Licensing & Compliance - A Sequence That Lets You Invoice

Launching isn’t about collecting certificates; it’s about doing the few things, in the right order, that let you sell and collect without anxiety.

Begin with the spine: form the entity, get the EIN, and register where you’ll actually operate. If you’ll cross state lines, “foreign qualify” early so banks and permit offices don’t stall you. Open sales/use and withholding accounts where required. This is the paperwork that unlocks bank accounts and tax IDs; without it, every other conversation takes longer than it should.

Next, get square with your town. Most Northeast municipalities expect a simple business certificate and, if you’ll keep inventory or run a yard, a quick look at use and fire rules. This is not the time for guesswork; a fifteen-minute zoning call can save you a move nobody budgeted for.

Trade licensing is where many first-timers lose days. Electrical, HVAC, and plumbing work usually follows a master/journeyman structure with permits per job; home improvement and GC work often requires state or city registration and proof of insurance. If you are the qualifier, make sure your availability matches permit demand. If you’re hiring the qualifier, put continuity in writing so the permit key doesn’t walk out the door with someone’s two-weeks notice. In professional services like IT/MSP and consulting, licensing is lighter, but data/privacy and advertising rules still apply—and they bite if ignored.

Insurance and bonding are not an afterthought. Get the GL, auto, and workers’ comp lines in place, and add professional/E&O where your work includes advice. Ask for certificates that actually match the promises in your contracts—limits, additional insured wording, and waivers—so nobody chases you mid-job for an edit you can’t issue from a ladder.

Employment is where your future self either thanks you or mutters under breath. Choose a PEO or a compliant payroll setup, adopt a short handbook, and use real offer letters. Post the required notices, collect I-9s without ceremony, and publish a PTO policy you can actually enforce. When people know the rules, they stop inventing them at 5:45 p.m.

Then put the paper that gets you paid into circulation. Your customer MSA/SOW should match how you work: clear payment terms, change-order mechanics, warranty scope, and service targets you can hit. Your vendor MSA should promise response times and credits you can enforce—and put their insurance promises in writing.

Marketing and data sit quietly in the background until they don’t. Don’t claim “licensed/bonded/insured” unless you can back it up; include the license number where required. If you collect leads, publish a basic privacy notice and limit who can export customer data. That single choice prevents the worst kind of headache.

At home, keep the family in the loop. Decide the next twelve months of health coverage before you launch (COBRA, ACA, spouse plan, or PEO group) and put renewals and proof-of-coverage dates on the shared calendar. Toss the policy cards and key phone numbers into the binder with your license numbers and COIs. When a receptionist can find the right PDF in ten seconds, your day goes better.

Where counsel fits. We map the licenses that actually unlock revenue, file in the sequence that speeds banking and permits, and draft customer/vendor paper that prevents scope fights and late cash.

Bottom line: Don’t boil the ocean—boil the few pots that matter, in order. Then go win accounts with clean, confident paperwork.