Not For Profit Package $275: This package includes everything you will need to file your Corporation with the Secretary of State. See what's included here. There are many other steps that must be taken to get your Non Profit started on the right foot. There are steps you will need to take to ensure liability protection, to register if you will have employees, to be prepared for taxes, for collecting donations and for tax exemption. Please read through the services below to see which will be needed for your organization.
Expedited Service additional $200: Regular turn around time to receive your Articles of Incorporation is usually 3-4 weeks, however, it depends on how backlogged the Secretary of State is. You can expedite your order and be incorporated within 24 business hours. Your Articles and EIN (if ordered) can be emailed or faxed to you as soon as they are received so that you can open a bank account right away. Expedited turn around time for the EIN and corporate book depends on how soon you return the required paperwork with signatures to AMC Legal. Most books are completed and shipped in 1-2 business days.

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Liability Protection

Indemnification Agreement: This is a strongly recommended agreement that every single business needs and here’s why. When you incorporate, you are protected from personal liability (provided you follow all corporate formalities) as the owner of the company. Shareholders are protected from liability by statute but directors and officers are not. With the indemnification agreement if a director or officer is found liable for a decision made in the regular course of business, the corporation will pay for any court costs and judgments the officer or director incurs in defending a lawsuit or action. This Agreement is only $75.

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You will also need

EIN (aka FEIN, Tax ID, Federal Tax ID, Employer Identification Number) Your Non Profit Corporation is a separate entity from yourself. Therefore it will need its own Tax Identification Number. Though it is also called an Employer Identification Number you will need one even if you don’t have any employees. This is like the social security number for the Corporation itself. You will need it to open a bank account, file tax returns and many other things. AMC Legal can obtain this for you for $50. (This will first be sent to you for your review and signature before it is filed).

County Recording (aka Compliance with Post Incorporation Requirements of BCA) This is no longer required in Illinois as of 1/1/2011.

Charitable Organization Registration Statement: If you will be collecting donations or holding fundraisers then you need to file a Charitable Organization Registration Statement with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. AMC Legal will prepare and submit this for you for $150.

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You May Also Need

501c3 Special Purpose Statement: If you are planning on applying for 501c3 exemption then you will need special wording in your articles of incorporation. Doing this when you incorporate is a lot easier and cheaper than amending your articles later on. This only includes the special purpose statement required by the IRS. Other changes may be required by the IRS later on during your application process. AMC Legal will add this provision for $Free if done at time of initial filing of the articles.

501c3 IRS Application: If you are forming your non profit organization for charitable, educational, religious or scientific purposes you may qualify for 501c3 exemption with the IRS. 501c3 allows your donors to be able to deduct their donations from their tax returns. It also allows your organization to apply for grants as well as be exempt from income taxes. The application process is extensive and time consuming. It can take anywhere from 6 months to 18 months to obtain the approval. The average time for approval is 12 months. AMC Legal can prepare your application and submit it for you for $900 plus filing fees. The filing fees are either $400 (if your gross receipts are under $10,000 annually) or $850 depending on your organization's budget. Please call for more details.

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Tax Related

Business Registration: You will need to file a business registration in two instances: if you have employees or if you need a sales tax (or reseller’s) number. AMC Legal can prepare and file this for you for $75. (This will first be sent to you for your review and signature before it is filed).

Illinois “E” Number: This is a tax exempt number for your non profit organization which will allow you to purchase goods for your NFP without having to pay sales tax in Illinois. This is available once your organization has 1 year of records to show the state. AMC Legal can prepare the paperwork and file this for you for $100.

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If you will have employees (even if you employ yourself)

Business Registration: You will need to file a business registration in two instances: if you have employees or if you need a sales tax (or reseller’s) number. AMC Legal can prepare and file this for you for $75. (This will first be sent to you for your review and signature before it is filed).

Report to Determine Liability for Unemployment: This will determine whether you have to pay into the unemployment system. If you do, you may be eligible for unemployment if your business is not doing well. AMC Legal can prepare and file this for you for $75. (This will first be sent to you for your review and signature before it is filed).

New Hire Reporting Forms: This reports basic information for the state to track who is working in Illinois. AMC Legal can prepare and file this for you for $35. (This will first be sent to you for your review and signature before it is filed).

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DBA (aka Doing Business As, Assumed Name, Fictitious Name)

Many people can be confused by this since if you were a sole proprietor you probably registered a DBA with the county. After you incorporate, the DBA is something different. After you incorporate, a DBA is required if you want to use any name different than your legal name, even if you leave the Inc. off your name, you will need to register a DBA.
For example, if your corporation is called ABC Inc. and you want to use the name ABC you will need to register a DBA. Also, in the same example, if you want to use the name AB you will also need a DBA.
AMC Legal can file your DBA with the Illinois Secretary of State for$170 for 2013. The filing fee changes every year. The DBA will also need to be renewed in every year that is divisible by 5, i.e. in 2010, 2015 etc. AMC Legal can renew the DBA for you for $250.

