Hi all..hoping someone has some advice from experience!

I live in VA and want to know what it takes to sell cakes from home...I know my state has the food cottage law, I know if I am not inspected I have to label my food as "Produced without state inspection," I know I need to keep books for tax purposes, is there any other advice? The websites out there are so not user friendly and it seems like everytime I think I understand a concept, I read something else that causes me to doubt myself! Any advice would be sooo helpful!

I also wonder if there is a way to see if a business is going about things legally...just wondering about a business that has sprung up selling cupcakes with lots of facebook posts ect...can you even have a facebook or webpage if you aren't certified??

I have avoided all forms of ads and am really trying to have all the information together before I make a big go of this...I have looked into buying some books too, any recommendations??

He was very helpful when I was looking for information. Not sure what area of VA but maybe he can point you in the right direction.

Shayne C. Clinton

Food Safety Specialist

Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

AOR: Prince William and Fauquier Counties

[email protected]

Cell:804-221-3621


I tried to attach a document he sent me, NOVA Home based food business packet. So hope it is there.

Thanks so much! I am in Prince William so this should help a ton! Are you selling cakes or do you just do for fun?

I'm also in Va, Fauquier County to be exact and I want to get all my ducks in a row as I am now being asked to do wedding cakes and large events. EEK! I do wonder how difficult it will be to get this all done and how quickly it is to do it all. I'm scared I will be turned down and my dream (and our much needed 2nd income) destroyed. KJ2110, what have you found out so far?

I found this:

Baked Goods



Caterers who focus solely on making cookies, cakes and other baked goods operate under different standards in Virginia. For instance, home-based baking operations aren't required to be licensed, but the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services must inspect the kitchen where baked products are prepared. A separate kitchen isn't required for home-based baking businesses, but ingredients used for business purposes must be kept separate from those purchased for personal use by the caterer or family members. Bakery operations also are required to submit the recipes for their products to the VDACS for review.



Read more: Catering License Requirements in Virginia | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8018382_catering-license-requirements-virginia.html#ixzz1hrDPLkth

Fondant Dreams....I have heard a ton and have tried to get my ducks in a row...I know if you are only selling at farmers markets and from home you don't need to be inspected but your products must be clearly labeled: Product produced without state inspection. To sell for events a lot of places (where the event is held) require the baker to have a license...I have contacted different people and am going to be working doing more of that to get all my answers....

Fondant Dreams..any luck? Please keep me up on what you do and who you talk to! I am going to send some emails myself today so maybe we can work together and get ourselves ligit

You need to contact VDACS. They are out of Richmond and they will email you a whole packet of information with everything. If you opt not to have your kitchen inspected, then you can only do non-perishable icings and fillings.

You also need to contact the county in which you live. You need to talk to Planning and Zoning and see what the requirements are for having a business in your neighborhood.

You also need to review the terms of your HOA, if you have one. Many HOAs prohibit running a business from your home, and the County has to divulge that information from a FOIA request if they receive one.

You guys have business licenses right? Is that what you were referring to?

Annie

If you want to get licensed it's a lot of paperwork to begin with, but it's totally worth being able to say that you're licensed and inspected. I'm in Richmond and there are venues that require a license and insurance if you bring food in. No license, no entry.

First thing, check to make sure that your county and HOA allows you to sell from home, like other posters have said.

You need to get a business license and have the Dept of Agriculture inspect your kitchen. You'll also need to file for a sales tax number, and they required me to get a FEIN when I did that. Other people have said that they didn't have to do that, so I don't know if that's different from county to county, or if I just got the one clerk who thought I needed it. If you ever want to buy wholesale you'll need the sales tax ID...most wholesalers I've dealt with have asked for it. You'll also need it if you apply for tax exemptions from stores that you buy from.

I don't know if there's a specific order that you need to do the documents in. When I filed as an LLC I filed my business license paperwork then took it over to the sales tax office right after that. The inspection would probably come after you got licensed. As long as you label things "non inspected" you can have the license and sell those while you're waiting for your inspection.

One thing I'd recommend is to go ahead and file for an LLC form the beginning. It was a big pain in the butt to switch over from a sole proprietor to an LLC. I basically had to go through getting all new paperwork, checking account, etc again after doing it all the first time for the sole prop.

Thanks for all the information...I am do not have any licenses yet...that's what I am trying to get into action! I know it's worth it in the end to be ligit and have the license but I am trying to find out if for me as a second income it's worth the paper work.

I know I have to look into my HOA but I am procrastinating b/c I don't want to hear No esp since we are so underwater on the house we can't move so it'll kill my hopes then and there...but also makes sense to find this out before I move forward!

Again, thanks for the information ladies!

I have an account with PFG, but I don't use it becuse it's cheaper to go to Walmart. I'm not kidding, I checked the prices and they were more expensive. The discount that you get probably depends on the size of your account, and mine is so small on the scale of what they're used to it wasn't worth my time to go to their facility and pick up the order etc etc.

To get the sales tax exemption you have to ask at each individual store. They all have different policies, and some can give you the cards at the store but you have to go through the corporate offics for others.

We're exempt from anythng that we use in the business or give to the client along with the cakes, so packing materials, boards, etc all are supposed to be exempt as well as food. Some stores don't have that coded into their computers, though, so it comes up as taxable, just so that you know. I was making a chocolate Guinness cake once and they didn't believe that I wasn't going to be drinking it myself so that wasn't tax-exempt

Thnx costumeczar! So maybe we could get the exemption at Costco, Walmart etc?

Oh yeah, Costco does it. Every time I go there I am always in line behind someone with 50,000 things they are going to re-sell or use for their restaurant. A couple of restaurants in my town go there for supplies.

thank you for letting me know Annie and costumeczar!

Thank you for the information customeczar. I actually spoke with mr. clinton of VDACS and he stated for anyone interested in having their location inspected and certified should contact their home office at 804-221-3621 and let them know exactly what county your home is located, which will determine whether a homebased food business can be established in that area.

Another piece of information that maybe helpful for those who are considering establishing an LLC is to try legalzoom.com to establish the articles with the state corporation commission. (fee)

You can get a Federal Identification number (FEIN) from the IRS for free @ www.irs.gov and you can also register for your sales tax account number @ www.tax.virginia.gov for free online, which after the registration you can download your sales tax certificate.

I hope this information is helpful.

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I am just starting the business plan. It is just a small bakery business in my home and do i need to have a License