Operating, tax and accounting blueprint

How your U.S. company should operate, in writing.

A document written for your company alone: what it has to file and when, which taxes follow from how you sell, how to take the money out, how to keep the books, and the order in which to fix whatever is pending. Every point checked against the official source.

Chapter 2Blueprint

Where you are today

  • Company active with the stateIn order
  • EIN issued and matching IRS recordsIn order
  • Sales tax: registered in one state, selling in sixAttention
  • W-9 or W-8: two customers asked, unclear which appliesAttention
  • Form 5472 for last year: not filedPending
  • Books not reconciled to the bank since MarchPending

Illustrative page. Each blueprint is written for one company.

Is it for you?

If two of these sound familiar, you need one.

They are the questions we hear most from people who run a U.S. company from another country. Each one has an answer, and the answer changes with how you sell, where you live and who you sell to.

You sell to the U.S. from another country

And you are not sure whether that creates taxes there, here, or in both places.

A customer asked you for a W-9 or a W-8

Which one is yours depends on how the company is classified and who owns it. Sending the wrong one can cost you withholding you did not owe.

You have an LLC and do not know what it files

Federal returns, information returns, the state report. Some are due even in a year with no sales.

You sell on Amazon or Shopify, or you import

Sales tax by state, resale certificates, marketplace rules and customs duties. Each channel has its own.

You do not know how to take the money out

Salary, distributions, owner draws or a loan are each treated differently for tax, sometimes in two countries at once.

The books live in a spreadsheet

It works until the first return, the first bank review or the first investor. Then it has to be rebuilt in a hurry.

What it covers

Fifteen chapters, in the order you will need them.

Each one ends in a decision or an action, not in theory. The ones marked “if it applies” go in only when your operation calls for them, and the rest go as deep as your case needs.

Contents15 chapters
  1. 01Executive summaryThe whole document on one page: where you stand, what to fix first and what ignoring it would cost.
  2. 02Where you are todayA compliance traffic light: what is in order, what needs attention and what is pending.
  3. 03How the company should operateWho signs, who invoices, which account receives what, and how each operation is documented.
  4. 04Treaties and permanent establishmentIf it appliesWhether your activity creates taxable presence in the U.S. or in your country, and what a tax treaty changes, if there is one.
  5. 05W-8 and W-9If it appliesWhich form you give your customers, which one you ask of your suppliers, and the withholding each one triggers.
  6. 06Sales taxIf it appliesWhere you must register and collect, what the marketplace already collects for you, and how resale certificates work.
  7. 07Customs and tariffsIf it appliesIf you import: who is the importer of record, how the goods are classified and which duties apply.
  8. 08Annual returnsEvery federal and state filing your structure carries, with its form number and its deadline.
  9. 09How to take the money outIf it appliesSalary, distributions, draws or loans: the options your structure allows and what each one costs in tax.
  10. 10Accounting and controlChart of accounts, monthly close, reconciliations and who reviews what.
  11. 11Recommended systemsIf it appliesAccounting software, bank, payments and document storage, sized for where you are today with room to grow.
  12. 12Compliance calendarEvery deadline of the year in one place, with the person responsible for each.
  13. 13Risk mapWhat could go wrong, how likely it is and what it would cost, in order of priority.
  14. 14Action planThe steps from where you are to where you should be, in order and with dates.
  15. 15Official sourcesEvery statement tied to the IRS, the state or the agency it comes from, so you can check it yourself.
How it is built

Modular, because no two companies need the same document.

A company that sells services from abroad and one that imports goods and sells them on Amazon share perhaps half of their chapters. So the blueprint is assembled from modules: the core every company needs, plus the ones your operation triggers. When you grow into a new state, a new channel or a new country, the matching module is added. Nothing already written has to be redone.

The core, for every company
  • Executive summary and where you are today
  • How the company should operate
  • Annual returns and compliance calendar
  • Accounting and control
  • Risk map, action plan and sources
Modules your operation adds
  • Treaties: when you work from outside the U.S.
  • W-8 and W-9: when you invoice U.S. customers
  • Sales tax: when you sell goods
  • Customs: when you import
  • Taking money out and systems: when the time comes
The process

From your first answer to the last action.

01

Questionnaire and a call

You answer the questionnaire on this page, and in a one-hour call we go through how the company really operates.

02

Document review

Formation papers, EIN letter, past returns, bank statements and contracts. What exists and what is missing.

03

Research against official sources

Each point is checked with the IRS, the state, customs or the treaty text. Nothing goes in from memory.

04

Delivery and walkthrough

You receive the document and we go through it with you in a second call, chapter by chapter, until every action is clear.

Clear limits

What the blueprint is, and what it is not.

What it is
  • A written plan for your company, with its sources
  • Research applied to how you actually operate
  • A calendar and an action plan you can follow
  • The base for us, or anyone you choose, to carry it out
What it is not
  • A legal opinion: where a lawyer is needed, the document says so
  • The filings themselves, which are quoted separately if you want us to do them
  • A generic template with your name on it
  • An audit
Questionnaire

Tell us how the company runs today.

Seven questions about where the company is, where you are and how you sell. With that we know which chapters your blueprint needs, and we can quote it.

The questionnaire needs JavaScript. If you cannot enable it, write to us and we will go through your case with you directly.

Frequently asked questions

What we are asked before starting.

How much does it cost?
It is quoted per case, because a company that sells services from one country and one that imports and sells in several states do not need the same document. You receive the price in writing, with the chapters it includes, before anything starts.
How long does it take?
It depends on the modules and on how quickly the documents arrive. The delivery date is part of the quote, so you know it before you decide.
Do I need to have the U.S. company already?
No. If you have not formed it yet, the blueprint defines how it should operate from the first day, and the formation follows it. If it exists, we start from what is already there.
Does it replace a lawyer or an accountant?
It does not replace a lawyer. Where a point needs a legal opinion, the document says so plainly. On the tax and accounting side, it is the plan your accountant works from, whether that is us or someone else.
Does it cover the tax side in my own country?
It covers the U.S. side in depth and points out where your country comes in: treaty, permanent establishment, double taxation. The filings in your country are for a local accountant, and the document tells them what to look at.
Which language is it written in?
Spanish or English, whichever you prefer. The official terms stay in English with their explanation, so you can use them with the IRS, the state or your bank.
Can you then do what the plan says?
Yes: formation, EIN, ITIN, bookkeeping and the returns are all services we provide, each quoted on its own. You are also free to take the plan to someone else. It is yours.

Know what your company owes before someone asks.

Seven questions in the form above and we send you the scope and the price. Or talk to us first, if you would rather explain it out loud.

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