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Lesson 1

Setup Basics

Entity

A registered entity is the business's legal form. Missouri owners often look at an LLC. The state fee in the Oct 2, 2026 notes is $50 to file online. Search the name on your state's official business-entity search before you file. The setup checklist opens that search after you pick a state.

This lesson does not tell you which form to choose. Ask your own attorney before you form, convert, or close an entity.

EIN

An Employer Identification Number comes from the IRS at no charge. Banks and vendor applications often ask for it. Keep the confirmation letter with the business records. Do not paste the number into this app.

This lesson is not tax advice.

Address and a trade name

Use an address where the business can receive mail. If you operate under a trade name, the fictitious-name filing in the Oct 2, 2026 notes is $7 for five years. Holding a name before you file is $25. Recheck both figures on the state site.

Those same notes say Missouri LLCs do not file an annual report. Confirm that on the Secretary of State site before you rely on it.

Business phone

Pick a number you will publish for the business and keep using it. List that same number on the website and on any public listing.

A personal cell that you do not answer as the business does not fill this step.

Separate bank account

Open an account in the business name and run business income and costs through it. Keep household money in a different account.

This lesson does not name a bank. Do not type a login, a routing number, or an account number into this app.

Website and listings

Publish the business name, the trade, and a way to reach you. A page you control is the cleaner record. A public listing also helps if the name matches the paperwork.

Match the public name to the entity papers and to the fictitious-name filing if you use a trade name.

D-U-N-S

A D-U-N-S number is a free business identifier issued by Dun & Bradstreet. Requesting it is a setup step. The public request page is linked from Your Business Setup Checklist.

This page does not rank vendors and it has no application button. Module 2 is where business credit files are taught.

What this lesson does not change

Time in business and the revenue band are facts. Lesson 1 cannot add months or change what the business has earned. Keep the formation papers, the EIN letter, and a simple list of accounts in one folder.

If a question is legal, tax, or accounting, take it to your attorney or CPA.

Create an account to save your place. Create an account

Lesson assistant

Ask what a lesson or a checklist step says, in plain words.

This course is education. It is not legal advice, tax advice, or financial advice.

This is a course. We don't lend, and this course doesn't arrange or broker financing.

The assistant saves each question and the answer it gave, linked to your account, in this site's own database on the service's private disk. That is the same SQLite file as accounts.

Questions and answers are kept for 90 days and then deleted automatically.

You can ask for earlier deletion by emailing marcusowens@flipitbusinessloanbrokers.com.

The question text is sent to OpenAI to produce the answer. The OpenAI request is made with store:false.

Do not type payment or personal identification details into the assistant.

Checking whether the assistant is on.

This is a course. We don't lend, and this course doesn't arrange or broker financing.

Results vary. We can't promise any approval, limit, amount or timeline.

marcusowens@flipitbusinessloanbrokers.com