Professional Services

Legal services are critical to help you structure your business, understand what laws will impact your business’s operations, and remain compliant with relevant regulations. Consulting with a licensed attorney who specializes in business can save you time and headaches on issues such as structuring your business, registering your business, paying business taxes, compliance with local, state, and federal regulations, negotiating and signing leases, purchasing real estate, human resources, trademark and patents, and more. Please refer to the following portal pages for additional information on regulatory compliance:

• Business Registration & Taxes - Registering a business and paying taxes
• Following the Law page - General overview of local, state, and federal regulatory compliance for small businesses, including food safety
• Location & Compliance - Overview of regulatory compliance based on business location

We recommend consulting with a licensed attorney for any and all legal questions facing your business.

You can find legal assistance from the following entities:

• The Legal Aid Society of Columbus (Nonprofit) - No-cost legal services for lower income individuals and businesses
• Entrepreneurial Business Law Clinic (Public University) - Serves startup businesses with no-cost legal assistance provided by law students at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
• Columbus Bar Association Directory (Nonprofit) - Directory of attorneys who are members of the Columbus Bar Association
• FindLaw - Business Lawyers and Resources - Assistance with identifying and hiring a lawyer
• Kauffman Entrepreneurs (Nonprofit) - Diverse collection of educational resources for entrepreneurs developed by the Kauffman Foundation, including information on the laws and regulations affecting startup businesses
• OSU Extension Farm Office (Public University) - Legal resources for farms, including the Ag Law Library and Ag Law Blog
• Farm Answers (Public University) - A vast library of resources for farms, including business management and legal issues
• Farm Commons (Nonprofit) - Works directly with farmers to help them meet their goals by offering a range of free resources on legal issues, including workers, business structure, land, food safety, sales and contracts, and insurance. Also offers customized audits, risk analysis, and legal services for a flat fee.
• Ohio Attorney General (State Government) - Maintains a guide for businesses that explains Ohio’s key consumer protection laws
• Somali Community Association of Ohio (Nonprofit) - Legal assistance for the Somali community focused on contracts and international law

Accounting and bookkeeping are related but distinct services that help you keep track of your business finances, remain compliant with relevant taxes, and plan for the future. The Balance - Difference Between Bookkeeping and Accounting has a good overview of both practices.

If you’re able to afford it, it may be beneficial to hire a licensed accounting professional to handle both your bookkeeping and accounting needs - the most well-known licensing is the certified public accountant (CPA) license. Accountants holding a CPA license have met certain educational requirements and passed comprehensive testing of their tax and accounting knowledge. The Balance - Why Small Businesses Need a CPA has more information on why hiring a CPA may be helpful for your business.

In the early days of starting a business, you may decide to do the bookkeeping and accounting yourself. If you take this approach then you will likely need to use software to help track expenses and produce reports. There are many accounting and bookkeeping software programs out there - make sure to do your due diligence before you make any purchases.

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is an excellent resource to help you find the right accounting and bookkeeping solution for your business needs. Schedule a no-cost business advising phone appointment with SBDC for additional assistance.

It may be helpful to work with a real estate professional as you search for a commercial property that will suit your business. Columbus Realtors is a local realtor membership organization that offers both commercial real estate listings and a searchable directory of members. Columbus Realtors also maintains a glossary of real estate terms as well as a list of realtors who are fluent in a language other than English.

The Franklin County Auditor maintains public information about every parcel of land in Franklin County. Using the Property Search tool, you can find information such as the current owner, total acreage, previous transfer prices, zoning and land use details, tax district, school district, and current market value. The Auditor’s website also has a Tax Estimator tool that helps you calculate estimated property taxes.

You may also want to consider purchasing or leasing a landbank property. The Land Bank Center lists vacant lots from the Columbus Land Bank and the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation (COCIC), which serves as Franklin County’s landbank outside Columbus. There are rules and restrictions associated with purchasing or leasing a Land Bank property so please direct any inquiries to the City of Columbus Land Development office.

Finding, hiring, and working with a good contractor can be very intimidating. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - Hiring a Contractor guide will help you think about things such as checking qualifications and licenses, signing a contract, keeping records, and identifying potential scams. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) - Hiring a Contractor and Home Adviser - Guide to Hiring a Contractor resources may also help you ask the right questions and make the best decision when hiring a contractor.

