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Before the doors open: a greeting card company and its paperwork
Q: What licenses and permits might I need to start a greeting card company?
A: Good news: a greeting card company is a well-trodden road, and we know its signposts. Each item below MAY apply to you, and we find out which ones do.
1. Business license: A business license for a greeting card company MAY ask whether you design, print or only resell cards, the channels you sell through, and where stock and printing equipment are kept.
2. Home occupation permit: A home occupation permit MAY apply when printers, paper and envelopes fill a spare room, usually limiting deliveries, loud machines, visiting buyers and stock stored outside.
3. Sales tax permit: A sales tax permit MAY be needed because printed cards are taxable sales, and paper, envelopes and printing supplies bought for resale can be purchased with a resale certificate.
4. Wholesale catalog registration: Selling cards to gift shops in bulk MAY require wholesale paperwork showing who your trade buyers are.
5. Copyright and artwork statement: A short note confirming that you own the art and sentiments on your cards may be requested.
6. Printer supplier agreement: If another company prints your designs, a copy of the agreement shows who produces the stock.
7. Employer registration: Once people are on the payroll, you MAY also need an employer ID, a withholding account and workers' compensation coverage.
8. Company papers: Depending on how you want to own and name the business, an LLC, a DBA or a tax ID number may come next; we prepare those too.
Need two licenses? Pay our service fee once. Order the business license and, if a home occupation permit or another license is also required, we obtain both under that single service fee. The govt's own annual tax and application fees are separate and are not included; finding and filling out the applications is what we do.
Why it is worth the paperwork
The feel of heavy cotton paper, a foil-pressed flourish and a clever message make people smile and keep cards on their fridge for years.
Opening day, imagined
Dmitri stamped his tiny fox logo on the back of each envelope for Fable & Fern Cards and framed his permit next to the first sale.
The reason owners form an LLC
A buyer says a card used a phrase from another company and a rival demands damages, and an LLC protects your home and savings from that claim.
The numbers behind it
Business code (NAICS): 511191 (Greeting Card Publishers), 513191 under the 2022 update. This page lists 8 paperwork items for a greeting card company, and each one is marked as something you MAY need, since we confirm which apply.
Tip: Test each new card with a few friends before printing a big run, because honest feedback is cheap.
The greeting card business works because nobody can say it better than a stranger with a witty pen.
Ready when you are: start your order and we will find out what applies to your greeting card company, fill out the applications and keep the paperwork moving. |