Company customers
Sell to an LLC, corporation, nonprofit or government buyer. Record the legal name, an optional EIN and the person who signs for the company.
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A customer can be a person or a company. Use a company when the car is bought in a business's name: an LLC, a corporation, a partnership, a trust, a nonprofit or a government office. The title, the bill of sale and the sanctions screening then name the company, and the person who signs for it signs as its agent.
Add a company
- Go to Customers and click Add customer.
- At the top, pick Company.
- In the Company card, enter the legal name exactly as it is on the company's formation papers (required). Add the trade name (DBA) if it uses one, the type (LLC, Corporation, Partnership, Nonprofit, Government, Trust or Other), the state of formation and the EIN (optional).
- In the Authorized signer card, enter the person who signs for the company: their name, email, phone, date of birth and driver's license, and their Signer title (Owner, Managing Member, President).
- The address is the company's address. Click Add customer.
A person who trades under a business name without forming a company (a sole proprietor) stays a Person. Their trade name has its own box on a person too.
The EIN
The EIN (Employer Identification Number, 9 digits, written 12-3456789) is optional. Many states never ask for it.
- It is stored encrypted. Every page shows only the last four digits (
**-***6789). - The full number prints only in a state form box that asks for the owner's FEIN (for example Florida's title application, or Maryland's business FEIN box).
- A number that looks like a Social Security number is refused: put the company's EIN here, never a person's SSN.
- The AI assistant never asks for, reads or writes an EIN. Add it yourself on the customer page.
What a company changes on a deal
| Where | What you see |
|---|---|
| Deal types | A company can buy for Cash or with outside finance. In-house financing (BHPH) and wholesale are not offered to a company yet. |
| Bill of sale and contracts | The buyer is the company's legal name, with the trade name on its own line. The buyer signature line reads "Peachtree Hauling LLC, by Jane Smith, Managing Member". |
| State forms | Boxes for the owner's name carry the legal name. Boxes for an owner's FEIN carry the EIN. Driver's license boxes stay blank, since a company has no license. Georgia's MV-1 fills Business Name and Name of Agent. |
| E-signature | The buyer signs as "Jane Smith, Managing Member, for Peachtree Hauling LLC". |
| OFAC screening | The company is screened as a company, and the signer as a person. See OFAC sanctions screening. |
| Red Flags | The ID check is on the signer, plus three company checks. See Red Flags identity verification. |
A company's sale is not tax-exempt just because the buyer is a business. If it is exempt (resale, nonprofit, government), mark it on the deal: see Tax-exempt sales.
Switch between person and company
Edit the customer and pick Person or Company.
- Switching a company back to a person clears the company details (the trade name stays).
- A person who is the buyer on an open BHPH or wholesale deal cannot become a company. Finish or cancel that deal first.
FAQ
Can a company have a co-buyer?
Yes. Add the co-buyer on the deal as usual. Each is screened on its own.
Who should be the authorized signer?
The person who will sign the paperwork and show their ID. Keep proof they may act for the company (an operating agreement, a resolution, an officer listing or a letter on the company's letterhead): the Red Flags check asks for it.
Can the AI assistant add a company?
Yes. Ask it to add the company with its signer, and approve the card. It fills the legal name, trade name, type, state of formation and signer title you give it. It never takes an EIN, even from a photo.