Although there are many types of business structures and each comes with its own list of benefits, the one business structure that is popular among everyone is LLC. Here, the term LLC stands for limited liability company and it is the most common business structure all around the world.
Many people go with an LLC business structure because they want to separate their business finances and personal finances but there are other benefits of forming an LLC as well. By forming an LLC, you will be taxed like a sole proprietor and at the same time, you will receive the liability protection of the corporation.
In addition to this, you get flexibility with setting up even while forming an LLC. You get the option of being a sole owner or one of the multiple owners. But apart from the advantages, you should also learn how to structure the equity program in LLC for avoiding any issue and this is what we are going to discuss in this blog post.
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How to structure the equity program of LLC?
Learning how to structure the equity program is necessary for both you and your employees and the same applies in the case LLC as well. So, in addition to learning how to obtain LLC in NY, you should also learn how to structure the equity in LLC.
Instead of just issuing stock options which is mostly done in the case of corporations, you hold a membership in the case of an LLC. If you are the only member of the LLC then have 100% equity. But if you are a part of a multi-member LLC then the distribution of equity is done on the basis of the operating agreement.
Give profit interest units to employees
Profit interest is different from profit share. Profit share is a share of the overall profit the company has earned while profit interest is the amount to a portion of the value an LLC gains over time.
For example, let’s imagine the LLC is worth $500,000 when the employees got the profit interest. Now, if LLC is valued at $2 million in five years, then the employee will become entitled to a percentage of $1.5 million.
There are always vesting options in profit interest and there are no purchase requirements in this. In a vast majority of the cases, the profit interest comes in the form of grants or employee awards. An employee even becomes entitled to tax benefits similar to incentive stock options if he makes an 83 (b) tax election.
But there are many factors that play an important role in how much an employee will be taxed when it comes to profit interest.
Make an operating agreement
All the terms and conditions related to the management, structure, and finances of the company are outlined in an operating agreement and that’s why, apart from learning how to obtain an LLC in NY, you should learn everything about the operating agreement.
It becomes crucial to write a proper operating agreement if the members are unable to offer the decided capital contribution or if the business dissolves. While it’s true that many people work with attorneys to dictate the terms, at the same time, most people like to decide on the equity and profit share on the basis of capital contribution.
It all depends on you when it comes to capital contribution but it is always an ideal approach to collect enough funds to cover the startup cost and have a minimum of six months of operating expenses.
Becoming an LLC
If you are planning on getting better protection on your personal assets while running a business then LLC is the best choice for you. An LLC draws a line between the business assets and the personal assets and offers a wide array of flexibility when it comes to profit sharing and management.
Depending on what you achieve or which type of situation you are currently dealing with, you can decide either to form a single-member LLC or multi-member LLC. If you go with a multi-member LLC then you can easily distribute equity among all the business members and even build an equity program for all the employees on the basis of profit units.
This way, you don’t have to deal with any type of issue related to equity structure while running an LLC and everyone in the LLC gets a fair share of what they actually deserve.
Forming an LLC might be offering a long list of benefits but instead of just being attracted because of the benefits, you should also look at some of the basic functions and liabilities of an LLC as well. To begin with, you can learn how to structure equity in an LLC and follow a seamless path.
