Our Small Business Assistance Office places a special emphasis on providing the in-depth information that is so crucial to business success yet too costly for many businessmen and women to obtain on their own.
We help reduce the expense in terms of money, time, expertise, and lost opportunity for startups and established businesses alike by offering individual consultation services along with a comprehensive series of business guidebooks.
Our consultants field all kinds of inquiries, ranging from basic process questions (What form do I need to file, where do I get it, and with whom do I file it?) to addressing far more complex regulatory, financial, managerial, business structure and other questions.
Contact one of our consultants:
The Small Business Assistance Office maintains the Minnesota ELicensing web portal where you can access licensing information for over 765 licenses / permits / registrations / certifications administered by 47 state agencies. You can find the licenses you need, whether business, professional, recreational, or vehicle in one spot. Information is accessible in a variety of ways: by topic, by agency, name of license, or using a keyword search. Features on this portal include online application and renewal forms, electronic payment options, license look-up links, and detailed contact information.
The State of Minnesota has an a accounting and procurement system called StateWide Integrated Financial Tools (SWIFT). Vendors can interact with the state through the Supplier Portal, which is part of SWIFT. The Supplier Portal allows vendors to login and view payment detail as well as maintain address and contact information related to their vendor record.
If you are interested in doing business with the state of Minnesota, you must register through the Supplier Portal. The Supplier Portal is part of the state's accounting and procurement system. It consolidates the state's vendor registration function and provides vendors with options.Before logging in to the Supplier Portal for the first time, it is important to review the comprehensive resources on registration for current and new vendors at Vendor Resources.
Registered vendors can view certain solicitation announcements through the Supplier Portal. They can also respond to certain solicitations in an online bidding process. Solicitations for goods and services (including professional services and large-dollar construction projects) are advertised at Solicitation Announcements.
See Vendor Information at Department of Administration, Office of State Procurement
Far from generic advice, our business guidebooks are written specifically for companies that will be doing business in Minnesota and operating under Minnesota laws and regulations.
Our guidebook A Guide to Starting a Business in Minnesota is the most comprehensive reference of its kind and a must read for anyone contemplating the startup or purchase of an existing business.
Our other in-depth guidebooks are produced in collaboration with major Minnesota law firms and subject matter experts on such topics as employment law, Internet commerce, securities offerings, franchising, debt financing, loan documentation, and intellectual property protection.
All are available to view, download or print.
Here are our current offerings:
Small Business Notes is a monthly newsletter that provides timely, accurate and useful information on topics of interest to small businesses in Minnesota.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Proposes New Rule Exempting "Finders" From Registration
CDC Provides New Definition of "Close Contact" for COVID-19 Prevention
UPDATE: Lawsuit Challenges Executive Order 13950
New SEC Rule Addresses Securities Offering Limits and Individual Investor Limits
U.S. Department of Labor Publishes Proposed Rule on Independent Contractor Status
Presidential Executive Order Prohibits Use of Certain Types of Diversity, Inclusion, and Bias Training by Federal Contractors and Grantees
Thirteen State Attorneys General Object to U.S. Small Business Administration's Rule on Appeals Under the Payroll Protection Program
Internal Revenue Service Notes that PPP Lenders Should Not Provide Borrowers with Loans Forgiven Under the CARES Act with Form 1099-C or Other Payee Statement
Securities and Exchange Commission Adopts Changes to Definition of Accredited Investor
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Approves New IPO Alternative But With High Market Value of Shares Requirement
New Treasury Notice on Deferral of Social Security Taxes Leaves Questions Unresolved
A Reminder to Minnesota Sole Proprietor Businesses to Check Their Business Registration
U.S. Small Business Administration Announces Availability of Disaster Loans for Losses Resulting from Recent Civil Unrest
U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Some .Com Domain Names Can Have Trademark Protection
Important Information for Reopening and Returning to Work: CDC Adds New Conditions for COVID-19 Risk
Important Reminder: PPP Flexibility Act Broadens Deferral of Employer's Share of Social Security Tax
