Recordkeeping for LLCs: What Do You Need to Save?

Recordkeeping for LLCs: What Do You Need to Save?

Record keeping is an important part of operating LLCs, which also differs from one state to another state. There are several important steps that you must keep in mind in order to properly keep a record of your LLC. You might have heard people saying that the record keeping requirements of LLC are fewer than those of big corporations. But it is important to be informed about what kind of documents are necessary for you to keep a record if you have any kind of LLC. 

If you revisit the state laws about LLC record keeping requirements then you will know that what kind of documents are necessary to be added into the records. So as a good business person or owner of LLC you must keep important documents in records, 

1. Formation Documents – You must keep a proper record of copy of articles of organization filed with the state and other certificates of formation of the LLC. It is also important to keep record of other documents which state that you are also registered across other states to do business. 
2. Operation Agreement – It is important to keep a proper record of descriptions about division of profits and contribution of capital by business partners/members. The operating agreement must express the voting rights of business owners or members with a proper procedure of accepting new members and handling the exit of any business partner. If there is a separate document which also supports the operating agreement then it is important to keep it in the LLC records. 
3. List of Members and Managers – You need to keep a proper record of current personal addresses, contact numbers, emails and any other important contact information that LLC members may require to contact with any member and manager associated with LLC. 
4. Meeting Minutes and Resolution – Most people think that like corporations, LLCs do not require record keeping of meeting minutes and resolutions. It is additional benefit for LLC owners to keep a proper record of member meetings, meeting minutes and record of resolutions that have been approved during the meetings.  
5. Licenses and Permits – Keep all the important permits and licenses in your LLC records. You may need them while expanding your business or showing it to legal business handling authorities in USA or any part of the world for verification purpose. 
6. Insurance Information – LLCs always have insurance policies including liability, property, business interruption and professional liability. It is important to keep a proper record of insurance and policies that your LLC has acquired. 
7. Contracts – Whenever an LLC engages in contract with other parties it is important to keep proper records of those agreements and contracts. This copies must include leases, major supplier contracts, customer contracts and routine nondisclosure agreements that LLC owners can show to the authorized clients and government entities. 
8. Tax Records – The official and legal requirement by The Internal Revenue Services for keeping the record of taxes is 3 years. That is the normal length of time that IRS requires to begin the audit of any company be it a corporation or LLC. But as a precautionary measure you can keep the record of taxes for as long as 7 years. Some important tax records you must include in your LLC record keeping process are invoices, checks that have been cancelled, bills LLC has paid, receipts of business tax returns, credit card statements and state tax returns. 
9. Employment Tax Records – The Internal Revenue Service also keeps a cheque of employment tax records of LLCs. Therefore, it is advised to keep a record of these employment tax records for as minimum as four years. The important documents in employment tax records that you must keep are: employment tax returns, information about employees of LLC, dates of employment of people, time records, W-4 forms and records of payment to the employees. 

Lastly, it is important to note that the state laws may differ related to keeping a record of LLCs. In this regard, the best thing that you can do is investigate about the state laws where your business is operating and accordingly start collecting the important documents relevant to your LLC and keep a proper record in separate folders manually as well as in digital formats. This not only makes it easy to look for the right document at the needed time but also gives you a sense of relief that everything is in proper order.