Keep accurate records for monitoring the health of your company. It is difficult to identify patterns, calculate ratios, or make future decisions without them. These records are also required when you file tax returns, and to support the information you provide in your financial statements. These include income (profit and loss) statements as well as balance sheets.
Most states have departments of corporation or secretary of state offices that require companies to file an official declaration of ownership. The majority have made these documents available online. You can search these documents by name of the company and the websites typically provide a list of names of directors and officers, their addresses, and additional information about the company. Some private firms or companies publish directories of businesses. These directories can list the headquarters city, or the city where the company is registered. They usually include contact information, as well as the principal officer or company’s officers and a brief description about the type of business with which the company is involved.
A lot of cities require that any person or business that is operating an activity within the city must register, and a number of cities have put these documents online. Some counties maintain fictitious company name indexes in which the top officers of a partnership as well as their addresses are listed. Certain states maintain an inventory of all fictitious businesses names. The secretary of state and corporate departments have also made these available online.
