Q's: Registering as Developer

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Raveshaper
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26 Feb 2015

I have a couple questions about registering as a developer since I am interested in doing so. This may not be in the right forum section but I felt this didn't belong in the Rack Extensions area because this isn't about any specific existing RE.

1) I have heard it said that I can register using my real name as the company and get started developing on my own time, then update my information with the LLC, website, and customer support requirements at a later date when I'm ready to bring things to market. This doesn't seem right but would be advantageous for me if true. I want to explore the gamut so it's not as simple as only applying for Remote.

2) In any event, once I begin development is it necessary or best practice to have a dedicated computer for code testing purposes? In years past, testing executable code in IDEs would introduce system instability and undesired behavior that was not present prior to the beginning of programming. Granted, that was in the early 2000's on bargain PCs. I wouldn't want to have my normal Reason install to become less stable or for my system to suffer because of my development activities.

Thanks very much :)
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avasopht
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26 Feb 2015

Please send all questions to Propellerhead support. If they keep getting the same questions they may their forms and information :)

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ScuzzyEye
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26 Feb 2015

QwaizanG wrote:2) In any event, once I begin development is it necessary or best practice to have a dedicated computer for code testing purposes? In years past, testing executable code in IDEs would introduce system instability and undesired behavior that was not present prior to the beginning of programming. Granted, that was in the early 2000's on bargain PCs. I wouldn't want to have my normal Reason install to become less stable or for my system to suffer because of my development activities.
I haven't noted any stability problems after installing Visual Studio, but it really does install a lot of stuff, so it may be better to have a dedicated machine, but not needed.

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Olivier
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26 Feb 2015

ScuzzyEye wrote:I haven't noted any stability problems after installing Visual Studio, but it really does install a lot of stuff, so it may be better to have a dedicated machine, but not needed.
That is also my experience.
:reason: V9 | i7 5930 | Motu 828 MK3 | Win 10

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Raveshaper
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26 Feb 2015

It just doesn't make economic sense at this point for me to spend over $100 to form an LLC and go through all those hoops when I don't even have the means of understanding what I can do or which of my ideas are possible within the SDK. I want to learn it and then build my units before preparing for launch. I'll ask them and report back what I find out.
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Lizard
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26 Feb 2015

I am building IDT Re on my home machine right now.  I do not have a registered LLC at this moment.  I have three projects under development.  I also have Visual Studio installed on my my PC which I use for music, photo editing and the occasional game.  All things seem to be harmonious.  If I had the resources to run separate computers I probably would just because I think it's good sense to do so but not everyone will have the luxury. I'd have to see a couple Re's before I could make that happen.  :D

avasopht
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26 Feb 2015

QwaizanG wrote:It just doesn't make economic sense at this point for me to spend over $100 to form an LLC and go through all those hoops when I don't even have the means of understanding what I can do or which of my ideas are possible within the SDK. I want to learn it and then build my units before preparing for launch. I'll ask them and report back what I find out.
That's why I'm suggesting you just message them about that. I am a licensed developer and have raised this as an issue as I keep seeing people like yourself asking the same questions.

Problem is, if we keep providing the answers, Propellerhead will never realise they have a problem with their forms, etc.

Regarding #2, things have changed a great deal since then (as ScuzzyEye has mentioned).

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Pepin
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26 Feb 2015

QwaizanG wrote: 1) I have heard it said that I can register using my real name as the company and get started developing on my own time, then update my information with the LLC, website, and customer support requirements at a later date when I'm ready to bring things to market. This doesn't seem right but would be advantageous for me if true. I want to explore the gamut so it's not as simple as only applying for Remote.
Since you mention an LLC, I assume you're in the U.S.

In that case, you can simply function as a Sole Proprietorship. Your business name is your full name, and your TIN number is your social security number. There's no paperwork or fee involved (though you can register a "Doing Business As" name if you want a "real" business name and get an EIN number if you don't want to give out your social security number).

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Lizard
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27 Feb 2015

Pepin wrote:Since you mention an LLC, I assume you're in the U.S.

