Crystal Stump (owner and CEO of ABC Consulting and former Virginia ABC Special Agent from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority) is going to explain the order of your registrations – BEFORE getting that ABC license.
Pour yourself a drink; you’re going to need it!
Welcome back to our channel – we really appreciate your support. If you are watching this channel because you want to know how to get a Virginia alcohol license, you are in the right place. If you are already a Virginia licensee, we still suggest that you subscribe to our YouTube channel, because we come out with new videos, each week, so that you understand how to navigate the VA ABC rules and regulations – they change all the time! And our hope is that this video can save you a lot of money, time and maybe even a criminal record! If you need help with registration, licensing or training, reach out – we’re here to help navigate these waters.
Today, we’re going to talk about the order that you should do your registrations. Mistakes create a bumpy ride for your application – so make sure you do it right the first time and in the right order.
NAMES – what you want to do first is to determine the name that you are going to use – but actually there are TWO names – and you need to know the difference.
Your Legal Entity Name and your Trade Name.
Your Legal Entity Name will be the name before your LLC. The Trade Name is what the public knows you as. Your Trade Name goes on your business cards, your signage and your social media, but all your registrations and applications will be in the Legal Entity Name – NOT your personal name and NOT your trade name. Don’t pick a complicated Legal Entity Name – don’t use initials, abbreviations, or something unique. It needs to be easy to remember and easy to spell for all registrations and licenses. Don’t spell it funny or abbreviate it. Every one of your applications will be denied if the Legal Entity Name doesn’t match — even one letter off in one application or one registration.
Once you have decided on your Legal Entity Name, pick your Trade Name but do your homework, first. Go to www.GoDaddy.com and make sure the domain (or URL) is available and then go check with the United States Patent & Trademark office to make sure that that name you’ve chosen isn’t registered, there, either. Then, you’ll register with the Secretary of the State – and in Virginia that would be the Virginia State Corporation Commission, SCC – you’ll go there and register both your Legal Entity Name and your Trade Name.
The next registration you’ll complete is the Employer Identification Number – your EIN – with the IRS. You can do that online or we can add that to your application and registration package that we do for you. Make sure that you have the exact spelling of the name and the correct address! They must match the business address (not necessarily the address that you are operating the business out of) for those two registrations. Once you have an executed lease and a location that you will be operating out of, then you can apply for the ABC Alcohol License. Right before you open, you’ll also want to apply for your Sales & Use Tax. Again, make sure you apply under the Legal Entity Name and the business address. WARNING: make sure you apply for your ABC license under your physical location address – where you are doing business.
There are a lot of possible mistakes: which name to use, which address to use, which form to fill out first and when to fill applications out. Time is money in this industry. These mistakes can cost you more than time when it comes to being able to operate and sell. So, keep us in mind. We do application packages, all the time. And we’re happy to do any registrations for our clients – we can register your Legal Entity Name and your Trade Name with the Virginia SCC – and then we can register your EIN, your Sales & Use Tax, and put together your ABC application.
No one has time to be on the phone with the SCC or the IRS to get a name corrected or a name changed. If you don’t have attention to detail or don’t have time to do complicated applications, properly, please let ABC Consulting do it for you. Attention to detail is what we do – and attention to detail results in a quick approval.
We’d love to help you through your application! We welcome questions and if you haven’t subscribed to our channel, please do! And if you are already enjoying this channel, please click the bell notification – so you’ll get notified of new videos. It will also help other people that are browsing YouTube to find our channel. ABC Consulting’s channel is for anyone unsure of how to navigate ABC regulations or for anyone who needs to know all the steps of the process. Thanks for watching; Cheers! 800-785-0161
*Disclaimer: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user, or browser; ABC Consulting VA, LLC does not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites. Readers of this website should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information on this site without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. The views expressed at, or through, this site are those of the individual authors’ writing in their individual capacities only. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken, based on the contents of this site, are hereby expressly disclaimed. The content on this posting is provided “as is;” no representations are made that the content is error-free. In no capacity do we represent the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, IRS, SCC or any other government agency..
