Defining and Analysing the Various Business Models

1. Sole Proprietorship: enterprise that is owned and controlled by one person and where there is no legal distinction between the proprietor and the enterprise.
2. General Partnership: A partnership is fashioned when two or more individuals consents to carry on an enterprise jointly.
3. Limited Partnership: a partnership formed by two or more persons and having as members one or more general partners and one or more limited partners
4. C-Corporation:   As a rule most clear trait of the corporation is that it is officially regarded as a private unit, disconnected from its proprietors, who are own the shares of the company.
5. S-Corporation: A special form of corporation that that has the benefits of limited liability but the profits and losses go right to the shareholders.
6. Limited Liability Company:  type of company, authorized only in some states, whose owners and managers receive the limited liability and (usually) tax benefits of an S Corporation without having to conform to the S corporation restrictions.

Break down of each model

Sole Proprietorship:

Liability: All resources of the enterprise are possessed by the owner and all amounts outstanding of the enterprise are their debts and they must pay them from their personal funds. This means that the proprietor has infinite liability.

Income Taxes: All earnings from the company will be taxed as income.

Sole proprietors are required to report all the company’s earnings or lack or earnings

on their private tax return; the enterprise itself is not taxed independently. The owner

pays self employment tax.

Longevity or Continuity of the Organization: Sole proprietors have a track recorded of limited longevity because of the fact that their have a harder time finding funding. Most if not all of the funding comes from the individual owner’s assists. This also influences the enterprise’s ability to grow in the future.

Control: Sole Proprietorship offer the most control of any enterprise. The owner has all the say in how the company is ran.

Profit Retention: Sole Proprietorships offer the most returns on profits to the owner. In a nutshell anything that the company makes as profits are in fact the owners because from a legal stand point the company and the owner are the same.

Location: Sole Proprietorships can pretty much be anywhere. Yet, depending on the laws of the areas that one is doing operating in it may be necessary to get a DBA or Doing Business As certificate. This can be filled at most county clerk’s office throughout the United States.

Convenience or Burden: A sole proprietor has absolute command and managerial clout over the establishment. Selling or transferring can happen at the option of the owner. The owner doesn’t pay a corporate tax.  Burdens of a sole proprietorship are that the proprietor is legally responsible for the sum unpaid and commitment of the enterprise. Furthermore, broaden to any responsibilities acquired by deeds carry out by staff of the business. All tasks and day to day running is done by the owner. It is very hard to get investors to invest their funds in these types of companies.

General Partnership:

Liability:  All resources of the enterprise are possessed by the owners and all debts of the enterprise are their debts and they must pay them from their personal funds. This means that the proprietors have all the liability. Yet, the liability is shared so some kind of a buffer exists.

Income Taxes: All earnings from the company will be taxed as income. The proprietors are required to report all the company’s earnings or lack of earnings on their personal tax return; the enterprise itself is not taxed separately.

Longevity or Continuity of the Organization: General Partnership have a track recorded of limited longevity because of the fact that their have a harder time finding funding. Most if not all of the funding comes from the proprietor’s owner’s assists. This also influences the enterprise’s ability to grow in the future.

Control:  Each proprietor usually has an equal amounted vest in the partnership and therefore has equal amount of control.

Profit Retention: Each proprietor usually has an equal amounted vest in the partnership and therefore usually has an equal share of the profits.

Location:  General Partnership can pretty much be anywhere. Yet depending on the laws of the areas that one is doing operating in it may be necessary to get a DBA or Doing Business As certificate. This can be filled at most county clerk’s office throughout the United States. Also most if not all of General Partnership have some form of a legal written contract so once more it just depends on what state and area one is doing business in if they would have to fill the exact contract at the court house or not.

Convenience or Burden: General partnerships provide a means of coming up with funds fast, and can let many individuals merge assets and skills to help the company. The major burden is the owners are accountable for whatever actions the company makes good or bad. All partners may also be held responsible for amount outstanding, choices, and measures done by the other associates or partners.

Limited Partnership:

Liability: offer personal liability protection for limited partners, but not for general partners

Income Taxes: profits from the Limited Partnership generally pass through the partnership and will be reported on the personal income tax returns of the partner

Longevity or Continuity of the Organization: of limited longevity because of the fact that their have a harder time finding funding. Often times this is used for fast get in get out types of transactions. Funding is found in the form of investors who become limited partners.

Control: General partners make have the most control and limited partners have the least.

Profit Retention: Profit Retention is normally based on how much money that the partner puts into the company/venture and at what level the partner is operating as a general or limited partner in the company.

Location: required to file documents with the relevant state registration office.

Convenience or Burden: A limited partnership is a good fit for those who have the money to invest but doesn’t have time needed to run the company or the skill sets to see that things are done right. The major burdens all the paper work it takes to fill this kind og company at the state level. Also general partners are fully liable for everything that happens good or bad.

C-Corporation:

Liability protects your personal assets by creating a business entity that is distinct and can operate under its own name.

Income Taxes: Corporation taxed on its earnings at a corporate level and shareholders are taxed on any distributed dividends

Longevity or Continuity of the Organization: They tend to have a longer life span due to the fact that it’s easier these businesses to seek outside investment.

Control: There are many ways that a corporation can operate but for the most part major decisions must be approved by the share holders or the members of the board.

Profit Retention: All profits are kept by the company. Salaries are paid based on work that is done for the company. There is no pass through profits to one single person or groups.

Location: registered with your secretary of state

Convenience or Burden: If a person who owns stock passes away dies or wants to dump their shares, the corporation can still go on without them. It’s easier to raise money as a corporation. The business and owners are not one in the same. The enterprise shareholders have no personal legal responsibility for debt made by the company. The biggest draw back is they get taxed twice.

S-Corporation:

Liability protects your personal assets by creating a business entity that is distinct and can operate under its own name.

Income Taxes: one has to fill an IRS Form 2553, the C Corp. becomes a S Corp., the earnings and debts are passed along to the people who own shares in the company.

Longevity or Continuity of the Organization: They tend to have a longer life span due to the fact that it’s easier these businesses to seek outside investment.

Control: There are many ways that a corporation can operate but for the most part major decisions must be approved by the share holders or the members of the board.

Profit Retention: after paying a reasonable salary to the shareholders working in the business can be passed through as distributions of profits and are not subject to self-employment taxes.

Location: registered with your secretary of state.

Convenience or Burden: You can have the shelter of limited personal liability without higher taxes. Some burdens are the numerous regulations and requirements must be upheld by an S Corporation, as well as having how many shareholders it can have. Like a C Corp. setting up is expensive and there is a lot of red tape to follow.

Limited Liability Company:

Liability: the owners are called members, are not accountable stuff that the company did or any money that the company owes.

Income Taxes: has major plasticity in this regard because it’s up to the owners how they pick to be taxed. In example they can pick to be taxed as sole proprietor, partnership, S-corp. or corporation.

Longevity or Continuity of the Organization: LLCs are one of the more stable forms of business, because they tend to out live the person who started them..

Control: It doesn’t need a board of directors so one can keep most of the control on how the business is run.

Profit Retention: The entity is not taxed (unless chosen to be taxed); the earnings and debts are passed along to the people who own shares in the company.

Location: registered with your secretary of state

Convenience or Burden: It is frequently more accommodating than a corporation and it is complementary for businesses with a solitary proprietor. There is a lack of uniformity among limited liability company statutes. Businesses that operate in more than one state may not receive consistent treatment.