In that case, you can simply function as a Sole Proprietorship. Your business name is your full name, and your TIN number is your social security number. There's no paperwork or fee involved (though you can register a "Doing Business As" name if you want a "real" business name and get an EIN number if you don't want to give out your social security number).
I have yet to register my "Company" with Propellerhead yet because I haven't looked into all the details.  If I understand you correctly (as I am a US Citizen) all I have to do is use my social for a Tax ID number?  Profits made from the sales are then claimed on myself personally at the end of the year?  Not really sure how this works.  Interested to hear more.

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Pepin
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27 Feb 2015

Lizard wrote:If I understand you correctly (as I am a US Citizen) all I have to do is use my social for a Tax ID number?  Profits made from the sales are then claimed on myself personally at the end of the year?
Yes, that's exactly how it works :)

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Lizard
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27 Feb 2015

@Pepin - OK.  That's cool.  I registered my Company with Propellerhead as Combinator HQ which is what I'll keep I believe.  Will I have to change it to my given name or will this be acceptable?  Pardon my ignorance.  I have worked for "the man" my whole life.  ;)

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Raveshaper
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27 Feb 2015

Exactly my confusion. Just as the lack of creative commons made people step back from Discover, the business registration and liability aspects of being a developer that have very real economic impacts on the individuals who sign up makes me step back from registering.
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Pepin
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27 Feb 2015

Lizard wrote:@Pepin - OK.  That's cool.  I registered my Company with Propellerhead as Combinator HQ which is what I'll keep I believe.  Will I have to change it to my given name or will this be acceptable?  Pardon my ignorance.  I have worked for "the man" my whole life.  ;)
You can either use your real name or register a "Doing Business As" name (Combinator HQ in your case). Exactly how you do this varies by state. You should be able to find the info here:
https://www.sba.gov/content/register-wi ... e-agencies

Hope that helps :)

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ScuzzyEye
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27 Feb 2015

QwaizanG wrote:Exactly my confusion. Just as the lack of creative commons made people step back from Discover, the business registration and liability aspects of being a developer that have very real economic impacts on the individuals who sign up makes me step back from registering.
This is true for any business, and varies from location to location. The Props have to do their taxes properly, so they need to know the tax information of who they are selling things for. They can't know what's required for every country, state, or city in the world, so that's left up to you.

I think it is a fair bar of entry. If you can't bothered to do a little foot work to figure out what's required to be legally responsible, then why should they give you access to their proprietary documentation?

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Lizard
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27 Feb 2015

QwaizanG wrote:Exactly my confusion. Just as the lack of creative commons made people step back from Discover, the business registration and liability aspects of being a developer that have very real economic impacts on the individuals who sign up makes me step back from registering.
I still wouldn't see that as a reason for not registering.  I did it just to see how easy or difficult it is to use their developer materials.  I'm well into creating my devices and think I'll be able to create something worth while.  Registering for access and providing the necessary information to sell.... two different things.

I've looked into creating a company here in the US and there seems to be many options.  All have different levels of involvement, complexities... whatnot.  Through LegalZoom I looked and you can create a company's TIN/EIN, offer TAX and legal advice and a slew of other things for around $300.  Which is still pretty cheap all things considered.  But if simply using my social and claiming my earnings as additional income works opposed to having to file tax forms for myself and a company I'll go the easier and cheaper route.  I just didn't know that was possible.  Thanks for that Pepin!  :s0801:

avasopht
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27 Feb 2015

QwaizanG wrote:Exactly my confusion. Just as the lack of creative commons made people step back from Discover, the business registration and liability aspects of being a developer that have very real economic impacts on the individuals who sign up makes me step back from registering.
There are no economic impacts signing up. There are only economic impacts when you receive payment for a product you have released to the market - as is true everywhere else :)

To just look at the SDK, no implications.

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rcbuse
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27 Feb 2015

Lizard wrote: I've looked into creating a company here in the US and there seems to be many options.  All have different levels of involvement, complexities... whatnot.  Through LegalZoom I looked and you can create a company's TIN/EIN, offer TAX and legal advice and a slew of other things for around $300. 
If you are going to be a one man shop, no employees, I would suggest looking into forming an LLC with just yourself, and doing your taxes as pass though.  It provides you with a legal entity and legal protection if there is trouble, and it makes doing your taxes easier.

