The Top Five Blind Spots for Ohio Business Owners

Elliott Stapleton Government Compliance

Business owners must consider compliance at the federal, state, county, and local government levels.  A blind spot in the law, if missed, can be financially devastating.  Click here to schedule a free initial consultation for review your business.

1. Ohio Sales Tax

Every company sells goods, services or a combination of both. Some of these sales are subject to sales tax and other transactions are not. A business owner should be certain about sales tax, because a mistake could cause serious financial repercussions. Here is more information about OhioVendor’s License.

The decision on whether or not to collect sales tax, and the amount to be collected should be evaluated with your accountant (CPA).

2. Advertising and Intellectual Property

Every day a business is open, it is investing in goodwill. The goodwill it has built with customers is contained in the name of the company or the products it sells.

If a business does not investigate prior to using a name or file for Trademark protection, it risks losing the investment.

3. Offering Ownership to Others

There are very strict requirements that must be met prior to a company offering ownership for sale. Even for private offerings to wealthy individuals, there is a significant amount of compliance that must be in place.

The remedy for an illegal offering is recession. This means you give all of the investor’s money back, even if it has already been spent.

4. Employment Postings

Employees have protections related to wages, overtime pay, and other information that must be provided. There are required postings for employers in the workplace.

This is an easy blind spot to remedy. These are listed for free at the department of labor website.

5. Employee Handbook

If an employee is terminated for cause, that employee is not entitled to unemployment. Generally, if an employee is not terminated for cause, that employee is entitled to unemployment.

Without an employee handbook and written reprimands, the employee could force the employer to pay unemployment even if termination was justified.

Creating an employee handbook is a easy process when working with qualified counsel. The cost for such a service is much less than the potential legal repercussions.

Schedule a free consultation.

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About the Author

Elliott Stapleton

Elliott is a partner in the firm of Cornetet, Meyer, Rush and Stapleton serving clients throughout Ohio. Elliott's business clients range from small single member companies to large privately-held businesses. CMRS Law provides legal services which include advice on Business Formation and Transactions, Real Estate Transactions, Trademark Law, Copyright Law, Estate Planning, Trust Administration, Probate Administration, and Succession Planning. CMRS Law serves clients at two locations: 123 Boggs Lane, 1st Floor, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246 and 2101 Grandin Road, Suite A, Cincinnati, OH 45208