What licenses and registrations do I need to start a beauty supply store in Cedar Park, TX?

Seritta wrote: “I have an online beauty supply store, but I also want to sell direct, both wholesale and retail.”

Hi Seritta, Dream Beauty Essentials is an exciting name to see on a new business in Cedar Park. Hair care, wigs, and makeup are everyday essentials, and a shop that carries the right products for its community earns fiercely loyal regulars. Below we walk through the three things every new business in Texas sorts out (structure, tax IDs, and licenses) and then sum it all up.

Selling wholesale to salons or other shops works under the same Texas sales and use tax permit as your retail sales, but for each wholesale buyer, collect a signed resale certificate so you don't owe tax on those sales. Keep wholesale and retail sales separate in your records. If you start selling from a storefront or booth in Cedar Park, check the location's zoning first.

What Dream Beauty Essentials needs

1. LLC (business structure) – Forming an LLC puts a legal wall between the business and your personal assets. If a customer claims a hair dye from your shelf burned her scalp, the LLC is the target of that claim, keeping your home out of reach.
2. Texas assumed name certificate – If you operate as a sole proprietor, or under a name different from your LLC's exact legal name, registering "Dream Beauty Essentials" lets you use it on signs, invoices, and your business bank account.
3. EIN (federal tax ID number) – You plan on 1 employee, so the federal tax ID number (EIN) is required for payroll, and you will also use it for the business bank account and supplier accounts.
4. Texas sales and use tax permit – You will be selling taxable goods, so register to collect sales tax before your first sale. It also lets you buy inventory for resale without paying tax on it.
5. Texas employer ID – With 1 employee, you need a state employer account number for unemployment insurance. Texas has no state income tax on wages, so there is no withholding account to open, which is one less form to file.
6. Business license – Most places require a local business license to operate, including home-based businesses. Check the rules where Dream Beauty Essentials will operate in Cedar Park, and ask about home occupation and zoning rules if you work from home.

By the numbers: Banks, insurers, and tax forms will ask for your industry code. For a beauty supply store it is NAICS 446120 (Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Stores), 456120 under the 2022 update. With 1 employee planned, you are already creating jobs in Cedar Park. That makes 6 items on your list.

Tip: Check expiration dates and rotate stock, since expired products can cause reactions and complaints.

To recap: Dream Beauty Essentials in Cedar Park, TX needs an LLC, a DBA, an EIN, a sales tax permit, a state employer ID, and a business license. Check them off one by one and you will open with confidence.

BusinessNameUSA can prepare and file these registrations for you: start your order.