Can You Use a D/B/A Name in a Business Plan
My question involves business law in the state of: Pennsylvania
Hello all,
I am in the process of starting a small food service business. I will be entering into a brand affiliation program that allows me to operate my business under the name of the supplier I will be using. Note that it is not a franchising agreement, simply an affiliation program. I plan to file for an LLC under my proper name, and then file a DBA as the brand I am affiliating with plus the name of the city in which I will be operating the business.
My question is, when writing my business plan, what is technically the legal name of my business? Would I call it "My Name, LLC, dba AffiliateBrandName, City" or can I simply refer to it as the name for which I file a DBA?
This is my first time (outside of university) writing a business plan, and I want to make sure everything is correct. Thanks!
Re: Using Dba Name in Business Plan
If Sam Smith organizes Big Sam LLC to conduct a business that he will operate under the name Super Star Plumbing then Super Star Plumbing is a trade name for Big Sam LLC. The full legal name of the business would then be Big Sam LLC t/a Super Star Plumbing. The t/a stands for “trading as” which is how entities like corporations, LLCs, etc., would use to indicate their trade names. Natural persons conducting business through a trade name would be indicated by the term “doing business as” and abbreviated as “d/b/a” or perhaps “dba.” So if Sam Smith just did the plumbing business himself without the LLC it would be Sam Smith d/b/a/ Super Star Plumbing. I realize a fair number of people use d/b/a with entities like LLCs, but in my view that is improper usage.
All that said, a business plan is simply something you come up with detailing your plans for the business. The law does not regulate how business plans are to be done. If you are submitting a business plan to a lender or government agency then you need to ask someone at that lender or government agency how the business plan should be prepared. If you are doing it just for yourself you may prepare it any way you like.