Plain-English guides to the questions every home based business runs into: legal structure, naming and registration, permits, bookkeeping, taxes, and choosing a business model that fits your life. Each guide is written for people starting or running a business from home, and updated as rules change.

Legal setup & registration

• Sole Proprietorship Name Rules: How to Name and Register Your Business
  A sole proprietorship's legal name is the owner's name. Learn when you need a DBA, the naming rules that apply, how to register an assumed name, and how it compares to an LLC.
• Business Registration Number: What It Is and How to Find Yours
  A business registration number can mean your EIN, state entity number, state tax ID or local license number. Learn which one a form wants and exactly where to find each.
• Company Legal Name vs. DBA: What It Is and Where to Use It
  A company's legal name is the name on its state formation filing, or the owner's name for a sole proprietor. Learn how it differs from a DBA, where you must use it, and how to change it.
• Home Occupation Permit: Rules for Running a Business From Home
  A home occupation permit is local zoning permission to run a business from home. Learn who needs one, the common conditions, how to apply, and the HOA, lease and insurance rules that still apply.

Money & bookkeeping

• Free Small Business Bookkeeping Template (Excel & Google Sheets)
  Download a free small business bookkeeping template with a transaction log, automatic monthly summary, mileage log and Schedule C categories. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.
• Payroll SaaS for Small Business: How It Works and What It Costs
  What payroll SaaS does, who needs it, and current pricing from Gusto, OnPay, Square, Patriot, QuickBooks and ADP, with a checklist for choosing a plan for a small or home based business.
• Tax Software for the Self-Employed: What You Need and What It Costs
  What self-employed tax software must handle (Schedule C, Schedule SE, 1099s, home office, QBI), free and paid options compared, and when to hire a professional instead.

Home business ideas

• 16 Outdoor Business Ideas You Can Run From Home
  Outdoor business ideas grouped by startup cost, from dog walking and window cleaning to lawn care and tree work, with the licensing, insurance and seasonality questions to answer first.

New guides are added regularly. Have a question you would like covered? Ask in the community.