There will be a lot of ‘new’ happening when the ball drops at the stroke of midnight, ringing in 2021. New year. New administration. New regulations. New to-do lists. New resolutions. Some of these ‘news’ we know for sure, and some are still in the works. What isn’t new, is simplyHR wanting to make sure you are always in-the-know of the ‘new’! Here is the ‘new’ we know right now.
If you have questions on the Colorado Work-Share Program or any other HR concern please visit https://larimersbdc.org/what-we-do/consulting/ to schedule a free one-on-one consultation.
Polaris Law Group
Starting a business puts you and your business into the public domain. Your address and information now live online (as a requirement), as do other pieces of information such as when you need to renew with the Colorado Secretary of State, whether you have employees, and whether you have a trademark.
As a result of this required information being public, unsavory companies will have access to your information. These companies send out notices to public companies that have obligations with these public entities. They attempt to have companies pay for services that are either free or low cost.
Take, for example, your periodic report.
Your actual periodic report needs to be filed with the Colorado Secretary of State via its website every year. You receive a notice for it about three months before its final due date. It costs $10.00 to file online. The e-notice comes from the Colorado Secretary of State (e-mail suffix @sos.state.co.us). It has a header that includes the Secretary of State’s name and the website (www.sos.state.co.us). It will inform you that this is an automatically generated email at the bottom, with a contact e-mail address with a suffix @sos.state.co.us.
A scam notice or instruction will be by mail, most often. It will be titled something along the lines of “DATE – Periodic Report Instruction Form”. It will include a processing fee along with the $10 fee. It will request for checks payable to a non-state address (for example, “Workplace Compliance Services”). It may have space for a credit card form. Sometimes, they will have scary wording as well, such as informing you that you will be shut down.
If ever in doubt about a notice from the Secretary of State, Colorado Division of Labor, or United States Patent and Trademark Office, send it to your attorney or bring it to the SBDC. We can tell you if it is official or a scam.
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Front Range Community College
4616 South Shields St
Blanca Peak 151
Fort Collins, CO 80526
Ph: 970-204-8600
info@larimersbdc.org
The Colorado Small Business Development Center Network is a partnership between the State of Colorado, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the Small Business Administration (SBA), Colorado’s institutions of higher education, local economic development organizations and local chambers of commerce. Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U. S. Small Business Administration.