U.S. Department of Labor Seeks Comments on Potential Changes to Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Employers Take Note: CDC Issues Alert on Dangers of Methanol Based Hand Sanitizers
U.S. Supreme Court: Discharging an Employee on the Basis of Homosexuality or Transgender Status is Unlawful
Minnesota Supreme Court Retains "Severe or Pervasive" Test in Sexual Harassment Claims Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act But Notes It's Evolving Nature
Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act Becomes Law
U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Releases New Guidance for Employers on Recording COVID-19 Cases
CDC Updates Webpage On How Coronavirus Spreads
Federal Financial Institutions Regulators Publish Principles to Guide Making Small Dollar Loans
Payroll Protection Program Loans: What Constitutes a "Completed Application"
Pandemic's Effects Leave Many Small Businesses With No Choice But Liquidation
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Offers Temporary Relief From Some Regulation Crowdfunding Requirements in Order to Expedite Offerings
New Internal Revenue Service Notice Addresses Deductibility of Expenses Paid with PPP Funds
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Offers Guidance to Employers on COVID-19 Testing in the Workplace
Reopening a Retail or Consumer Products Business -- First Considerations
Business Income Tax Effects of the CARES Act
U.S. Center for Disease Control Releases Interim Guidance for Employers Regarding Control of Coronavirus in the Workplace
Securities and Exchange Commission Proposed Changes to Definition of "Accredited Investor" for Natural Persons
In Light of the Coronavirus Outbreak in China the U.S. Center for Disease Control Has Issued an Instruction to Employers Cautioning Against Discrimination toward Chinese Employees
January 1, 2020 Is Effective Date for New Minnesota Minimum Wage Rates; Minneapolis and Saint Paul Rates Effective January 1, 2020 or July 1, 2020 Depending on Business Size
U.S. Department of Labor Releases New Rule on "Joint-Employer" Standard
U.S. Small Business Administration Publishes Final Rule Implementing "Small Business Runway Extension Act" Providing New Method of Size Calculation for Businesses Using Revenue Based Size Standards
U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Adopts New Rule Allowing "Test the Waters" Communication by Securities Issuers to Institutional Buyers and Accredited Investors
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Discrimination "Because of Sex" in Cases Involving Sexual Orientation and Transgender Status
U.S. House of Representatives Passes New Regulatory Requirement for Start-Ups and Small Businesses. Senate Action Still Uncertain
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Decision That Mobile Apps Used to Access Company Website Are Subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act
New Treasury Regulation Clarifies Self Employment Tax for Partners in a Partnership That Owns a Disregarded Entity
New Federal Law Offers Opportunity for Small Business Reorganization in Bankruptcy
U.S. Department of Justice Settles Claim Involving Fast Food Franchisee's Employment Discrimination Against Work-Authorized Non-U.S. Citizens
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rule Adopting New Standards for Salary Minimums for Exemption from Overtime Pay Requirements for Executive, Administrative, or Professional Employees
Census Bureau to Publish New Report on Business Owner Demographics of Non-Employer Small Businesses
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Sets September 30, 2019, Deadline for Receipt of New Pay and Hours Worked Data
U.S. Department of Labor Announces Availability of New Online Toolkit to Aid Employers In Complying with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Provisions of Minnesota's New "Wage Theft" Law Take Effect July 1 and August 1
Internal Revenue Service Releases Proposed Income Tax Regulations on Cloud Transactions and Transfer of Digital Content
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Seeks Comment on Major Questions Surrounding Harmonization of Securities Offering Exemptions
UPDATE: SBA Proposes Rules on Small Business Size Standards and Calculation of Annual Receipts
(See: Small Business Notes for May, 2019, "Still No Movement on Small Business Administration Rules on Small Business Runway Extension Act")
New Law Gives Original Jurisdiction to Minnesota District Courts on Disputes Relating to Public Procurement
Still No Movement on Small Business Administration Rules on Small Business Runway Extension Act
Federal Trade Commission Announces First Enforcement Decisions and Orders in Enforcement of the Consumer Review Fairness Act
U.S. Department of Labor Reviews Standards for Workers as Employees or Independent Contractor in "Gig-Economy" and "Virtual Marketplace" Context
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Posts Online Tutorial for Proposals for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grants
