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As long as you're incorporated, you're personally shielded from incurring those loses yourself or anyone going after you for those losses, as long as you didn't

As long as you're incorporated, you're personally shielded from incurring those loses yourself or anyone going after you for those losses, as long as you didn't personally guarantee those accounts (i.e. AMEX business cards are guaranteed with your personal SSN vs company EIN).

eli 13y ago
No offense, but that sounds like terrible advice. Please consult a lawyer or accountant with questions, but corporations do not magically and universally shield your side business from incurring debts you have to pay. (And your business credit cards would almost certainly be personally guaranteed -- who would give a credit card to a business with no credit history?)
- aioprisan 13y ago
  Again, I should have prefaced this with stating that I am not a lawyer and do not provide legal advice. With a DUNS number, you can open business cards if you have an established history of paying your suppliers and can show sales to other companies. > And your business credit cards would almost certainly be personally guaranteed -- who would give a credit card to a business with no credit history? Not true. While it is easier to get a business credit card if you personally guarantee it from day 1, you can get one using you business identification information. You can get Citi business cards with a DUNS and EIN number. https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/html/cm/business/know-the-rules/business-credit.html https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/html/cm/business/know-the... You can also get corporate AMEX cards once your business has $10M in revenue a year. Employee cards only require a SSN to verify identity, not to guarantee them (the regular, business amex cads, however, do).
dragonwriter 13y ago
> As long as you're incorporated, you're personally shielded from incurring those loses yourself or anyone going after you for those losses, as long as you didn't personally guarantee those accounts That's not necessarily true. There are a number of things which can allow the "corporate veil" protecting stockholders from personal liability to be pierced, including a stockholder that is also a corporate decision-maker engaging in grossly negligent or reckless acts as a corporate decision-maker that produce the corporate liability. Incorporation provides a shield against personal liability, but it is not an absolute, unconditional shield, especially for stockholders who are also decision-makers in the corporation.
- aioprisan 13y ago
  If officers act in a reckless and fraudulent manner, the veil can be pierced to pay back creditors. I should have prefaced this with stating that I am not a lawyer and do not provide legal advice. I can speak from personal experience having been part of companies with liabilities when they folded that none of the officers assumed those liabilities personally. No one accused them of negligence or fraud, so I do not know how that would play out.
  - eli 13y ago
    Not just fraud: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercing_the_corporate_veil#Factors_for_courts_to_consider http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercing_the_corporate_veil#Fac...

eli 13y ago

No offense, but that sounds like terrible advice. Please consult a lawyer or accountant with questions, but corporations do not magically and universally shield your side business from incurring debts you have to pay. (And your business credit cards would almost certainly be personally guaranteed -- who would give a credit card to a business with no credit history?)

aioprisan 13y ago
Again, I should have prefaced this with stating that I am not a lawyer and do not provide legal advice. With a DUNS number, you can open business cards if you have an established history of paying your suppliers and can show sales to other companies. > And your business credit cards would almost certainly be personally guaranteed -- who would give a credit card to a business with no credit history? Not true. While it is easier to get a business credit card if you personally guarantee it from day 1, you can get one using you business identification information. You can get Citi business cards with a DUNS and EIN number. https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/html/cm/business/know-the-rules/business-credit.html https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/html/cm/business/know-the... You can also get corporate AMEX cards once your business has $10M in revenue a year. Employee cards only require a SSN to verify identity, not to guarantee them (the regular, business amex cads, however, do).

dragonwriter 13y ago

> As long as you're incorporated, you're personally shielded from incurring those loses yourself or anyone going after you for those losses, as long as you didn't personally guarantee those accounts That's not necessarily true. There are a number of things which can allow the "corporate veil" protecting stockholders from personal liability to be pierced, including a stockholder that is also a corporate decision-maker engaging in grossly negligent or reckless acts as a corporate decision-maker that produce the corporate liability. Incorporation provides a shield against personal liability, but it is not an absolute, unconditional shield, especially for stockholders who are also decision-makers in the corporation.

aioprisan 13y ago
If officers act in a reckless and fraudulent manner, the veil can be pierced to pay back creditors. I should have prefaced this with stating that I am not a lawyer and do not provide legal advice. I can speak from personal experience having been part of companies with liabilities when they folded that none of the officers assumed those liabilities personally. No one accused them of negligence or fraud, so I do not know how that would play out.
- eli 13y ago
  Not just fraud: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercing_the_corporate_veil#Factors_for_courts_to_consider http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercing_the_corporate_veil#Fac...