Your first 90 days as a US LLC owner set the pattern for everything after. This checklist walks you through the documents to keep, the EIN and bank steps, and the filing dates you need on your calendar.
Days 1 to 7: save your formation documents
As soon as your LLC is formed, you get a set of documents. Keep digital and physical copies of all of them. You will need them for banking, Stripe, and tax filings.
Save these:
- Articles of organization or certificate of formation, filed with the state
- Your EIN confirmation letter from the IRS once it arrives
- Operating agreement, for LLCs, or bylaws, for C-Corporations
- Registered agent confirmation
- Your business address details
If you are on a PowerLaunch plan, all of these sit inside your MyCG.AI account. You do not have to hunt through email threads to find them later.
Days 1 to 14: get your EIN
Your EIN is your business's tax ID. You cannot open a bank account, run payroll, or file federal returns without it.
If you have a US Social Security number, the EIN usually comes back in days. If you are a non-resident owner without one, expect 2 to 4 weeks through the standard process. Expedited processing brings that down to days, and it is available as an add on to the Launch and Run plans.
Do not guess your EIN or use a placeholder anywhere. Wait for the real number before you apply for a bank account or set up Stripe.
Days 7 to 21: sign your operating agreement or bylaws
Your operating agreement, for an LLC, or your bylaws, for a C-Corporation, spell out how the business is owned and run. Banks and payment processors often ask to see a signed copy. Investors will ask too, if you take on a C-Corp with multiple shareholders.
Sign it even if you are the only owner. An unsigned agreement sitting in a folder does not protect you the way a signed one does. If your details change, ownership split, manager, address, update it and sign again.
Weeks 2 to 6: open your bank account
Once your EIN letter is in hand, you can apply for a US business bank account. PowerLaunch introduces founders to Mercury, Wise Business, and Relay after the EIN is issued. The bank makes its own approval decision, and requirements vary by bank and by the details of your business.
Have these ready before you apply:
- EIN confirmation letter
- Formation documents
- Signed operating agreement or bylaws
- A US business address, which is included in every PowerLaunch plan
If one bank does not work out, you can usually apply to another. Do not send the same application twice while one is pending.
Weeks 3 to 8: set up Stripe and start invoicing
With your EIN and a bank account in place, you can set up Stripe to accept payments. Connect your Stripe account to your bookkeeping so that transactions flow through automatically instead of sitting in a separate spreadsheet.
The Run and Scale plans include Stripe invoicing and transaction tracking with AI categorization inside MyCG.AI, so payments in and out get sorted without manual entry.
Weeks 4 to 10: set up bookkeeping in MyCG.AI
This is the step founders skip and then regret in April. Set up your books early, not after a year of transactions has piled up.
Inside MyCG.AI you can:
- Connect multiple bank accounts
- Let AI categorize transactions as they come in
- Generate live financial reports instead of waiting for year-end
- Run monthly and quarterly closings so nothing snowballs
If you are on Run or Scale, a licensed tax professional consultation is included, and Scale adds a dedicated bookkeeper who works with your numbers directly. This matters most in the first 90 days, when small mistakes are cheap to fix and expensive to fix later.
Your first filing calendar
Mark these dates as soon as your LLC exists. Requirements shift from state to state and from year to year, so treat this as a starting point and confirm details with your state's site.
| Filing | Who it applies to | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Annual state report | Most LLCs and C-Corps | Varies by state, often once a year |
| Form 5472 with pro forma 1120 | Foreign-owned single-member LLCs | By April 15 |
| BOI report | US-formed companies | Currently exempt under the 2026 interim FinCEN rule |
| Business IRS tax filings | All active businesses | Depends on entity type and state, confirm with a tax professional |
State report deadlines and fees are set by each state, not by PowerLaunch, so check your state's site if you are unsure of your exact date. The Run and Scale plans include the annual state report filing and business IRS tax filings, so this calendar is handled for you rather than tracked in a spreadsheet.
Choosing the right plan for your first 90 days
| Need | Launch $295/yr | Run $1,995/yr | Scale $2,995/yr or $329/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formation, EIN, operating agreement, registered agent | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Annual state report filing | No | Yes | Yes |
| Business IRS tax filings | No | Yes | Yes |
| Bookkeeping, invoicing, live reports | No | Yes | Yes |
| Dedicated bookkeeper | No | No | Yes |
| Expedited EIN | Add-on $295 | Add-on $295 | Included |
State filing fees are billed at cost on every plan. If a formation error is PowerLaunch's fault, it gets corrected at no charge and that part of the fee is refunded, though state fees themselves are never refundable.
What to do next
Your first 90 days go smoother when the paperwork, the bank steps, and the bookkeeping are set up in the right order rather than in a rush before a deadline. If you already have your LLC, book a free 20-minute consultation at powerlaunch.solutions/book to walk through where you are and what is left to do. If you are still forming your business, go to powerlaunch.solutions/signup and pick the plan that matches how much of this checklist you want handled for you.
