So today I put on some nice clothes and a bit of makeup because I was heading into the main branch of my bank to open a business bank account for Belaurient. As it turns out they don’t actually handle business accounts (aka ones with DBAs attached) but they could create a separate checking and savings account for me that would be linked to my main account.

Since I have my EIN for reporting tax income I figured that would be good enough (I don’t have my LLC yet anyway) and sat down with Heather to discuss scrapbooking and Daiso while she created my accounts and deposited a bit of money in each to keep them open. She also set up survivor access on all my accounts so that if anything ever happens to me Ramón will have instant access to my money (I already handle his bank account so I don’t need that).

Now that I have the business account set up, I can go ahead and start a business PayPal account. I was thinking of routing my Amazon/Smashwords/Google Play income directly to the business account but 1) the ‘Zon has been having enough problems with getting KDP payments out on time and I do not want to break any links right now, and 2) I don’t have to pay state income tax on those sales because it’s already collected and submitted by the sellers. I do have to pay state income tax on any material items I sell myself, however, so I think it’s best to keep the business accounts strictly for that, and I can transfer the federal tax slice of my A/S/G payments into the Belaurient savings account for quarterly tax payments (I’m doing that anyway with my personal savings account so it won’t be any more work).

And I know, this must be absolutely fascinating to you. Thing is, I’m detailing all this for people who are thinking of getting into indie publishing (or frankly any sort of side hustle) so that they don’t let the business side of the job slide. Get an EIN, set up an LLC or similar, get a separate bank/PayPal/Venmo account to handle the business money, and hire a good accountant who knows all the tax loopholes. It’s a lot of work in the beginning, but in the end you’ll be glad you did it.