New York Small Business Intel

The New York Department of State Division of Corporations maintains a searchable database of registered business entities that can be looked up by name, DOS ID, assumed name, or assumed name ID for specific entity types including corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships.

The source explains how legal business names differ by structure—for LLCs, it's the company name, while for sole proprietors, it's tied to the owner.

Buy-sell agreements among co-owners specify what happens at death, disability, or departure — but only matter if there is a funding source to actually execute the buyout. Common defects: insurance policies that lapsed, valuation methods that produce numbers no one can pay, and trigger events that include voluntary departure without a payment plan.

Most small-business insurance portfolios share predictable gaps: cyber liability (often excluded from general liability), employment practices (separate from general liability), business interruption (often capped well below actual reliance), and professional liability (excluded if not specifically purchased even when professional services are offered).

The federal EIN identifies the business to the IRS for payroll, federal tax filing, and bank-account opening. State tax IDs are separate, often required for state payroll, sales tax, and unemployment-insurance accounts. Some states issue multiple IDs for different functions. Using the EIN alone leaves state obligations unfiled.