We know when a client needs something, when an invoice needs to go out, or when there is work waiting to be completed.
The responsibilities that only come around periodically can be much easier to overlook.
During her Bloom Connections Educational Moment, April Ornelas, founder of Miles Inc., brought our attention to one of those important deadlines for California business owners: the California Statement of Information.
April knows how quickly a small filing can become a much larger expense. She shared that when the requirement first came to her attention, the amount due was $250.
Her reaction at the time was one many business owners could probably relate to: “I was like, what?”
That experience is one reason April now makes a point of bringing the filing to other business owners’ attention.
What I appreciated about April’s Educational Moment was how practical it was. She did not simply tell us that another business requirement exists. She showed us where to find the information, what to look for, and how she makes sure the deadline does not disappear from her own radar.
For California business owners, that starts with knowing when your Statement of Information is due.
Your Statement of Information Due Date Is Specific to Your Business
April explained that California LLCs and corporations are required to file a Statement of Information periodically with the state. During her presentation, she opened California’s BizFile Online system and walked us through how business owners can find the information connected to their own companies.
The process begins by searching for your business name and selecting the correct company record. From there, you can locate the date associated with your Statement of Information.
April emphasized checking the actual record because the filing schedule can vary depending on the type of business entity.
That means this is not a deadline I can tell every California business owner to put on the same date in their calendar.
You need to know the date connected to your business.
Once you have it, April’s next piece of advice is where this becomes less about remembering another requirement and more about creating a system for handling it.
Put the Deadline Somewhere Your Business Will Remember It for You
During April’s presentation, I asked a question that immediately came to mind: Once we know the due date, when do we put the reminder on our calendar?
April’s answer was based on something we all know about ourselves. We do not all need the same amount of time to get something done.
If you know that you like to handle important filings a month ahead, give yourself that month. If a week gives you enough time, your reminder can come closer to the deadline.
April shared that she personally puts the filing on her calendar about a week in advance and keeps the reminder active until she has completed it.
As she told us, “I forget about this thing all the time.”
I liked that part of the conversation because a good business system is not one that requires us to become better at remembering everything.
It is one that remembers for us.
Once you know a recurring responsibility exists, you can decide where it needs to live so that it comes back to your attention before action is required. That might be your calendar, a task management system, or another process you already use to manage important dates.
The goal is to make the deadline visible before it becomes urgent.
In this case, there is a financial reason to do that.
A $25 Filing Is Worth Keeping on Your Radar
April explained that the Statement of Information filing costs $25 when completed on time and that a missed deadline can result in a $250 charge. She also discussed the grace period associated with the filing during her presentation.
That difference got our attention.
An additional $225 may not change the future of a business, but it is still money that could have remained in the business.
It could have gone toward software you actually use, a professional service you need, an upcoming event, marketing, or simply stayed in the account.
This is what makes April’s lesson useful beyond the filing itself.
There are expenses we intentionally choose because they support the business, and then there are expenses that can potentially be avoided when we have the right information and systems in place.
Knowing about the Statement of Information gives California business owners the opportunity to make sure this particular expense stays at $25.
April also made an important distinction about who this information applies to.
April’s Guidance Was Specifically for California Businesses
During our conversation, I asked April whether business owners in other states could follow a similar process.
April was careful not to extend her advice beyond what she knew.
She explained that California was the state she was familiar with and did not assume that another state would use the same filing, website, schedule, or process. Instead, business owners outside California would need to research the requirements for the state where their businesses are registered.
I think that distinction is important to preserve because April’s Educational Moment was not presented as a universal compliance lesson.
She was giving California business owners something specific they could check.
For everyone else, there is still a useful question to take from it: What recurring state or business requirements apply to my company, and do I have a system for keeping track of them?
That question connects directly to the work April does with business owners every day.
April Helps Business Owners Manage What Happens Behind the Scenes
Before walking us through the California Statement of Information, April introduced Myles Ink and talked about the role she plays in her clients’ businesses.
Her description was simple: “I do the books so you can focus on your work.”
That includes monthly and quarterly bookkeeping, year-end cleanups, administrative support, financial coaching and workshops, accounting software support, business formation assistance, and sales tax filing and compliance.
April also talked about how much she enjoys educating newer business owners, particularly those who may be doing well in their companies but still feel uncertain about the financial responsibilities that come with running one.
That gave more context to why this particular Educational Moment mattered.
A business owner can be excellent at the work clients hire them to do and still need support understanding what needs to happen behind the scenes.
Knowing your numbers is part of that.
Keeping your books current is part of that.
Understanding the filings attached to your business is part of that too.
The goal is not for every business owner to become a bookkeeper or compliance expert. It is to make sure the responsibilities that affect the financial health of the business have somewhere to live and someone paying attention to them.
Good Systems Make the Invisible Parts of Business Easier to Manage
A customer will probably never know whether your Statement of Information was filed on time.
They will not see the calendar reminder you created for it or the process you use to keep your books organized.
A lot of what keeps a business healthy happens quietly in the background.
That makes those responsibilities easy to underestimate until something brings them to our attention.
April’s Educational Moment gave us a practical example of how to handle one of them.
If your LLC or corporation is registered in California, you can look up your business, find the Statement of Information due date attached to your record, and put a reminder into the system you already use to manage your time.
That is a small action, but small actions are often what keep the operational side of a business from becoming unnecessarily expensive or stressful later.
It also reflects something April said when talking about how she wants the business owners she works with to feel. She wants them to know that managing this side of their companies can be easier because “I’m here and I have their back.”
That is a much bigger idea than remembering one filing.
It is about creating enough support around the parts of business that are easy to overlook so that they do not have to compete for your attention every day.
What April’s Educational Moment Reminded Me About Running a Business
There will always be responsibilities in business that are not connected to the work we are excited to do.
They still matter.
The answer is not necessarily to keep more information in our heads. It is to know what needs our attention and create a reliable way for it to come back to us when the time is right.
For California business owners, April gave us one thing we can check today.
Find your business in California’s system. Look for your Statement of Information due date. Then put that date somewhere your business will remind you about it before you need to act.
You do not need to think about the filing every day.
You simply need a system that makes sure you think about it on the right day.
That was the value in April’s Educational Moment. She took something that could easily sit in the background of running a business and made it visible enough for the rest of us to do something about it.
About April Ornelas
April Ornelas is the founder of Myles Ink, where she provides bookkeeping and back-office support to help business owners manage the financial and administrative responsibilities behind their work.
Her services include monthly and quarterly bookkeeping, year-end cleanups, administrative support, financial coaching and workshops, accounting software setup and troubleshooting, business formation assistance, and sales tax filing and compliance.
April particularly enjoys helping newer business owners better understand the financial side of their companies. Her work combines managing the responsibilities that need to happen behind the scenes with helping clients better understand the information they need to run their businesses.
Frequently Asked Questions About the California Statement of Information
Learn Something. Share Something. Grow Together.
April’s Educational Moment reminded us that taking care of the business also means paying attention to the responsibilities that happen quietly in the background.
For California business owners, that can start with one simple action: check your Statement of Information due date and give it a permanent place in your business calendar.
The goal is not to remember everything. It is to build a business that does not require you to.
Want to experience the next Educational Moment? Join us at an upcoming Bloom Connections gathering.
