Small business owners are busy running the day to day operations of the business, which can sometimes lead to overlooking some key items. The following are just a few required items that every business owner should follow up on, and none of these are financial reports. Information provided by Wayne Brass, Florida SBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development.

1. Reminders for Small Businesses
Small business owners are busy running the day to day operations of the business, which can
sometimes lead to overlooking some key items. The following are just a few required items that
every business owner should follow up on, and none of these are financial reports.
Florida Annual Business Report
By May 1st every business must file an
Annual Business Report with the State of
Floridaandattachacheckfortheappropriate
amount. This is not a financial report but a
form to make sure the State has your current
information and receives the payment to
operate a business in the State of Florida.
Florida Fictitious Name
A Florida Fictitious Name is only good
for five years, so make sure to reapply
every five years. Check out sunbiz.org
for more details.
Business Tax Certificate
Some cities, municipalities and counties
require an annual Business Tax Certificate.
(formerly called a Business or Occupational License)
Check with your local city and county
offices for details.
Florida Sales Tax
Not all products and services include Sales Tax.
Check with the Department of Revenue if your
company is selling to the end user. Selling on the
Internet is a little more complicated.
1) If the company is located in Florida and selling to
a buyer within the state, sales tax must be collected.
2) If the Florida Company is selling to a buyer outside
the state, then sales tax would not be collected.
Florida Professional Licenses
Not all businesses are required to have a
professional license but check with the
State to see if a license is required for your
type of business.
Insurance
All businesses should check with their
localinsuranceagenttomakesuretheyhave
the right coverage for the type of business.
General liability is important and workers
compensation is another to look into as it
may be required.
Intellectual Property
If the company has any intellectual
properties (patents, trademarks, copyrights)
do not forget the maintenance fees required
by the United States Patent, Trademark
Office. Please check the schedule for your
protected assets and keep them current.
Website Domain
Websites are a very valuable marketing
tool and the company should pay for
five or more years ahead to protect the
company site. If not the company could
lose the domain name causing many
problems.
Credit Cards
New technologies for credit cards will
be implemented by October 2015 as the
providers will be moving away from the
magnetic strip to microchip embedded
cards. Business owners will be held liable
for any fraud if the business is not offering
the new technology.
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For more small business resources, visit SBDCTampaBay.com/resources.