Done for you LLC paperwork and bookkeeping setup for artists

You are probably here because you want one simple thing: to make art, not sit with tax forms and spreadsheets at midnight. The short answer is yes, you can get a full, done for you LLC paperwork and bookkeeping setup so you do not have to figure out legal forms, bookkeeping software, or tax categories on your own. Someone can file the LLC for you, get your EIN, set up your chart of accounts, connect your payment tools, and hand you a clean system that is ready to go so you can get back to painting, building sets, editing projections, or whatever your thing is.

That is the TL;DR. You do not have to become your own accountant. You do not have to spend three days trying to understand state filing portals. You can outsource the whole structure so that your creative work sits on top of something steady and legal.

But if you work in set design, immersive theater, or any kind of arts work that mixes freelance gigs, grants, and random one-off jobs, it is worth knowing what you are actually buying when you pay for that kind of help, and what you still have to do yourself.

Why an LLC even matters for artists and theater people

You might already be thinking: “Do I really need an LLC? I just do a few shows a year, maybe a mural, maybe a projection design gig. Is this overkill?”

Not always. Sometimes a simple sole proprietor setup is fine. But there are clear reasons artists, designers, and small production teams pick an LLC.

For most independent artists, an LLC is less about being fancy and more about separating your personal life from your project risks and messy income.

Here is where an LLC actually helps in everyday creative work:

• You separate your personal assets from your project work.
• It is easier to bring in collaborators, producers, or partners under one entity.
• Clients, venues, and galleries sometimes prefer paying a registered business instead of an individual.
• Grant applications and production agreements often feel smoother when there is an entity name.
• Tax planning gets a bit cleaner when your gigs are not tangled with your personal bank account.

Imagine this: you design and build an immersive installation in a warehouse. There is rigging, light structures, plywood platforms, all of that. Something goes wrong, someone gets hurt, and there is a legal claim. If everything runs through your personal name and bank account, you can be personally exposed. An LLC is not a magic shield, but it can create a real separation.

Now, I will be honest. Some people form an LLC and then still mix everything. They pay rent from the business account, skip contracts, never track receipts. In that case, the legal benefit weakens. The structure only helps if you treat it as a real business, even if the business is weird immersive experiences with fog machines and fake doors.

What “done for you” LLC paperwork usually includes

When someone says they offer a full LLC setup for artists, it can mean very different things. Some services only file your basic forms. Others create a full system around your art.

Here is what a strong package usually covers:

1. Formation filings and basic legal structure

This is the boring part that most artists try to avoid and then get stuck on:

• Choosing a name that is available in your state
• Filing Articles of Organization with your state
• Getting an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS
• Drafting an Operating Agreement, even if you are a single member
• Figuring out who the registered agent is

For an immersive theater group or a small design collective, the Operating Agreement can matter more than people think. It can spell out:

• Who owns what percentage of the LLC
• How money from shows, installations, and licensing gets split
• What happens if one member stops contributing or leaves mid-project

Too many groups skip this and then break apart later in a very messy way. So I would argue that paying for this part to be done carefully is worth more than the LLC filing itself.

2. Business bank and payment setup

A real “done for you” setup does not stop at a PDF confirmation that your LLC exists.

You want:

• A separate business bank account under the LLC name
• A debit card you can use for production materials, props, paints, or software
• Payment tools connected to the business, not your personal accounts

For example:

• Clients and venues pay invoices into a business account
• Ticketing revenue for an immersive show flows into that same place
• Online print sales or commission deposits do not hit your personal Venmo

Keeping this clean affects taxes, but it also affects your sanity. When you look at the business account, you see art-related money. When you look at your personal account, you see rent, groceries, and the usual life stuff. That separation makes decisions simpler.

3. Bookkeeping system tailored to how artists actually earn

Most generic small business setups assume simple, repetitive sales. Your work might look more like this:

• Four invoices from a theater company for different phases of a show
• A small grant paid out in two chunks
• A random licensing fee from an old project
• Material reimbursements that are half business, half personal
• Travel stipends for festivals and shows

A good done for you bookkeeping setup is not just someone installing QuickBooks and walking away. It is someone:

• Creating accounts that match your actual categories, not generic ones
• Labeling income by project so you can see what is really working
• Setting up tax categories so you know what is deductible
• Building a simple way to move money from business to you as owner

If your system is built around the way you do shows, commissions, or design work, you are more likely to keep using it when you are tired and overbooked.

What bookkeeping for artists should actually look like

At the risk of sounding blunt, most artists’ bookkeeping is an afterthought. A pile of receipts. A half-built spreadsheet. Or nothing at all.

