Welcome to your daily briefing on small business developments in Texas. Today we're covering 5 key stories including updates on texas small business headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
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2 stories
A new guide explains how Texas companies can register a 'Doing Business As' name to operate under a name other than their legal business name.
Texas small business professionals launching or rebranding a company need to understand DBA requirements to ensure legal compliance and build brand recognition under their chosen trade name.
As of September 1, 2019, the Travis County Clerk's Recording Division no longer records or files Incorporated Assumed Names, which are now registered solely with the Secretary of State's Office.
TX small business professionals operating in Travis County must now route DBA filings through the Secretary of State rather than the county clerk, affecting business registration workflows.
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3 stories
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.
Without funding, the surviving owner faces a co-owner's heirs as the new business partner. Most buy-sell disputes that reach litigation are not about the agreement's terms but about the absence of a funding mechanism.
The S-corp election lets owner-operators take part of their income as wages (subject to payroll tax) and the rest as distributions (not subject to self-employment tax). The savings only matter once profit consistently exceeds a "reasonable salary" — typically $50K-$80K of pure profit above the salary baseline. Below that threshold, the added payroll-processing cost eats the savings.
Many LLCs elect S-corp status before they have enough profit to benefit, paying payroll processing for no tax savings. The election is reversible but not on a clock that matters in real time.
MCAs quote a "factor rate" (typically 1.20-1.50) on the advance amount, plus a daily holdback as a percentage of receipts. Translated to APR, most MCAs cost 60-150% annualized. The structure is legally not a loan, so usury caps and disclosure rules do not apply.
Cash-strapped small businesses that "just need it now" stack multiple MCAs and end up with daily holdbacks consuming most receipts. Recovery from MCA stacking is rare without formal restructuring or bankruptcy.
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