An Intro to Business in the Board Games Industry

So, owning a board games company means that you own a business! Sure, this should be obvious, but what does this all mean? Well, it really depends on what the business does and where it is. I can only speak about what it’s like to own a business in the US. What’s required is also different from state to state! So much complexity means you’ll either have to do a ton of research or get help to make sure you’re following all of the laws.

Now, this blog is not legal advice! I don’t know everything that you should do as a business; you really need to do the research and make sure you’re doing everything legally. With that said, I can give a brief overview of some of the things I have to do.

Owning a business! What are some of the things that are involved?

• Starting a Business
• Renewing the Business License(s)
• Paying Sales Tax
• Accounting
• Paying State and Federal Taxes
• Submitting Various Forms

That list doesn’t seem all that long, but each step can be very lengthy! Let’s get into the individual parts.

Starting a Business

Not everyone needs to start a business, but it’s generally a good idea to do so if you personally don’t want to be liable in the case that things go bad. Even if you think things will never go bad, it’s nice to have a business as businesses can be treated differently than people. For instance, there are grants and loans that are only for businesses.

Now, what kind of business should you create? Again, this really depends on you and where you live. I have an LLC, which might be a good choice for you, but you can read more about different business types here: https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/launch-your-business/choose-business-structure

You’ll also have to choose a business name and register it. In some states, you do this when you complete the paperwork to form the business. After that, you usually request to get an EIN, which is an Employer Identification Number. This is similar to a social security number, in that you use it to identify yourself.

Business Licenses

Once you’ve officially started a business by filling out all that paperwork…. you might need to do more paperwork! Hurray! There’s a variety of business licenses you might need to get and it again depends on where you are and what you’re doing.

For example, in Alabama, you have to get a business privilege license renewed every year. You might also need to get a sales tax permit, a city business license, and more!

Make sure to research your state, county, and city to see if there are any particular licenses you need to get to operate legally.

Sales Tax

Sales tax needs to be paid for some of the things you sell. You usually have to pay sales tax on anything you sell in person, such as at conventions, or in the state you operate in.

Board game companies are different than the typical business as a lot of us go to conventions and these conventions aren’t always in the state that we operate out of. This means that you’ll have to get a sales tax permit from not only your home state but also from the states and cities that conventions are in. Each state is different, so this requires knowing a lot of different systems and facts about states.

For instance, Alabama requires that you pay sales tax every month, while Pennsylvania wants it paid every six months. Most states also assume that if you’re selling things in their state, you’re always selling things in their state, so you might have to fill out forms for states all year round even if you only sell things in that state for three days a year. Isn’t life fun?

Cities can each have differing sales tax as well, so you should know exactly where the convention is to ensure you pay the right sales tax.

Accounting

Accounting is mainly important as then it makes paying taxes easier. Accounting basically means going through all of your income and expenses and categorizing each as a specific type of income or expense.

This is important as different types of expenses are counted differently for tax purposes. It can also be important depending on the type of accounting that you use. The two types of accounting are accrual and cash accounting.

Cash accounting is easier; you account for money at the time you get it or spend it. With accrual accounting, you record revenue and expenses when you’ve earned them, instead of when they actually happen. This makes things much more realistic as some projects can take years to complete and projects don’t always fall nicely between calendar years.

For example, if you ran a Kickstarter project in October 2020 and received the money for it in November 2020, with cash accounting, you would count all the revenue for 2020, even though you might not have paid for the manufacturing of the product yet. With accrual accounting, that revenue isn’t recorded for tax purposes until you deliver the product. So, if you deliver the product in April 2021, then all the expenses and revenue are added together to find the actual money that was made on the product.

I like using accrual as making a game can actually take years to do and this method means that I don’t have to think about when I’m paying or receiving money as much. With cash accounting, it can be really bad to run a Kickstarter late in the year, as you might not have the chance to pay for all your expenses. This will make it look like you made a lot of money, even if the money is going to be spent in a few months.

You’ll want to look into both methods and decide which one is best for you, as each method has pros and cons.

As for how to do your accounting, I like to use Wave as it can be free, it’s relatively easy, and I think it’s intuitive. Check it out here: https://www.waveapps.com/

State and Federal Taxes

In addition to sales tax, you’ll have to pay state and federal taxes! There’s nothing guaranteed in life other than death and taxes, it seems. The amount of taxes you pay is dependent on the business type that you chose. Having separate bank accounts and credit cards for your business can make taxes a lot easier. As said above, you’ll have to go through all your income and expenses, categorize them, then use that data to submit your taxes.

Submitting Forms

At different parts of the year, you might have to submit forms to the government! Again, this can depend on where you live and what kind of business you have. One form that I generally have to fill out is the 1099-NEC, which is used for any contractor that I paid $600 or more that lives in the US. This can count anyone that you paid to do illustration, graphic design, royalties, and more.

You’ll have to look into your city and state to see exactly what forms you need to fill out.

The US Small Business Association (SBA)

The SBA can be a great help if you’re in the US! Not only do they have a ton of information, but you might be able to get some free business counseling. You can look up free counseling here: https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/find

I was able to get the free business counseling and while the company giving the counseling didn’t know much about the board games industry, they did know a lot about small businesses in general, they had a lot of ideas, and they could connect me with the right people.

The SBA also have a pretty in-depth business guide here: https://www.sba.gov/business-guide#main-content

Overall

Running a business isn’t all sunshine and making your own choices, as there can be a lot of work that goes into it. Just make sure to do your research as things can be different for a variety of reasons and things can change year to year.

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