You do not need a complex accounting system. You need something you can keep up with between tech week and site visits.

Key parts of a simple, working setup

• One business bank account and one business card
• Cloud bookkeeping software or a shared Google Sheet
• A basic chart of accounts that reflects your actual life
• Monthly check-ins, not yearly panic

Here is a sample chart of accounts tuned for set designers and immersive artists:

You can adjust the names, but you get the idea. The accounts should describe your real world, not some generic template.

How “done for you” bookkeeping usually works in practice

Different services run this differently, but a common pattern looks like this:

• They connect your business bank and credit card to the bookkeeping system.
• They categorize your transactions and ask questions when something is unclear.
• They produce simple profit and loss reports for you each month or quarter.
• They flag problems like constant overdrafts or missing invoices.

Your job then becomes:

• Use the business account for project income and project expenses.
• Upload or forward receipts as you go.
• Reply to your bookkeeper when they have questions.

That is it. You are not the bookkeeper. You are the person who keeps the money path clean.

If you cannot maintain a basic habit of “business money goes in the business account”, no service will completely fix that for you.

This is one place where I slightly disagree with how some artists talk about money. Outsourcing helps, but you still carry some responsibility. Not much. Just enough structure so that the help you pay for can actually work.

Where taxes fit into all of this

An LLC by itself does not magically reduce your taxes. That idea floats around a lot, and it is not accurate.

What the LLC really does is:

• Form a legal shell around your activity
• Help you keep your records organized
• Give you more options for how your income is taxed once it grows

For many single member LLCs, your tax filing at first is not very different from being a sole proprietor. You still report income and expenses on your personal return. The improved part is the system that supports those numbers.

Here are some tax-related things a done for you setup might include:

• Guidance on which expenses are clearly deductible for your kind of work
• Advice on quarterly estimated payments so you do not get surprised in April
• A review of whether your LLC should remain as is or elect S-Corp status later as your income grows

For example, if your immersive theater collective starts bringing in consistent five-figure or six-figure income each year, that is when the tax structure choices begin to matter more. Before that, the bigger win is usually just tracking what you already spend for your practice.

Realistic expectations: what “done for you” can and cannot solve

It is easy to think: “If I just pay someone, I never have to think about this again”. That is not totally right.

A full service package can:

• Handle the filings correctly and on time
• Create a working bookkeeping system from day one
• Guide you on how to pay yourself and track your projects

But it cannot:

• Decide your pricing for you
• Force you to use contracts with clients and venues
• Stop you from taking unpaid “exposure” gigs that drain you

If your business model is broken, even perfect bookkeeping will just show you a clear picture of how broken it is. That is still helpful, but it is not the same as fixing it.

Sometimes, when artists first see their numbers clearly, it is uncomfortable. They realize a well known show paid them less than a small local client. Or that they spent far more on materials than the stipend covered. This is not a bad discovery. It is just one that many people avoid.

Special cases for set designers and immersive artists

Your world has some quirks that generic small business templates usually ignore.

1. Multiple overlapping projects

You might be:

• Building for a mainstage show
• Doing scenic work for a commercial
• Developing your own small immersive piece on the side

All of that might be happening in the same month, using some of the same tools, storage, and people. Good bookkeeping for you tracks by project, not just by month.

In practice, that might look like:

• Tagging expenses with project names in your bookkeeping software
• Tracking which revenue came from which show or client
• Seeing project-level profit or loss over time

That way, when you look back, you can say, “The last two immersive shows lost money after build costs. The commercial gigs and teaching are what kept me afloat.” That is hard to see without project tags.

2. Cost sharing and collaborators

Immersive theater often involves shared spaces, combined budgets, and odd agreements. Maybe you share a warehouse with three other artists. Maybe you build sets where someone else pays part of the materials.

An LLC can handle this in somewhat cleaner ways:

• Your LLC pays for materials and invoices partners for their share.
• You track reimbursed vs unreimbursed costs.
• Money flows through one account instead of personal back-and-forth transfers.

If your “done for you” service understands how to set up tracking for shared costs, that can prevent a lot of confusion. If not, you may need to push back and ask for something better than a generic setup. That is one place where I would not just accept the default structure.

3. Grant and residency reporting

Grants often ask how you used funds. Some ask for detailed budgets and expense breakdowns.

With a solid bookkeeping setup, you can:

• Assign that grant to a project tag
• Track all related expenses under that tag
• Generate a simple report when the grantor asks how the money was used

This does not have to be fancy. Even a labeled spreadsheet can do it. But the key thing is that your financial records match your narrative reports. That increases trust and makes it more likely you will get support again.

