Editorial Policy

Our goal

We explain how to form and run a small business in plain English, starting with the do-it-yourself route that costs nothing beyond your state’s filing fee. Every guide should be accurate, current and easy to act on.

How a guide is made

1. Research. We pick topics from questions founders actually ask and gather the official rules, fees and deadlines that apply.
2. Drafting with AI tools. Our guides are drafted with the help of AI writing tools, working from that research.
3. Fact-check, claim by claim. Every fee, deadline, number and rule is checked against a primary source. Anything we can’t confirm is reworded or removed.
4. Human review. A person reviews every guide before it’s published. Nothing is published automatically.

Sources we rely on

• First: government sources, including the IRS, the U.S. Small Business Administration, FinCEN, each state’s Secretary of State or business filing office, state tax agencies, and federal and state law.
• Next: major news organizations and professional bodies such as the AICPA, the American Bar Association and SCORE.
• Never as proof: other affiliate sites, blogs or a company’s own marketing pages. They can point us to a question, but not answer it.

We link to our sources in each guide so you can check them yourself.

Bylines

Guides are published under four topic desks rather than individual names: The Formation Guide, The Structure Strategist, The Compliance Keeper and The Small Business News Reporter. Each desk covers one subject area, and every guide goes through the same research, fact-check and review process.

Updates and corrections

Every guide shows when it was last updated. State fees, IRS rules and reporting requirements change, so we review guides regularly and update them when the rules change. If you spot an error, please tell us through our contact form. We’ll check it against the official source and correct it promptly.

Independence

Some links on this site earn us a commission. Partners don’t review or approve our guides before they’re published, and commissions don’t change our recommendations. Read our Affiliate Disclosure for details.

Not legal or tax advice

We are not a law firm or a CPA firm. Our guides are educational and are not legal, tax or financial advice. For decisions about your own business, talk with a licensed attorney or CPA.