What are the maintenance requirements for a business entity?

Maintenance of a business entity is summarized as the administrative steps associated with starting and carrying on business as a given entity form. It entails the process of filing documents, holding meetings, maintaining records, observing formalities, and reporting necessary information to regulators. The requirements for starting a business vary considerably between entity types. 

Businesses entities that require formal procedures to organize also require formalized maintenance procedures. At the most basic level, these entities require the owners to file statements each year (along with annual fees) with the Secretary of States office, to hold business meetings, to maintain records, and to report information to regulatory authorities. 

The state may require that an entity maintain certain records, such as meeting minutes and resolutions, ownership logs, capital accounts, financial statements, etc. The Federal Government may require that business entities file specific information related to taxation or securities issuances. State and federal reporting requirements can also be industry specific or based upon the company's size or status as privately or publicly-held.

• Example: A group of friends and I form a corporation. We all vote and elect each of us as directors. We then appoint me as CEO. Our creation and maintenance requirements mean following the state-required duties for filing annual information and paying fees to the state. This could include voting as directors to approve our corporate documents. As CEO, I will be charged will filing those documents with the state.
• Note: Generally, default business entities require little or no maintenance to continue on as a business entity. These businesses arise simply through the conduct of those involved and do not involve the formalized procedure for maintaining their operating status. While there are few formal maintenance requirements for default entities, there are still numerous tax formalities to follow. The lack of formal maintenance requirements associated with default entities often causes the owners to fail to follow other business formalities.

Related Topics

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• Why is studying business entities important?
• Considerations When Forming a Business Entity
• Holistic (Detailed) Overview of Setting Up a Business Entity
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• What is Sales & Use tax?
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• What are the major characteristics of a Sole proprietorship?
• Uniform Partnership Act
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• Partnership Agreement
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• Responsibilities of Partners to the Partnership
• Silent Partner
• Funding the Partnership
• How are Partners Compensated
• Splitting Equity in an Industrial Partnership
• Terminating the Partnership
• Types of Partnerships
• What are the main characteristics of a General partnership?
• Tort Liability of General Partner
• What are the main characteristics of a Joint venture?
• What are the main characteristics of a Limited partnership?
• Family Limited Partnership
• Master Limited Partnership
• What are the main characteristics of a Limited liability partnership?
• What are the main characteristics of a Limited liability company?
• Forming an LLC
• Articles of Organization
• Operating Agreement or LLC Agreement
• Why You Need an LLC Agreement
• LLC Compensation of Members
• LLC Taxation
• Converting to an LLC
• What are the main characteristics of a Corporation
• Articles of Incorporation 
• What to include in the Articles of Incorporation
• Corporate Bylaws
• Exiting the Corporation
• Dissenter's Rights
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• A Detailed Explanation of the Sole Proprietorship
• Taxation of Sole Proprietorship
• A Detailed Explanation of the General Partnership
• 50/50 Partnerships: Never a Good Idea
• Publicly-Traded Partnerships
• A Detailed Explanation of the Limited Liability Company
• A Detailed Explanation of the Corporation
• Keepwell Agreement (Letter of Comfort)
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