Business insurance can help protect your business assets and personal assets from unexpected catastrophes. Businesses also may be required to carry certain types of insurance:

• The federal government requires every business with employees to carry workers’ compensation insurance, which you can learn more about on the Following the Law page
• The State of Ohio requires that all business-owned vehicles must be covered by commercial auto insurance
• Your landlord may require you to carry specific property insurance
• On occasion, clients and customers may require you to carry a certain level of liability insurance

The Small Business Administration (SBA) - Get Business Insurance resource provides information on the different types of business insurance and steps for purchasing insurance.

FindLaw - Business Liability and Insurance provides a helpful overview of business liability and insurance options for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Farm Commons offers a range of free insurance resources for growers and producers, including crop insurance, property insurance, and liability for workers and customers.

If you’re not sure what kind of business insurance you need you can schedule a no-cost business advising phone appointment with Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for additional assistance.

There are many organizations that offer training, workshops, and even ongoing education opportunities for entrepreneurs and business owners.

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Minority Business Assistance Center (MBAC), and SCORE Columbus offer a range of no-cost and low-cost training that cover topics such as marketing, financial literacy, capital access, cash management, credit scores, social media, and more.

Here are other entities that offer trainings for businesses:

• Columbus Metropolitan Library - Adult Education (Public Library) - Offers free business support classes focusing on marketing, consumer demographic research, and broader education for entrepreneurs
• Columbus State Hospitality Management & Culinary Arts (Public University) - Columbus State offers a number of academic programs and certifications focused on topics such as culinary arts, nutrition and dietetics, and restaurant and food service management.
• Conway Center for Family Business (Nonprofit) - Offers business training and workshops focused on issues facing family-owned businesses. Classes are for members of the organization.
• Economic Community Development Institute (ECDI) (Nonprofit) - Offers free and low-cost business training and workshops through the Business Innovation Center.
• Kauffman FastTrac (Nonprofit) - Self-paced training opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs developed by the Kauffman Foundation
• FTC Protecting Small Businesses (Federal Government) - The Federal Trade Commission is a federal government agency charged with protecting customers and preventing deceptive, unfair, and anticompetitive business practices. The FTC offers free training to help businesses strengthen cybersecurity, protect customers’ personal information, and avoid scams that target small businesses.
• FUEL Franklinton (Nonprofit) - Offers a financial life-skills class for Westside residents (zip codes 43222, 43223, 43204) that includes topics such as budgeting, banks and credit, loan and debt management, taxes, and entrepreneurship.
• National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) Finding Farmland Course (Nonprofit) - The National Young Farmers Coalition is an advocacy network working to strengthen young farmers. The Finding Farmland Course is a series of free lessons to assist young farmers in the financial decisions related to purchasing a farm.
• Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC) (Nonprofit) - Provides outreach, information, and preliminary technical assistance to Ohio employees and business owners interested in exploring employee ownership, including a range of trainings for employee owners.
• Ohio Farmers Market Network (OFMN) - Continuing Education Program (Nonprofit) - Offers a low-cost training and certification program for farmers market managers
• OSU Extension - Franklin County (Public University) - Offers a wide range of training and ongoing education for businesses including food safety, farm management, economic development tools, and crop, vegetable, and livestock production.

Deciding on your own healthcare and the healthcare coverage for your employees is a major decision. Whether or not you are required by law to provide health insurance for your employees depends on the size of your business. The federal government offers a guide to health insurance for businesses at HealthCare.gov that may be useful for you.

• Business owners with no employees can use the Healthcare Marketplace to enroll themselves and their families in a plan that best fits their needs.
• Small employers (generally 1-50 employees) may be eligible to purchase coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), which can also allow you to claim a Small Business Health Care Tax Credit.
• For more on how the Affordable Care Act affects small businesses please refer to HealthCare.gov for more information.

The following resources identify services for treating substance use disorders, addiction, and mental illness:

• FindTreatment.gov (Federal Government) - Identifies state-licensed providers who specialize in treating substance use disorders, addiction, and mental illness.
• State of Ohio - Find Mental Health Providers (State Government) - Identifies provider agencies throughout the state who offer mental health services.

Identifying and securing affordable, professional child care can be a serious challenge for everyone, including small business owners. The following resources may be useful in your search:

• Childcare.gov - Ohio (Federal Government) - Provides information on Ohio’s child care resources, including licensing, inspection reports, regulations, and more
• Franklin County - Jobs & Family Services (JFS) - Child Care - (Local Government) Provides a range of services and resources to support working families and help eligible families pay for child care services
• State of Ohio - Search for Early Care and Education Programs (State Government) - Helps Ohio residents locate early care and education programs and learn about each program’s licensing status, Step Up To Quality rating, and inspection results