insurance & paperwork

[niko b]

so, i have enough equipment to start picking up more jobs, but i'm really confused about what all i need to be legal and legit.

-official business name?
-business bank account?
-tax id?
-insurance? how much? what kind?
-register in cities i work?
what about paying taxes to the cities??
what else? and how much for all of these?

getting jobs and doing the work is the easy part. i am not up to speed on this end of running a business and any help or advice is much appreciated.
thanks in advance.

[Steve]

-official business name?
You can do that or just go with your name and have checks made out to you.

-business bank account?
If you have a business name other than your own, you will need it.

-tax id?
You can use your social security number, if it is just you.

-insurance? how much? what kind?
It depends on what kind of work you will be doing and the amount of assets you are trying to protect. Most seem to go with a million dollar liability insurance.

-register in cities i work?
Only if the city requires it. Not all do.

what about paying taxes to the cities??
Not all cities have a tax like this. More than likely your state will and the federal government will too.

what else? and how much for all of these?
There are a couple of posts on here about prices for insurance. Do a quick search at the top of the page. If it doesn't come up or you have more questions, let us know.