Running the Business · Part 1
Template: the business setup checklist, from pass letter to first invoice
One page, in order, with the rule behind each line. Print it the day the pass letter arrives and work down it. Every item points to the lesson that explains it, and the filled-in example at the bottom shows what the sheet looks like for a sole-owner C-36 in Los Angeles County on the day the first invoice goes out.
What the full lesson covers
- The order matters: entity and name first, then qualifier and bonds, then insurance in that exact name, then the application, then the tax and city registrations, then the money setup, then the first contract.
- Each line has a date, a confirmation, and a place to write the number or policy that proves it, so the sheet is also the file you hand a CPA, a broker, or a GC.
- The example shows the sheet filled in for a sole owner who chose the lump-sum sales tax position, the workers' compensation policy over the exemption, and a Los Angeles registration before the seventh day of work.
Unlock the full lesson
This is the public summary. The full lesson has the method, the worked cases, the checklists and the templates:
- All in-depth lessons, exam prep and After the License
- 1,000+ practice questions
- AI tutor (100 messages included)
- 14+ hours of audio lessons
- Full-length practice exams
- Pass guarantee
Start Free — Create Account$149 one-time · lifetime access · no subscription
Already have an account? Sign in
More lessons in Setting Up the Business
- 1The entity is a one-way door: why you decide sole owner, LLC, or corporation before the license issues
- 2Sole owner vs. LLC vs. S corporation for a plumbing contractor: liability, tax, cost, and the small claims limit
- 3EIN, the business bank account, and separating the money: the first bookkeeping setup that survives an audit and a lawsuit
- 4City business licenses: every city you work in, the Los Angeles business tax, and the seven-day rule
- 5The insurance stack: general liability, commercial auto, the bond, and workers' comp. What each covers, what each does not, and who will demand it
- 6Sales tax for contractors: materials vs. fixtures. The CDTFA rule most plumbers get wrong
- 7Quarterly estimates, self-employment tax, deductions, and mileage: the tax calendar for a first-year contractor
- 8Hiring readiness: what has to exist before the first helper's first day
- 9Template: the business setup checklist, from pass letter to first invoiceYou are here
- 10Template: the insurance requirements matrix. Who demands what, and the certificate that satisfies each one