Starting a Business in Taylorsville, Utah: The Bookkeeping to Set Up First

What bookkeeping should you set up when you start a business in Taylorsville?

Four things, and all of them before the first customer pays you: a business bank account, a way to record every transaction, somewhere for the paperwork to live, and a monthly check against the bank. The risk is timing. If the first months get recorded later, from memory, the books start out full of guesses.

Taylorsville adds a sequence of its own. The city's licensing page lists what to do before you apply, and those same steps hand you the name and numbers your books will use.

What does Taylorsville ask for before you get a license?

The city's business licensing page is blunt about it: if you have a business in Taylorsville, you must get a business license from the city, and that applies to all businesses. You apply through the city's online business licensing dashboard, and the city says it does not accept applications from third-party companies that fill them out for customers. So this one is yours to do. That's the city page as checked in October 2026.

Before applying, the same page asks anyone doing business in Utah under a business name to register that name with the Utah Department of Commerce, whose corporations site is where new businesses and DBAs are formed. It also points owners to the IRS to check whether they need an EIN. Businesses selling tangible items get a note about a state sales tax number, which the city says can be done on the Commerce registration site or with the Utah State Tax Commission. Questions about whether it applies to you belong with your tax professional.

Why does the bank account come first?

Because everything else is built from it. IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, says one of the first things you should do when you start a business is open a business checking account, and that you should keep it separate from your personal checking account. It also says to deposit all daily receipts into that business account.

The IRS page on what records to keep explains why: it says that for most small businesses, the business checking account is the main source for entries in the books. When household groceries and work supplies share one card, someone has to sort every line by hand, and that someone is usually you, late, at year end.

Do you need an EIN before the books can start?

Not always. The IRS EIN page says you generally need one to hire employees, operate a partnership or corporation, pay sales and excise taxes, or change business structure or ownership. If you're creating an LLC or corporation, it says to form the entity with the state before you apply, or the application may be delayed.

The same page says you never have to pay a fee for an EIN, and it warns about websites that charge. Whether your particular setup needs one is a fair question for your tax professional. Once you have it, file the confirmation letter with the business records.

What should the first month of books look like?

Seven steps, in order. Steps two and three happen once, and the rest become habits.

1. Run every business deposit and every business payment through the new business checking account.
2. Choose a recording system, software or a paper ledger, that clearly shows income and expenses.
3. Set up a handful of income and expense categories that match what the business actually does.
4. Record transactions as they happen, daily if you can, rather than in a batch at month end.
5. Note where each deposit came from: customer payment, money you put in yourself, or a loan.
6. File receipts, invoices and deposit slips by year and by type of income or expense.
7. At month end, check the books against the bank statement and fix anything that doesn't agree.

The IRS recordkeeping page says any system works if it clearly shows income and expenses. Publication 583 says it's generally best to record transactions daily and to reconcile the checking account each month.

What paperwork counts as a supporting document?

The same IRS records page lists sales slips, paid bills, invoices, receipts, deposit slips and canceled checks, and says to keep them in an orderly fashion and a safe place, organized by year and type of income or expense. For an expense, it says the documents should show the payee, the amount, proof of payment, the date and what was bought.

A card statement alone often won't show what was bought. Keep the receipt with it, or write the business reason on it the day you buy.

What about running the business from home in Taylorsville?

Taylorsville's licensing page covers businesses run from the house too, under home occupation licenses. The page says business licenses must be renewed every year, with a renewal notice mailed about a month before the current license expires. It adds that most home occupation licenses don't carry a renewal fee, but the city still needs to know you're in business, and that making sure it's renewed before it expires is the owner's responsibility.

That yearly notice is a handy checkpoint. If the books aren't current when it lands, that's the month to catch them up. Inkdrop's Taylorsville bookkeeping page covers the city's licensing rules too.

Getting help with the setup

Inkdrop Bookkeeping is a West Jordan bookkeeping business, just south of Taylorsville in Salt Lake County, and it's available to owners anywhere in Utah by phone and email. New business bookkeeping setup is one of its services, and monthly bookkeeping keeps things current once the setup is done.

Questions about entity type, EINs or tax registrations stay with your tax professional. For the books themselves, call (801) 448-3672 or use the contact page to book a free call with Cara, and Inkdrop quotes once it's clear how many accounts and transactions are involved.