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Corporate Counsel Club

Platinum Service $350 for 12 months terms and conditions
- Unlimited legal questions regarding your business including 3 hours of legal research if required.
- Registered Agent Service: Worth $150 for 12 months.
- Annual Report Service: Avoid hundreds of dollars in late fees and penalties if your annual report is late as well as the loss of your liability protection. With the Corporate Counsel Club, AMC Legal will provide an email reminder 60 days before your annual report is due. We will then call you when we receive your annual report, ask you all necessary questions and file your annual report to ensure your company remains in good standing. Your annual report filing fee of $5 is included in the service price.
- Annual Minutes Service: AMC will also prepare the minutes for your annual members and annual directors meetings as part of the service.
- One contract review including lease: AMC Legal will review one contract 20 pages or less and provide a written review.
- One document prepared including but not limited to: affidavit, cease and desist letter or other documents 4 pages or less (this does not include contracts)
- Two Member Resolutions prepared

Gold Service $200 for 12 months terms and conditions
- Unlimited legal questions regarding your business including 2 hours of legal research if required.
- Annual Report Service: Avoid hundreds of dollars in late fees and penalties if your annual report is late. With the Corporate Counsel Service, AMC Legal will provide email notification 60 days before your annual report is due and call you when we receive your annual report, ask you all necessary questions and file your annual report to ensure your company remains in good standing. Your annual report filing fee of $5 for non profit corporations is included in the service price.
- Annual Minutes Service: AMC will also prepare the minutes for your annual members and annual directors meetings as part of the service.

Silver Service $90 for 12 months terms and conditions

Unlimited legal questions regarding your business with 1 hour of legal research if required.

Registered Agent Service $150 for 12 months or included in Platinum Package terms and conditions

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Agreements

Custom Agreements: Legal documents are a necessary part of doing business, any business. Unfortunately, many business owners sign documents without fully understanding the terms that the other party has written into a contract. Even worse, the business owner may not fully become aware of the ramifications of that contract until it is too late. I provide legal document review with a full written opinion. I can also create a custom contract drafted just for your needs. I do not provide form contracts. The contracts I provide are made to fit your needs and your particular business. I can review or create customized agreements such as: leases, non-disclosure agreements and non-compete agreements to name a few. I can also customize any agreement listed below.

Indemnification Agreement: This is a strongly recommended agreement that every single business needs and here’s why. When you incorporate, you are protected from personal liability (provided you follow all corporate formalities) as the owner of the company. Shareholders are protected from liability by statute but directors and officers are not. With the indemnification agreement if a director or officer is found liable for a decision made in the regular course of business, the corporation will pay for any court costs and judgments the officer or director incurs in defending a lawsuit or action. This Agreement is only $75.

Employment Agreement: An Employment Agreement is an essential way to give you security as an employer and to manage the expectations of the employee. As with anything, get it in writing! AMC Legal can prepare a custom employment agreement suitable for your situation. An employment agreement can address many situations such as: scope of work, commission, salary or hourly terms, vacation, over time, sick time, non competition, employment at will or for cause termination and confidentiality. Every employer, no matter how big or how small, needs some type of agreement. This agreement starts at $120 complex provisions may add to the price.

Independent Contractor Agreement: Extreme care must be exercised when using Independent Contractors (ICs). The IRS and the state of Illinois are cracking down on the use of ICs. Illinois enacted new laws as of January 1st of this year to enforce this even more. Their motivation? Taxes of course. If your ICs truly are independent then it is the IC’s responsibility for paying employment taxes, not yours. However, they must truly be independent to be considered ICs. There are several factors the federal and state government uses to determine independence. Three of which are: is the IC incorporated on its own, is there an IC Agreement and do you exercise control (other than general direction) over the IC? If your IC is already a separately incorporated business then that is taken care of. Otherwise, you can recommend, or even require, that they be incorporated. Secondly, you need an Independent Contractor’s Agreement to legally set forth the relationship as being truly independent. Call AMC Legal to discuss this important matter and to obtain an IC Agreement. Other businesses who have dealt with ICs incorrectly have been required to pay back employment taxes for the entire time they’ve used the IC. Don’t let this happen to you. This agreement starts at $120 complex provisions may add to the price.

Lenders Agreement & Promissory Note: If you would like to fund your Non Profit Organization but not consider it a donation you can lend the organization the funds and get paid back as if you are a creditor. There are many advantages to getting money into your NFP in this way. If you lend money to your NFP then it puts you in the shoes of a creditor. You lend the money to your organization, with a lender’s agreement and promissory note, then the NFP will pay you back with interest. This way you can get your money back from the NFP once it has the funding. AMC Legal can prepare this for you for $120.

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Changes to Your NFP

Change Name: If you want to change the name of your Non Profit AMC Legal can prepare the notice, minutes and resolutions and file the necessary documents with the State for $140. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.

Change Registered Agent: If you want to change your registered agent AMC Legal can prepare the notice, minutes and resolutions and file the necessary documents with the State for $120. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.

Change Provisions: If you need to amend your articles to add or change provisions AMC Legal can prepare the corporate notice, minutes and resolutions and file the necessary documents with the State for $125. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.

Change Member: If you are adding or changing a Member you must do a Member Resolution, notice and minures. AMC Legal can prepare all this for you for $150. There will be an additional charge of $20 per additional Member. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the new membership certificates will be sent.

Change Directors : If you are removing or adding Directors you must have an approval from the Members. AMC Legal can prepare the notice, minutes and resolutions for $120. If an amended annual report is required an additional $120 will apply. There will be an additional charge of $20 per additional Director. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.

Change Officers: If you are removing or adding Officers you must have an approval from the Directors. AMC Legal can prepare the notice, minutes and resolutions for $120. If an amended annual report is required an additional $120 will apply. There will be an additional charge of $20 per additional Officer. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.

Dissolution: If you have decided to close your Non Profit you must first wind up any business you have pending. Once your business is wound up you can then file the dissolution paperwork with the State. AMC Legal can do this for you. If you do not owe any money to anyone, AMC Legal can prepare the notices, minutes and resolutions for you and, once signed, can file the paperwork with the State for $120. If you do owe creditors, AMC will also prepare a notice to creditors letter for you to send to notify any and all creditors for an additional $50. It will be your responsibility to send the letter to your creditors. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.

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