Nationwide "Virtual" Firm?...Licencing and Legal Issues?

Hi All -

I've been thinking about doing some marketing on a nationwide scale as a "virtual" firm. Besides making sure I have good cyber security, does anyone see any potential problems with "jurisdiction", etc.?

Assuming I'm only doing business (i.e. have no nexus anywhere but) in my home state, do I have any additional exposure?

I have (and I know lots of you do) clients currently that live out of state and I do their fed and state returns all virtually. But, just because I have no problems now, with a few of these, doesn't mean that I have all my ducks in a row to "scale" it.

Any insights you guys might have would be greatly appreciated. Or, if you have any referrals to someone who would be a good "consultant" for this kind of thing, that would be super too.

Thanks!!!

You might want to do some checking about advertising "as a CPA" in other states in which you are not licensed. I believe Texas has some rules about it which might affect you.

Strangely, CA expects out of state preparers to register with CTEC. I've prepared CA returns and probably 20 other states and have never had any rejected. Seems the rules of interstate commerce would apply and a quick inet search shows many firms doing exactly what you want to do.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the input. What I need to do now is find a niche...I've been toying with the niche's of:

dentists & orthodontists
dental/ortho laboratories
people with rental properties
creative types (web design, advertising, etc.)

Maybe this deserves a separate post, but I'm curious to hear what niches have worked for others.

Great idea. Attorneys, Engineers......anything with a specialized trade organization and/or licensing requirements would be a good candidate. There are firms doing attorneys, dentists and doctors nationwide that I think do very well. As far as licensing, I thought the general requirement was: If you enter the state to do the work, then you need to be licensed. I don't see a problem with advertising as long as you are clear on your office location.