Doing Business the Smart Way Means Always Filing a DBA

According to the IRS, if you’re an individual who provides goods or services to another company, and you’re not a regular employee, you are a business.  It doesn’t matter how small your small business is—it’s still a business.  You might as well make the most of it by establishing, marketing and presenting your business to the commercial community in the best way possible.  Your first step:  registering your business by filing a DBA

 Short for “doing business as,” a DBA is an invented name that your business needs to apply for if you intend to operate under a name other than your own legal name, the legal name of your partners or the official registered name of any business entity (such as a partnership or a corporation) that you may have formed.  Many independent contractors are actually small business owners who have not filed a DBA or established a more traditional business with an outside office.  But even if you are self-employed and have not formed a specific business entity, it’s still a good idea to file a fictitious business name statement so you can brand your business and get busy building your reputation.  Without a DBA, if you’re running a business whose name is different from your formation entity, your small business won’t be able to open a bank account or rent office space.  Forget about invoicing for services, establishing phone service or depositing earnings if you have not filed a DBA.  Banks won’t recognize your operating entity if you can’t prove it is what you say it is.

 One of the main reasons you’re required to file a DBA for your small business is to prevent public confusion.  Your DBA is a public record of business ownership that lists the principals’ names behind the operating name, those who are legally responsible for the small business.  This information is on file with county or other local government entities for anyone to view.  In many states and regions, notice of your intended DBA business name has to be published in a newspaper of adequate circulation.  Even in areas where publication may not be required, the smart businessperson will go ahead and publish notice of the intended DBA anyway—starting out with good business habits and a solid work ethic of transparency and full disclosure always pays off.