When Does a Business Start?
Question: When Does a Business Start?
Determining when a business actually starts can be an important concept, both in taxes and in business valuation.
Answer:
When Does a Business Start?
When it opens its doors?
On the date of incorporation?
On the date the company website is live?
All of these can be legitimate determiners of when a business starts. It might be best to say that a business "starts" when it first starts advertising and is ready to serve customers.
A business can start when it begins advertising, even though no sales have been made. So, taking a company website live on the Internet can be the date when that business starts.
For a corporation, certainly the date of incorporation can be the date the corporation starts, but what if customers have been in talks with company management before this date?
The concept of going concern comes into play to determine when a business starts. You could say a business starts when it becomes a going concern; that is, when it begins operating independently with the purpose of making a profit, with business records being kept, and customers being solicited.
Determining when a business actually starts can be an important concept, both in taxes and in business valuation.
Answer:
When Does a Business Start?
When it opens its doors?
On the date of incorporation?
On the date the company website is live?
All of these can be legitimate determiners of when a business starts. It might be best to say that a business "starts" when it first starts advertising and is ready to serve customers.
A business can start when it begins advertising, even though no sales have been made. So, taking a company website live on the Internet can be the date when that business starts.
For a corporation, certainly the date of incorporation can be the date the corporation starts, but what if customers have been in talks with company management before this date?
The concept of going concern comes into play to determine when a business starts. You could say a business starts when it becomes a going concern; that is, when it begins operating independently with the purpose of making a profit, with business records being kept, and customers being solicited.
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