 

KEVMOVE02
Posts: 267
Joined: 26 Jan 2015

27 Feb 2015

It is always good to hear people wanting to chase their dreams and start their own business. As good as the advice has been in this thread, you really need to do two things:
  1. Complete the developer application process. You will learn more about the requirements if you let Propellerhead tell you what hurdles you need to clear to be approved. I don't know if you saw this FAQ https://www.propellerheads.se/developer ... signup.php, which answers a lot of questions about the process.
  2. Get advice from a business tax professional. Once you start a registered business, you are obligated to comply with all the commerce laws and regulations in the places you conduct business. This is especially true of goods and services sold online. The last thing you want is to get a letter in the mail stating that you owe xxx dollars for failing to have the proper permits and licenses to do business in East Jablip or that you are being sued for failure to report and pay sales and use tax on products sold online to the fine citizens of Boss Hogg County. Ignorance of the law is not a defense. I attended a some free workshops offered at my local Chamber of Commerce. That my be a good place to start.

avasopht
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27 Feb 2015

Personally I think there are problems Propellerhead could easily address but unless people like Qwaizan communicate with Propellerhead, Propellerhead will never know that there is a serious problem with their form.

Thing is, Propellerhead are of the "figure things out for yourself camp," so although you don't have to register a company to become a RE developer, they still include it in the form despite the obvious issues it raises for people because as far as they're concerned, you can just contact support.

But what people tend to do is instead of taking that very simple 30 second step of sending Propellerhead an email they start a thread with users, users tell them they don't have to register as a company, but still people seem to see it as a bigger hurdle than it actually is :/

Yonatan
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27 Feb 2015

Yes, earlier I thought one had to have a business, missed out on the signs * 

I was about to register this week but after writing,
I noticed that all of it was not present in the new site.
A few vital final parts are missing.
This means that as for now, none can register. 

I did send an email few days ago but have not got any reply yet.

I really hope that no "big names" are about to sign up now,
as they would just get annoyed about that it does not work.

https://www.propellerheads.se/developer/apply-start.php

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Raveshaper
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27 Feb 2015

I contacted support two days ago, no reply yet. I'll go over the more detailed advice and submit my application.
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Raveshaper
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01 Mar 2015

Still have not heard a peep from Stockholm. I tried to register but it insists on having a developer site. It's just as well since I don't really feel comfortable giving out my SSN, but I'll look into setting up a site for a small fee somewhere. I've been thinking about setting up my own blog about CV experiments and the like so I'll investigate that. They don't say which kind of site you should have, so I'll be creative.
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PSoames
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Location: Somerset, UK

01 Mar 2015

QwaizanG wrote:
1) I have heard it said that I can register using my real name as the company and get started developing on my own time, then update my information with the LLC, website, and customer support requirements at a later date when I'm ready to bring things to market. This doesn't seem right but would be advantageous for me if true. I want to explore the gamut so it's not as simple as only applying for Remote. :)

You can apply with your name or a company name and update to registered company details prior to going to market.

Website information is asked for but this is a simple and cheap pre-requisite, however I don't think this is too rigorously checked.

Qwaizan, just apply with the info you can provide, if anything is missing, they will let you know.

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ScuzzyEye
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01 Mar 2015

The domain name for website is absolutely required, as it gets hard coded into the internal Rack Extension name (see the Remote maps), and forms the base directory for all the REs from one company on the user's computer. It probably isn't checked, but as it is a unique identifier for the developer's REs, it would really be nice if you pick a domain that you control, and can't be claimed by someone else.

Like if you make up, coolrackextensions.com, but don't actually own it. Then another developer later does actually register it, and wants to use what is rightfully theirs, someone is going to have some explaining to do.

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Raveshaper
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01 Mar 2015

I did, but the form requires a website so it denied my submission. I wonder if blogger would work for now. It's not like I'm going to be selling anything right away. Although I do like squarespace.
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