasn’t been an action plan in place. It is critical to address these obligations now to prevent issues that can cause delay and even result in penalties.

  • Renewals
    • Annual Reports: Make sure annual renewals/reports are filed so the company isn’t administratively dissolved as it can negatively affect many aspects of your business.
    • Jurisdictions vary, let us help with required renewals.
    • Verify Registered Agent information. Let us know if you need Registered Agent Services.
  • Refinance
    • Corporate Amendment Filings: Be aware of any changes, such as a name change or a new address. An amendment will need to be filed to keep the business records up to date.
      • Some changes can be made along with the annual renewal, others may require additional paperwork.
      • Count on our Corporate Filing experts for compliance.
  • Merger or Acquisition
    • Dissolutions & Withdrawals: Properly dissolve or withdraw from states where operations have ceased. This will avoid having to pay potential taxes in that jurisdiction in the next year.
      • Every state, entity type, and form is different. We can help you get it right!
      • Most states require that this type of paperwork be filed before Dec. 31st.
      • Develop pre and post M&A planning to eliminate delays in business operations.
  • Maintenance
    • Update UCCs: Review loan files to uncover any needed UCC changes, such as an address or name change of a debtor.
      • Our Database Direct system makes UCCs a breeze.
      • Let us know if you need a current list of your active UCCs to review.
  • Expansion
    • Business Licenses: obtain all appropriate business licenses & keep note of their renewal dates.
    • If your clients have expanded or changed their address in the past year, you might need new or updated licenses.

In addition to these checklist items above there are two “S” items we are adding to this list for organizations to consider:

  • Staff
    • Location of Employees: With staff being more mobile this past year than ever before, consider the implications of where your employees (above administrative level) are located.
      • In certain cases states consider the relationship between this satellite employee in a different state to relate to Foreign Qualification as they are said to be actively doing business within their borders.
      • Strict states enforcing Remote Employee Business License or Home Occupation Permits include AL, CA, D.C., FL, VA, TN, GA, IL, NY, PA, and SC. The strictest cities are Atlanta, San Diego and Seattle.
      • There could even be tax withholding implications.
  • Security
    • Your Data: How are employees accessing your private organizational information? What devices are they on? Where are they when they are accessing it? What data is shared?
    • This is the perfect time of year to review your security measures, make plans for improvement, and remind staff of the importance of protecting your data.
Download Checklist

We are here to help you transition smoothly through the remainder of this year and into the next.