Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Just wondering Derek; couldn't all this stuff have been done in advance, so you were ready to go when the Gen3 was actually released?
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Harry, (and Robert McDaniel...)
Yes, some of it *could* have been done in advance. And much of this *was* done in advance. However, when push came to shove with getting our merchant checking account set up with HSBC, we ran into a snag. The snag was - despite over a month of prep work with them - we weren't informed of the 'fatal flaw' (That's not until mid-November.) in which we could not apply for an account at their New York office because - and somehow this slipped past their eagle-eyed vigilance for several months - we were incorporated in Nevada, not New York where our CFO was located. Oops! So, quick hustle to re-structure for us to have me become our Treasurer/CTO (as I live in California). Oops again! I live in Citrus Heights, a suburb of Sacramento and HSBC doesn't have a single branch in our area! And they just felt hincky about me not living within 25 miles of their nearest branch. (It's more like 100 miles.)
Thus, scrambling around to find a *national* bank we can work with leads to Bank of America. Not a problem as there's a branch just 5 miles from my home. However, the department *I* must deal with is in San Francisco. And they're willing to (Nay! Eager!) help, but there are a few paperwork glitches (Let's face facts, dealing with the paperwork over the phone whilst FAXing isn't all that optimum.) and the people who're in charge of dealing with LLCs is new to the position... (Did I mention that state banking regs have changed? Yep. Just enough that all the paperwork we've already accumulated for BofA is not "quite" sufficient.) By this time it's December 3rd. (And yes, that means we missed a few days of form-filling due to the Thanksgiving holidays.)
Finally, I've discovered *ALL* the forms needed by me to file with the State of California for receiving a Certificate of Good Standing... I'm at the Secretary of State's office and... Did I mention that the SecState's website and the phone support person *failed* to mention I need a CoGS from Nevada??? Yep. You guessed it. I've got every form and all but that one! So that very day I went on line and ordered it from Nevada. And it's wending it's way here. *STILL* hasn't arrived!!! (Carson City, Nevada's like 200 miles from Citrus Heights, CA.) If I weren't disabled and living on a fixed income, I'd have *DRIVEN THERE* and picked it up!
I'm not an expert in what it takes to get registered as a valid LLC in either Nevada or California - but I'm rapidly approaching that level of knowledge. And as soon as that scrap of paper is in my hands I can complete the process of opening the merchant checking account.
Of course, were I a sole proprietor, not working under a DBA, I could have gotten away with *HALF* the paperwork - and we'd already be open for orders. Please bear with us.
BTW, even under the *BEST* of circumstances, were we to place our order tomorrow, the earliest we'd get the first half would be early/mid-January, with the rest following in a week or so. Thus we have been informed.
Derek