Starting today, non-U.S. founders incorporating on Clerky will be able to apply for an EIN completely online — and for free.
In most cases, U.S.-based startup founders can get an EIN from the IRS website in minutes. Startup founders outside of the U.S. usually can't do this though, because the online application requires an SSN or ITIN. If you incorporate in the U.S. but don't have a personal U.S. taxpayer ID, your only option aside from snail mail is to fax an application to the IRS and wait to receive the EIN back by fax.
Obviously, this is a huge pain. Where do you even find a fax machine these days?
Clerky startups in this situation can now avoid this hassle entirely. Answer a few easy questions to generate the EIN paperwork and have Clerky fax it to the IRS. When we get the EIN back, we'll upload it and notify you immediately. Please keep in mind that the IRS can be very slow to process EIN applications by fax. It can easily take months in some cases. Unfortunately, there's no way to speed this up (believe us, we've looked).
We're especially proud of our new EIN functionality because it's 100% in-house, not outsourced. Even though it's very common to outsource handling EIN applications, we decided to do the work ourselves in order to minimize the risk of delays or data breaches. We've also worked hard to make sure that you can fully comply with IRS instructions when you submit an EIN application through Clerky. Surprisingly, this isn't the case with a lot of other services that help startups with EINs.
If you're incorporating a startup and don't have an SSN or ITIN, we hope you'll enjoy this new feature. We look forward to making your life easier!
What's new in our software:
- We've given your perks directory a whole new look. It's now easier than ever to see all your perks and find the ones you want for your startup.
- You now have more fine-grained control over who reviews and gets cc'd on paperwork. Now, when you set someone to always review or observe paperwork, you can set whether that should be for everything or only some kinds of paperwork. No more manually removing people each time!
Plus, we've added some new perks:
If you're incorporating a new startup soon, you might be able to save around $400. How? By avoiding the 2023 Delaware franchise tax.
Delaware franchise taxes aren't pro-rated, which means that a Delaware corporation incorporating on December 31, 2023 will have to pay the same franchise tax for 2023 as one that incorporated on January 1, 2023. If you have investors ready to wire funds, this probably isn’t a big deal. But if you're not in a rush, it could be a waste of money.
To avoid this, we can help you take advantage of a little-known feature of Delaware law that allows you to specify the effective date of an incorporation. If you specify January 1, 2024, your corporation won't exist until then, which means it won't need to pay the 2023 franchise tax. This feature is available to all our customers at no extra charge.
Of course, you won't be able to do other legal paperwork or open bank accounts until the incorporation is effective. So why not just wait until January 1 to submit your incorporation paperwork? Two reasons:
You want to make sure no one else takes your startup's name.
It can feel like a minor miracle to find a name you like that isn't already taken. By filing your incorporation paperwork, you can secure the name you want when the filing is accepted, even if the incorporation won’t be effective until later. You could reserve the name instead, but that adds unnecessary expense and complexity to the process.
You want to hit the ground running in 2024.
Maybe you’ve decided to wait until after the end-of-year holidays to focus on your new startup. Filing your incorporation paperwork before you ring in the new year can help save you some time in 2024.
In addition, the start of a new year can be busy for the Delaware Division of Corporations, which can lead to delays in processing new incorporations. Filing ahead of time can help you beat the crowds and avoid those delays.
We've made January 1 effective date incorporations available to startup founders for many years, and are excited to bring them back again. From now until the end of the year, you'll be able to have your incorporation take effect on January 1, 2024 when you incorporate a new startup on Clerky.
Of course, if you prefer, you can still choose to have it take effect immediately when the Delaware Division of Corporation files it.
To get started, sign up for Clerky now. Questions? Feel free to reach out!
We're thrilled to announce a brand new help center just for attorneys and paralegals!
More attorneys than ever are using Clerky to help their clients. We realized there was a need for a dedicated space where attorneys and their staff could find answers to their questions. With our new help center, it's now easier than ever for attorneys and paralegals to learn how to use our software.
