Permits and fences license information

Starting a(n) fences Business Licenses & Tax IDs

Hi, I'm Alexa Fences Fences 🚧 Your fencing contractor checklist, item by item

Q: Before I open a fencing contractor, what paperwork may I need?

A: Hi Alexa, this is the list that goes with a fencing contractor. Nothing here is a guess: it is the paperwork a business like yours commonly meets, and we sort out which piece..., Alexa.

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Before the doors open: a fencing contractor and its paperwork

Q: Before I open a fencing contractor, what paperwork may I need?

A: Here is the paperwork map for your fencing contractor. Every item says MAY, because what applies depends on how the business is set up, and sorting that out is our job.

1. Business license: A business license for a fence company MAY ask which materials you install, how many crews and trucks you run, and whether you sell materials as well as labor.
2. Home occupation permit: A home occupation permit MAY apply when bookkeeping and tool storage take place at home, with limits on trucks, stacked posts and materials left in the driveway.
3. Sales tax permit: A sales tax permit MAY be needed because fencing materials are taxable goods, and whether tax applies to the installation often depends on how the contract is written.
4. Contractor license: Installing fences for pay may require a contractor license once jobs exceed a certain size.
5. Underground utility marking: Digging post holes may require calling for marks showing buried lines before work begins.
6. Surety bond: A bond may be required to protect customers if a job is not completed.
7. Proof of liability insurance: Coverage for property damage and injuries on the job is commonly asked for, along with workers' coverage.
8. Company papers: Name registration, LLC formation and a tax ID number are the three companions most owners add; we prepare each of them on this site.

Our service fee stays put. A business license order that also needs a home occupation permit or another permit still carries one service fee for us. What we do not cover are the upfront annual tax or application fees the govt charges; we find those applications and fill them out.

Why people love this line of work

Few things feel as satisfying as a straight line of fresh posts, and the smell of cut cedar is a cheerful advertisement. Homeowners want privacy and pet safety year after year.

Picture it

Rosamund sketches a gate layout for Pine & Picket Builders and finds that the form measures more lines than her blueprint.

What can go wrong

A worker hits a gas line while digging, and without an LLC the damages could reach your savings.

Codes and counts

Business code (NAICS): 238990 (All Other Specialty Trade Contractors). This page lists 8 paperwork items for a fencing contractor, and each one is marked as something you MAY need, since we confirm which apply.

Tip: Photograph the site before and after, and have the customer sign off on the finished gate.

Good fences make good neighbors; bad measurements make great stories.

Ready when you are: start your order and we will find out what applies to your fencing contractor, fill out the applications and keep the paperwork moving.

✔ Biz Structure

You can choose to be a(n) Fences :

Sole Proprietor,
LLC,
Corporation or
Partnership.
After you decide and select your business entity, you need licensing.

✔ Biz License

Houma Business Tax Registration ( Business License)
All businesses including home, online or mobile BUSINESS need a BUSINESS license because they are BUSINESSES.

✔ DBA Biz Name

A(n) Fences business doing business under an assumed business name in Terrebonne Parish i.e. you are a business that uses a DBA doing business as trade name to trade that is other than the full legal (first and last -- full name) name of a sole proprietor or a name other than the LLC or Corporation business name need a(n) assumed business name certificate. E.g. you venture into a(n) Fences business and you give it a trade name such as "Excellence Fences & Associates". You will need to register an assumed business name certificate.

✔ Seller Permit

In addition note that in LA you may also need a seller's permit if you sell merchandise that is taxable. (A.K.A state id, wholesale, resale, reseller certificate, about $39 for most states).
Seller's Permit

✔ Federal EIN

Note: All businesses need a federal tax ID number except sole proprietors that are not employers and are not independent contractors.
An independent contractor is a self employed business person that receives more than $600 per year from anyone of his or her clients.
IRS rule: The client must issue a 1099 form to the independent contractor and the independent contractor must have a federal tax ID. However, even sole owners may obtain a federal ID and use it as a business tax ID instead of using their own social security number as a business tax ID number.
However, all other licenses that apply to sole proprietors as discussed here are requited regardless of getting a federal tax ID number.

✔ State EIN

Also keep in mind that employers will need to obtain a federal EIN and a State EIN tax identificattion number. I.e., a LA Federal Tax Id Number ($29) and a(n) LA State Employer Tax Number

✔ L L C

Instead of filing a fictitious business name DBA Filing (about $49 plus state and legal newspaper publication fees) in Houma, Incorporate in LA or form a(n) LA LLC .

Filing a DBA is not required if you will set up an LLC or form a Corporation. There is a cicrcumstance that you may not need to register a trade name and that is when you use your full name as a business name if you use your full legal name as a trade name.
Using any language that connotes additional owners in the name of the business makes filing a fictitious business name mandatory.

✔ Incorporation

If you do form an Construction llc or incorporate (about $49 plus state fees for most states) your Fences business instead of just filing a fictitious business name (dba), that insurs that you don't have personal liability for debts and civile liabililty arising from your business dealings and you will not have to record the Houma business name. Instead of just registering your Terrebonne Parish assumed business name (our fee includes assumed business name registration and legal newspaper publication) you can choose to setup a corporation in LA or form an LA LLC (starts @ $49 plus state fee for most states & includes bylaws for the corporation and Limited Liability operating agreement for the LLC that is required to open a business bank account). .


Fences LA Fences LA Houma

Business License Information

Before the doors open: a fencing contractor and its paperwork

Why people love this line of work

Picture it

What can go wrong

Codes and counts