Forming a Florida business means choosing an entity, filing with the Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), obtaining an EIN, and putting an operating or shareholder agreement in place. Filing is the easy part; the agreement governing who decides what and what happens when an owner leaves is the part that matters.
What this covers
- LLC and corporation setup
- Sunbiz filings and EIN
- Operating and shareholder agreements
- Registered agent service
- Buy-sell and exit provisions
- Annual report compliance
The LLC is the default choice for most Florida small businesses, but it is not automatic — the right entity depends on how many owners there are, how profits will be taken out, whether you plan to bring in investors, and how your CPA wants the income taxed. We work through that with you rather than filing the same form for everyone, then handle the Sunbiz filing, the registered agent, the EIN and the organizational records.
The document that actually earns its fee is the operating agreement, or the shareholder agreement in a corporation. Who can bind the company. How decisions get made when the owners disagree. What happens when a partner wants out, stops contributing, divorces, or dies. Almost nobody wants to discuss that in month one, and almost everybody wishes they had. One housekeeping note once you are formed: Florida annual reports are due by May 1 each year, and the late penalty is steep.