So what's inside the help center? We've provided detailed answers to common attorney questions, with step-by-step instructions, screenshots, example scenarios, and video tutorials. You can peruse articles by category – for example, "Teams" or "New Clients" – or you can search the help center for your particular question. Many articles also include how-to videos that will guide you through our UI.
If you're a startup founder, this new help center is great news for you, too! You now have a place to direct your legal team when they have questions about Clerky. Help them get up to speed faster than ever, so you can get back to building your startup.
Ready to learn more? Check out our new help center now!
What's new in our software:
- Our post-incorporation setup products now automatically calculate purchase prices of shares. No more worrying about messing up the calculations!
- Automatic reviewers now have both edit and review access on document sets. Now, when you assign an automatic reviewer for a team, they'll be able to do more.
- It's now possible to remove finalized document sets from your dashboard. Use this feature to delete test document sets or ones where the paperwork is no longer valid.
- When sending out signature requests, you'll now get autofill suggestions straight from your Clerky address book. No more searching through your inbox for the right email address to copy and paste!
- You can also now preview how your signature request email will look with a personal message. No surprises – know exactly how your request will appear before you press send.
Plus, we've added some new perks:
- Y Combinator – event invites, resources, advice, and even offers for funding
- Slack – 25% off upgrades to Slack Pro or other Business+ plans
- Crunchbase – 10% off your startup's first year
- Slab – 40% off your startup's first year
- Notion – 6 months free of Notion Plus and Notion AI
- Gusto – 6 months free of any Gusto plan
- Zendesk – 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM
- Payoneer – $100 cashback after receiving $1,000 in payments
- Founder Shield – 30% off brokerage fee
- Aranca – save up to 40% on an audit-ready 409A valuation
- Porter – $10,000 in credits lasting 12 months
We’re excited to announce a new add-on — managed 83(b) elections!
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What is an 83(b) election? </br>Many startup founders and employees make 83(b) elections with the IRS to minimize and simplify taxes on shares they receive. Our handbook article on 83(b) elections is a great resource if you’re interested in learning more.
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With our managed 83(b) election add-on, you can file an 83(b) election without touching a single piece of paper, going to the post office, or filling out USPS forms. We’ll handle all of that for you.
More importantly, our process is designed to minimize the chance of problems in legal due diligence for financings and acquisitions. This goes well beyond the basic steps for making an 83(b) election.
Specifically, we’ve designed our process to optimize for evidence showing you made the 83(b) election:
- We don’t just mail the 83(b) election with Certified Mail service, we’ll use Priority Mail class and make sure the Certified Mail receipt is physically postmarked by the USPS.
- We’ll request a physical return receipt from the IRS. If we don't receive it, we'll submit a PS Form 3811-A to get delivery information for the return receipt from the USPS.
- We'll ask the IRS to send a date-stamped copy of your 83(b) election back and include a self-addressed Priority Mail envelope with Certified Mail tracking.
Once evidence of the election comes back, we’ll scan and upload it to your account. If you want, we’ll store the physical evidence in secure file storage so you don’t need to worry about where to put it. And if you ever need the physical evidence, we’ll mail it to you via your choice of Registered Mail (the most secure service the USPS offers) or Priority Mail (faster than Registered Mail).
This all goes beyond the bare minimum necessary to file a valid 83(b) election. But making a valid 83(b) election is different from being able to prove it. And being able to prove you made a valid 83(b) election to a court is different from being able to quickly convince people in legal due diligence that you did. Given how much could be at stake, we think it makes sense to take these extra steps to minimize the chance of a problem.
Starting today, if you’re a startup founder, you’ll be able to leverage all the thinking and expertise we've put into 83(b) elections. Our managed 83(b) election add-on will be available when you form a new startup or add a new co-founder through Clerky. Your employees can use it too, when you issue them restricted stock using our equity compensation products. And if you're a startup attorney, you can rest a little easier knowing your clients on Clerky can file their 83(b) elections the way you would.
Enjoy!