EIN, Business Loans and Small Business Employees

All small businesses seeking business financing need an Employer Identification Number (EIN). This is a requirement of the Internal Revenue Service(IRS) and Dun and Bradstreet (D&B). A small business needs to register with Dun & Bradstreet to obtain a business credit score called a "Paydex" score before a lender will consider it for a business loan. An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number, and is used to identify a business entity. Small businesses must obtain an EIN from the IRS.

The IRS, D&B and subsequently business loan lenders want to know the status of the employees working for your business. A general guideline for determining who is considered an employee is this: anyone who performs services for your business and you can control what will they do and how they do it. This is in effect even when you give the employee the authority to make "management" decisions.  Ultimately, you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed.

Once you have an EIN, and hire employees, Keep all records of employment taxes filed through your EIN for at least four years.  Keep your payroll records up to date for your business throughout the year. This will help you keep track of deductible expenses when you are preparing your tax returns for the IRS. Your diligence in managing your business taxes associated with your EIN will impact your credit-worthiness when you apply for a small business loan.