Charles Schwab Business Account
If you’re running a small business, you may want to open a brokerage account to manage whatever assets your company has. Charles Schwab has several business accounts that can be opened. Two popular choices today are sole prop and LLC accounts.
Opening the Sole Proprietorship Account
If you’re running a sole prop in the United States, you don’t need any legal paperwork. The government is nice enough to let you operate your business with a minimum of red tape. In some situations, you may want to go down to your local county courthouse and get a DBA (doing business as) form.
To open the sole prop business account at Charles Schwab, just head over to the broker’s account opening section. Here, you’ll need to input your name and address. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to go through the entire process online.
Instead, Charles Schwab will email some forms to you that you’ll have to complete and send back to the broker. It’s also possible to receive these documents as a download straight from the website. A third option is to request that the broker send the forms through the U.S. postal service.
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Opening the LLC Account
Limited Liability Companies get the same online form that sole props use. Be sure to select the right account, though. First, you’ll need to expand the business/trust section in the left-hand menu on the account opening page. Then, you’ll need to select the business type that you have. There is one entry for LLC, and one for sole prop.
As with the sole prop account, LLC accounts can’t be opened completely online. You’ll have to download the appropriate account documents, fill them out, and then submit them to the brokerage firm.
If you have any questions during this process, or need any assistance, Charles Schwab posts a customer service number on its account application page. It’s 1-800-454-9272.
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Differences Between LLCs and Sole Props
The primary difference between a sole proprietorship and a Limited Liability Company lies in the first two words of the second option: limited liability. An LLC creates limited liability for the owners; while sole prop owners have unlimited legal liability. If you have any concerns about ever being sued, you should definitely open an LLC.
Although a sole prop is a single owner by definition, an LLC could be owned by one person or several. Businesses or individuals could be owners. Although LLCs typically realize more income and have more employees than sole props, it doesn’t have to be that way. A sole prop could have a million employees as long as there was just one owner.
Benefits of Business Accounts at Charles Schwab
LLC and sole prop accounts have the same great zero-commission schedule that personal accounts get at
Charles Schwab. And even better, they’re able to invest the same large selection of investment
vehicles, including not only stocks and funds, but also forex, futures, and options. Charles Schwab’s suite of excellent software tools is also included.
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