New Business - I have a tax, insurance and credit card question(s)?

[pastorjim]

I am starting a new Concierge/Errand Service. I am registered and licensed in North Carolina. I am running it as a sole proprietor (at least for now).

1. Should I get a federal tax id (EIN) number for my business.

2. I will be going to peoples homes to run errands. Do I need additional insurance, car?, liability? etc.

3. I want to take credit cards - I have looked into squareup (heard good and bad reviews), or want to know of other credit card business for small companies?

Thanks,
Jim

[MyITGuy]

#1 - I can't speak to this item.
#2 - I would look into General Liability at the least, along with informing your auto insurance company that you use your vehicle for business purposes. This way if your at a client site and cause property damage, your general liability should cover it, and if your transporting items for your clients in your vehicle, they would be covered in the event of theft/loss (Assuming you pay your deductible).
#3 - SquareUp has been good to me for the small sales, but I'm going to be moving to Intuit shortly (I have to pay monthly fees for the merchant account, but don't have the funds limitation by Square, and I get lower rates as well).

[Business Attorney]

#1 As long as you are a sole proprietorship with no employees, you do not need to get a FEIN. As soon as you have a single employee, however, you will need an EIN. In addition, some banks insist on getting a separate EIN for the business before they will open an account.
#2 Like MyITGuy said, you should probably get GL insurance. In addition, you may want to consider being bonded. Many people are reluctant to let service providers in their homes unless they are bonded.
#3 I have no experience with SquareUp.