What a good “done for you” package should include, in plain terms

If you are considering paying for this, here is a more direct checklist you can use. Not marketing language. Just practical points.

Formation and legal basics

• State LLC filing done for you, with clear confirmation
• EIN obtained and shared with you securely
• Operating Agreement drafted, even if simple
• Registered agent explained and set up
• Basic guidance on your state and local registrations, if needed

Bank, payment, and tools

• Instructions or help opening a business bank account
• Help connecting Stripe, PayPal, ticketing, or invoicing tools in the business name
• Simple invoice templates with your LLC branding

Bookkeeping system setup

• Bookkeeping software or structure chosen and installed
• Chart of accounts tailored to artists, not just generic retail
• Project tagging system created for shows, commissions, and installations
• Training on how to send receipts and answer questions

Tax and money habits

• Guidance on setting aside tax money from each payment
• Rough expectations for quarterly taxes based on your income level
• Clarity on what is clearly deductible vs what is not

If a service cannot explain these things in simple language, that is a red flag. If they start throwing jargon at you to sound impressive, that is also not a great sign. You should walk away feeling that you understand your own system well enough to operate it.

What you still have to do yourself

Even with the best done for you setup, there are a few things nobody can fully take off your plate.

1. Decide which projects to say yes to

No accountant or bookkeeper can:

• Tell you if a project is worth the emotional load
• Know if a particular venue is good for your long-term goals
• Measure the creative value of a show or installation

What they can show is the financial reality. But that is only one part of your decision. Sometimes you will do a piece for low pay because it matters to you. That is fine. The numbers just help you stay aware of the tradeoff.

2. Keep business and personal money separate

This is a habit problem, not a paperwork problem.

You need to:

• Use the business card for project expenses
• Pay yourself in chunks instead of dipping randomly into the business account
• Avoid paying personal bills directly from the business, except through owner draws

If you do blur the lines sometimes, you are not alone. People slip. Just be honest with your bookkeeper and try to move back toward cleaner habits.

3. Communicate when your work changes

Over time, your practice will shift. You might move from freelance design to running your own production company. Or from painting to doing mostly experiential work.

When that happens:

• Tell whoever helps you with your books
• Ask whether your structure still fits
• Check if your chart of accounts or tags need an update

A static setup built for “generic freelancer” will stop fitting if your work becomes something more structured or collaborative.

How this connects to creativity, not just compliance

This might sound a bit abstract, but a stable business base changes how you feel about your work.

When you:

• Know where your money is
• Trust that your taxes are roughly under control
• Have a clean way to see which projects help or hurt you financially

You often feel more free to experiment. You can take a strange, low paid gig because you see how it fits into your year. You can say no to a stressful project because the numbers show you do not actually need it.

On the surface, LLC filings and bookkeeping look dry. Underneath, they affect your choices in rehearsal rooms, workshops, and build spaces.

Some artists worry that becoming “official” will make their practice less sincere or more constrained. I understand that worry. I just do not fully share it.

In many cases, the structure gives you more room to take creative risks because the practical side is less chaotic.

Common questions artists ask about done for you LLC setups

Q: Is an LLC always the right move for an artist or designer?

A: No. If you are doing a handful of small gigs with low risk and limited income, a simple sole proprietorship might be fine. An LLC starts to make more sense when you have higher income, more contracts, more physical risk in your work, or you are starting to collaborate under one name. If a service tries to push you into an LLC without asking about your situation, be cautious.

Q: If someone sets up my LLC and books for me, can I still mess it up?

A: Yes. If you constantly mix personal and business money, ignore your emails, or take cash under the table without recording it, the setup cannot fully protect you. You do not have to be perfect, but you need to be willing to keep the basics in place.

Q: Do I need a separate LLC for every project or show?

A: Usually no. That is overcomplicated for most artists. One LLC can often handle many projects, tracked separately inside your bookkeeping system. Multiple entities sometimes make sense for very large productions or partnerships, but for most people that is too much. This is something you would want to talk through with a professional rather than guess.

Q: Will an LLC change how grants or residencies see me?

A: It can, in a good way, if you use it well. Some grants pay individuals, others pay organizations. Having an LLC can open both options. What matters more is the clarity of your project budgets and reports. A clean bookkeeping system will probably make your applications and follow-up stronger.

Q: If I hate numbers, is this all still worth it?

A: Disliking numbers is exactly why a done for you setup exists. You do not need to love the details. You just need to care enough to let someone else handle them while you keep the basic habits. If you can treat money as one part of your practice, not the enemy of it, this can make your studio or stage life less stressful.

If you imagine your ideal week in the studio or theater, what would change if you trusted that the business side was handled?