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals Affirms SBA Area Office Denial of 8(a) Disadvantaged Business Application Based on Gender Discrimination Not Directly Connected to Applicants Business Activity
A Caution from a Recent Federal Trade Secrets Case: Proprietary Information May Not Be a Trade Secret Absent Reasonable Efforts to Protect It
Proposed Legislation Responds to Minnesota Court of Appeals Decision Allowing City of Minneapolis to Require Employers to Pay a Minimum Wage Greater than that Required by Minnesota Statute
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Opinion Letter on Delay in Designating Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Qualifying Leave as Actual FMLA Leave and on Providing FMLA leave Beyond the Statutory 12 Week Entitlement
Briefly Noted: U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Copyright Registration Occurs Only When Copyright Office Actually Issues Registration
Securities and Exchange Commission Amends Regulation A+ Rules to Allow Use by Reporting Companies
Bill Introduced in Minnesota Legislature to Give Primary Jurisdiction to Minnesota District Courts in Public Procurement Actions
U.S. Supreme Court, In a Unanimous Decision, Addresses When a Commercial Sale Of an Invention To a Party Required by Terms of Sale to Keep the Invention Confidential Can Prevent Inventor from Obtaining a Patent
U.S. Supreme Court to Address Legal Precedent on Deference Due by Courts to Regulatory Agency's Interpretation of Its Own Ambiguous Regulations
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Opinion Letter: Rate of Pay is An "Actual Fact" Not An Arbitrary Choice When Computing An Employee's Overtime Pay
Some Emerging Technologies May Soon Be Subject to Export Control Regulations
Some Federal Contractors May Lose Small Business Status Under New Law if U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Delays Rulemaking
Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Holds that Employee Request for Religious Accommodation May Not Be Protected Activity under Anti-Retaliation Provision of Title VII of Civil Rights Act
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Releases Draft of New Form 8996 for Taxpayers to Use with Qualified Opportunity Fund
Calculating W-2 Wages for Internal Revenue Code Section 199A
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Issues Invitation to File Briefs on Questions of Employee Use of Employer E-Mail and Communications Systems for Protected Activity
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Physical Presence Nexus But Allows "Economic Nexus" for Collection of State Sales Tax by Online Sellers
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Seeks Comment on Proposed Goals for Disadvantaged Businesses
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Regulation Amendments to Increase Employers' Ability to Offer Health Coverage to Employees
Will Cryptocurrencies Ever Make Sense for Small Businesses?
Small Business Issues Emerge in Oral Argument on Internet Sales Tax Collection
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Cost of Remediation as an Affirmative Defense to Suit Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) [Disability Support Alliance; Eric Wong v. Heartwood Enterprises, LLC, No. 16-1759 (March 21, 2018)]
Minnesota Court of Appeals Affirms that the Minnesota Human Rights Act Does Not Impose a Duty on Employers to Engage in an Interactive Process to Identify Possible Disability Accommodations
"Kill-Quill" Legislation to Get U.S. Supreme Court Review
Federal Court Upholds U.S. Small Business Administration Decision to Remove Business from List of Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business but Says that Decision Leads to "Draconian and Perverse Results"
New Tax Law Makes Important Expansions for Small Business Expensing
Pre-Markup Business Provisions in the Proposed "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" (H.R. 1)
Certiorari Sought in Case Questioning When Copyright Registration Occurs
U.S. Tax Court Rebuffs IRS Effort to Narrow Scope of "Reasonable Reliance" on Advice of Tax Professional
SEC Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies Asks Full Commission to Act Soon on Issue of Finders and Financial Intermediaries
2017 Legislature Clarifies Exemptions From Securities Integration for Offerings Using MNvest Crowdfunding
2017 Legislature Imposes Sales Tax Obligation on Some Marketplaces That Facilitate Sales by Third Party Sellers Located Outside Minnesota
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business Takes Testimony On Reversing the Decline in Entrepreneurial Activity
Congress Takes Testimony on Joint Employer Standards
First Decision in Lawsuit on Website Accessibility Under Federal Americans With Disabilities Act
U.S. supreme court decision May Work to Restrain "Patent Trolls"
Federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Issues Guidance to Federal Agencies on Implementing January 30, 2017 Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs
U.S. House of Representatives Passes Bill Amending Regulation D to Allow for Road Shows and Demo Days Without Running Afoul of Prohibition on General Solicitation
