vendors, and caterers help a brother out

When I first started our LLC I used the business to start to pay some bills i.e. Truck, Cell Phone, Internet, Gas, Insurance and some other things instead of taking a pay check. We still do this but this year looks like we may need to take some sort of salary.

I could tell you about my limited vending and catering experience, but, I am not gonna, so there. :hand:

Now, I have had several landscape companies that I can tell you about with some degree of expertise.

As a sole proprietor and part-time, I took whatever money I earned and pocketed it. Improvements to the company came out of my own money, as did supplies. Thus, when money came in, I kept it.

As a sole proprietor and full time, I keep accounts and keep all costs between my personal and business needs separate. I keep books and do no intermingle funds. When my business needs money, I pay into the company as owner capital and log it as such. I take money as personal income when I need it, but, after basic expenses. This is logged as owner payment. There is no transparency between my personal and business existence.

As a partner in a corporation, a C corporation in fact, I was paid a salary, the salary was set and was paid just as all the other employees were paid. When there was money beyond costs, reinvestment and basic salary, we would take a distribution from the corporation as share holders. When times were lean, we would forgo our salary, unlike the rest of the employees and this was logged as well. In this manner, salary could be made whole to the owners of the company when times got better.

FWIW, I am fairly conservative in terms of money and business management and I do not feel there should ever be crossover from personal to business expenses and accounts.

These are questions your accountant should be giving you as thats what we pay them for if you don't have one, get one, and also, try them out and determine which one is best for you as, if you aren't comfortable , try another, cause they should be your friend as well as your advisor, I have,had mine for about 40 yrs now, he refuses to come to my house cause I haven't bin to his, lately, and thats what you need is a personal friend , and business advisor that cares:-D

Kevin, Rick is absolutely correct. However, I will give you my experience as a part time business owner.

My income from my business really hasn't hit towards anything that I could pay myself a salary, until this year. In past years, I have taken any money that the company has made beyond expenses and 15% of past years expenses (This money is put into a cash reserve), and rolled it into equipment that I and the company use. Money beyond that is socked away for things that I want my business to own.

My wife and I have been vending since last Oct for one day a week, Sat and we take no salary. We also do catering and church function's. We have paid every week our costs and made enough to pay cash for a new trailer that I ordered last week. We are getting a SBA loan for 2 more smokers. We will soon take some sort of salary but since we are retired it will mostly go in the bank.

what i do...

say $100 sale. I payback the cost, whatever that is. 30% goes to the que fund and whatevers left is mine. usually i "make" 20-30 per hundred. i also take advantage of larger functions as time to buy supplies. never fails. when you have a $100 party is when you find your self out of 4" foil pans.. them ain't cheap. right now the shelves look a little bar in the shed. i have a group of 150 next week and i'm not planning on making a lot on that. but i will have some bulk supplies. then the smaller ones are worth it.. nothing worse than cashing a $200 check to see that you spent $175 and a day of cooking... =)