Most people who form an Arizona LLC think that when they file the Articles of Organization with the Arizona Corporation Commission they are done. However, forming the LLC by filing the Articles of Organization is the beginning of what we call Phase II in the life of an LLC. Read the “Two Phases in the Life of an LLC.”
In forming 9,000+ Arizona LLCs Richard Keyt learned long ago that there are many post formation tasks that LLC members (owners) must accomplish to properly operate their LLC. To help LLC owners understand: (i) the many post LLC formation tasks they need to accomplish, and (ii) to how accomplish those tasks Richard created two comprehensive tools:
- His 170+ page ebook called the Arizona LLC Operations Manual. Chapter 3 of the Operations Manual is a checklist of 34 tasks the LLC should complete in the first 75 days after the LLC is formed.
- My do-it-yourself LLC Legal Audit. I created this 83 question self audit to alert Arizona LLC owners to their LLC’s legal deficiencies. The LLC Legal Audit asks questions and depending on the answer the audit will describe the task and tell you how to resolve the task.
Ignorance of LLC operational issues can harm the LLC and its members, and in some cases give a court grounds to pierce the company veil and hold the members liable for the debts of the company. There is a lot to know about LLCs, but if you’ve never had an LLC or had only a few how could you possibility know all the post LLC formation issues that confront an Arizona LLC? We created the Arizona LLC Legal Audit to educate people about important LLC post formation issues.
The Arizona Limited Liability Company Legal Audit
The Arizona LLC Legal Audit contains 83 questions, 32 tasks and 29 alerts. The answer to a question determines if a task or alert will appear. Tasks are things the LLC or its owners should accomplish. Whenever a task displays, it has a detailed explanation of how to accomplish the task. If a task is particularly important there will be an alert that explains why the task is so important and should be accomplished as soon as possible.
The audit is dynamic. By that we mean it will ask or not ask questions depending on your input. The audit is divided into the major areas listed below. If you check the box next to an area then the audit will ask questions about that area. If an area is not checked, the audit does not ask questions about the area.
LLC Audit Areas
- Newly Formed LLC: For an LLC created within the last year.
- Real Estate LLC: For an LLC that owns or will own real estate.
- Insurance Coverage: A review of the types of insurance policies LLCs should have.
- LLC Loans: For an LLC that has borrowed or loaned money.
- Multi-Member LLCs: For an LLC with two or more members who are not married to each other.
- LLCs with Employees: For an LLC that has or will have an employee.
- LLCs with Independent Contractors: For an LLC that has an independent contractor.
- Member Capital Contributions: For an LLC that has a member that has or will contribute money or property to the LLC.
- Arizona Sales Taxes: For an LLC that is involved or will be involved with one or more of the following activities: retail sales, restaurants/bars, hotel/motel (transient lodging), commercial lease, amusements, personal property rentals, contracting, severance (metal mining), transporting, nonmetal mining, job printing, publishing, utilities, communications, and private (rail) car.
- Intellectual Property: For an LLC that has a trademark, service mark, copyrightable work, domain name or website.
How to Take the LLC Legal Audit
The Arizona LLC legal audit is an online questionnaire on this LLC Operations Manual website. To start the legal audit click on text “Legal Audit” on the menu just below the KEYTLaw logo at the top of the page.