Post-incorporation checklist. First 12 months for founders.
After incorporation, founders face a long list of follow-on tasks: EIN, bank account, founder stock issuance with 83(b) elections, IP assignments, operating cadence, hiring, fundraising prep, BOI, tax filings. This guide walks through the standard 12-month timeline for a newly-incorporated Delaware C-Corp or LLC, with month-by-month and quarter-by-quarter checkpoints.
Start here.
EIN, banking, founder stock + 83(b), bylaws/OA adoption, BOI filing.
State business registrations, IP assignment, initial contracts and templates.
Mid-year review, books reconciliation, employment infrastructure.
Annual report, tax preparation, investor diligence readiness.
Compliance tracking, ongoing entity hygiene, cap table maintenance.
The full picture.
Month 1: Essentials
EIN obtained (same-day for US founders; 1-3 weeks for foreign). Business bank account opened. Founder stock issuance with signed Stock Purchase Agreements. 83(b) elections filed within 30 days (critical - missing this is a six-figure mistake). Bylaws (corp) or Operating Agreement (LLC) adopted. BOI filing to FinCEN within 30 days. Initial corporate resolutions adopted at first board/member meeting.
Month 2-3: Operations Foundation
State business registrations (sales tax permit, employer registrations if hiring). IP assignment agreements for founders. Initial contracts in place: NDA, customer template MSA, vendor templates. Books and accounting set up (Quickbooks Online, Xero, or our books service). Compliance tracking initiated.
Month 4-6: First Hire / First Customer Phase
First employee or contractor (if applicable): payroll service setup, workers comp insurance, employment agreements, IP assignment. First major customer contracts using template MSA. State tax registrations in nexus states.
Month 6-9: Mid-Year Review
Books reconciliation: are revenue and expenses accurately categorized? Cap table review: are option grants up to date? Compliance review: are state registrations current? Compliance check on BOI and any quarterly filings (941 for employees).
Month 9-12: Year-End Prep
Annual report filing (state-specific timing). Tax preparation: estimated tax payment Q4 (January 15). 1099-NEC issuance to contractors (January 31). W-2 issuance to employees (January 31). State employer year-end reports.
Ongoing: Compliance Cadence
Quarterly: 941 employer filings (April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31). Quarterly estimated tax (April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15). Monthly: bookkeeping reconciliation, payroll, sales tax filings (if monthly). Annual: state annual report, federal and state tax returns, BOI updates.
Investor Readiness
Data room: incorporation documents, bylaws/OA, cap table, financial statements, customer contracts, IP assignments, employment agreements. By month 12: data room should be assembled and current.
Common Mistakes
Missing 83(b) deadline (30 days from grant). Skipping IP assignments from contractors. Operating without business bank account (commingling pierces the LLC veil). Failing to file annual report. Not tracking state registrations as you expand.
Common questions.
What is the first thing I should do after incorporation?
When do I file 83(b)?
When do I file BOI?
Do I need an operating agreement immediately?
When do I hire my first employee?
When do I file first tax returns?
How do I track compliance?
When do I issue 1099-NEC?
Founder-ready foundation.
Form your entity, get the EIN, set up banking, manage the cap table, file BOI. All in one place.
Educational guide. Specific situations require professional legal and tax advice.
How we deliver, end-to-end.
Four-step path from request to confirmation. State and IRS turnaround varies; our steps run in parallel where possible to compress the timeline.
Intake + scope
You tell us what you need through a short intake form (or a call for complex matters). We confirm scope, surface any gating issues (deadlines, missing documents, entity status), and quote any state fees that pass through at cost.
Prepare + verify
Our specialists draft the filing, verify entity details against state databases, run internal QA, and route any items needing your sign-off. You see drafts before anything gets submitted.
File with the authority
We submit directly to the state Secretary of State, FinCEN, IRS, USPTO, or whichever authority your filing requires. We pay state fees at cost and track the submission identifier in your account.
Confirmation + vault
Stamped certificate, IRS notice, or filing receipt arrives in your SOC 2 encrypted document vault the moment we receive it. Next filing deadline auto-added to your compliance calendar where applicable.
Built on the same infrastructure used by 220,000+ businesses.
SOC 2 Type II audited
Independent annual security audit covering access control, change management, incident response, and data handling. Current report on request.
All 51 US jurisdictions
Every state plus DC plus Puerto Rico - direct filings, not third-party reseller. We hold registered-agent qualifications in every state we operate.
Deadline guarantee
If we miss a filing deadline on a service you pay us to manage, we pay the state penalty. Specific to each plan and the filings it includes.
4.9 from 8,200+ verified reviews
Independently verified by Trustpilot + Google + our own NPS infrastructure. Customer success team within reach by email, chat, or phone.
60-day money-back promise
Change your mind in the first 60 days and we refund our service fee in full. State filing fees pass through at cost and are non-refundable once paid to the state.
E&O insured
Errors and omissions coverage protects you from service errors. Carrier and certificate available on request for enterprise clients.
Recommended add-ons
Most customers add these to keep their business compliant year-round.
Registered Agent - Year 1
RecommendedRequired in every state. We act as your legal point of contact and forward filings same-day.
EIN / Federal Tax ID
Most orderedYour business identifier for taxes, bank accounts, hiring, and 1099s. Filed same business day.
Operating Agreement (LLC) / Bylaws (Corp)
State-compliant internal governance doc. Required by most banks at account opening.
Compliance Monitoring
Best valueTrack every annual report, registered agent renewal, and license deadline across all your entities.
Premium compliance, no service-fee markup.
Trust you can verify
SOC 2 Type II audited platform. 220,000+ businesses served. 60-day money-back on service fees. State fees passed through at cost with no hidden markup. Explicit AUP on restricted industries.
A compliance partner, not a transaction
Most providers go quiet after checkout. We auto-track every annual report, registered agent renewal, and license deadline across your entities. The Business OS dashboard keeps your compliance score visible year-round.
Premium experience competitors cannot match
Premium positioning, transparent pricing, no service-fee markup on state or federal filings. Premium positioning, transparent pricing, no service-fee markup on state filings.