Stripe Atlas's onboarding finishes the moment your LLC or C-Corp is formed, your EIN is issued, and your Stripe account is live. That's an enormous amount done — but it isn't the same as being open for business.
There are eight things Atlas doesn't include, doesn't strongly emphasize during onboarding, and that you'll need to handle in the first few weeks. This article is the realistic followup checklist.
1. A US Phone Number
Atlas gives you a US business address (through First Corporate Solutions, their default registered agent) and an EIN. It does not give you a US phone number. The Atlas dashboard's company-profile section has a phone field that you, the founder, must fill in.
What Atlas does mention:
- Their onboarding flow links to Quo (formerly OpenPhone) as a partner option for getting a phone.
What Atlas doesn't mention:
- That Quo at $19/month is built for founders who actively call. If you just need a number-on-file, you can spend a third of that.
- That the phone you list will get used on the EIN application, on every bank application, on Stripe Tax, on your W-9 template, and on dozens of B2B forms over the next two years. Pick one, use it everywhere.
Cost: $7-$19/month depending on whether you'll actively call.
2. A US Business Bank Account
Atlas connects you to Mercury and walks you through the application, but Mercury's approval is not guaranteed — it's a separate underwriting decision. Atlas doesn't tell you what to do if Mercury rejects you, or what alternatives exist.
What to do:
- Apply to Mercury as Atlas suggests. If approved, you're done.
- If Mercury rejects you (which happens for some non-US founders, depending on country, business description, and phone-verification outcome), apply to Relay or Wise Business as alternatives. These have different underwriting and one of them will typically approve.
A bank rejection isn't fatal. Founders often work through 2-3 attempts before landing one that approves. Don't read a single rejection as "I can't get a US business bank account."
3. Bookkeeping Setup
Atlas does not include any bookkeeping. They mention it in their post-formation guide but don't actively connect you to a service.
What to do:
- Free path: Wave Accounting (free, basic, US-friendly) or a categorized spreadsheet.
- Paid path: QuickBooks Online Self-Employed at $15/month, or Bench / Pilot at $300+/month if you want managed bookkeeping (overkill for year one).
The key is start in week 1, not month 6. Catching up six months of expense receipts later is much worse than 15 minutes per week from the start.
4. Tax Filings
Atlas's default Annual Service ($100/year, currently their registered-agent fee) does not include tax filings. Tax is a separate cost.
What you'll owe in year one:
- Delaware franchise tax: $300/year flat for LLCs, $400+ for C-Corps depending on shares. Due March 1 every year.
- Federal tax returns: Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120 for foreign-owned single-member LLCs. Form 1120 for C-Corps. Due April 15.
- State annual report: Delaware requires this for C-Corps (not LLCs); the franchise-tax filing covers it.
What to do:
- Find a US tax accountant who handles non-resident-owned US entities. Cost: $300-$1,500 for year one filings.
- Do not try to file Form 5472 yourself the first year. The penalty for filing it wrong starts at $25,000.
Stripe Atlas has a tax-filing add-on partnership; doola and Firstbase do too. Use one of those or find an accountant independently.
5. State Compliance (Beyond Delaware)
If you have any business activity (employees, office, contractors, sales-tax nexus) in any state other than Delaware, you may need to register as a "foreign entity" in that state and file there.
For most pure-online businesses run from outside the US with US customers (i.e., the typical Stripe Atlas founder), the answer is: just Delaware. You don't have nexus in California just because some of your customers are there.
But if you start hiring US employees, or open a US office, or store inventory in a US warehouse (Amazon FBA, etc.), the state-compliance situation gets meaningfully more complex. Get advice before doing any of those.
6. A Real Business Website
Atlas does not include a website. They include a Stripe payment page that you can use as your minimum viable storefront, but a real business needs more.
What to do:
- Buy a domain ($15-$30/year)
- Build a simple landing page describing what your company does, who you serve, and how to contact you (US business address, US phone, business email)
- Avoid free-tier hosting that puts ads on your page
This is the page that customers, partners, and journalists will Google. It's also the page that lends credibility to your business when someone is deciding whether to do a deal with a non-resident-owned US LLC.
7. Custom Domain Email
A [email protected] email doesn't convey "this is a real US business". A [email protected] email does.
What to do:
- Set up Google Workspace ($6-$12/user/month) or Microsoft 365 with your own domain.
- Or use a cheaper option like Zoho Mail (free for 5 users on a domain).
Make sure your phone, email, and address on the business signature all match what's on your Atlas dashboard, EIN, bank, and W-9.
8. Annual Compliance Calendar
Atlas doesn't put recurring deadlines on your calendar. You should.
Annual recurring deadlines for a Delaware C-Corp or LLC:
| Date | Item |
|---|---|
| March 1 | Delaware franchise tax (LLC: $300, C-Corp: varies) |
| April 15 | Federal tax return (Form 5472 + 1120, or Form 1120) |
| April 15 | Quarterly estimated tax payments begin (if profitable) |
| Yearly | Registered agent renewal (Atlas charges $100) |
| Yearly | Domain renewal (don't lose your business domain) |
Put these in your calendar with 30-day advance reminders. The penalty for missing the federal filing deadline is substantial; the penalty for missing the Delaware franchise tax is the entity going "void" which is a hassle to recover from.
Make the phone gap go away
IncNumber is $7/month — the cheapest realistic US number for a Stripe Atlas founder who needs a phone-on-file but doesn't actively call. SMS forwarded to email. Built for exactly this user.
Get your US number →What Atlas Does Well
To be clear: Stripe Atlas is the right choice for many non-resident founders. They genuinely streamline:
- Entity formation (your LLC or C-Corp is filed in 1-2 days)
- EIN application (filed for you, typically issued in 4-6 weeks)
- Registered agent (year 1 included, plus mailing address)
- Stripe payment processing (pre-connected and live)
- A solid post-formation guide that covers most of the items above (even if at varying depth)
The phone gap and a few of the other items here aren't Atlas failing — they're just outside Atlas's scope. The point of this article isn't to criticize Atlas. It's to make the next 30 days less surprising.
Bottom Line
Atlas finishes formation. The first 30 days after Atlas is the next phase — getting a phone, opening a bank account, setting up bookkeeping, planning tax filings, building a website, getting custom-domain email, and putting compliance dates on your calendar.
Most of these have $0-$30/month cost individually. Combined, they're $50-$150/month for the running cost of a real US company operating from abroad. Compared to what your time is worth solving them poorly later — those costs are trivial.
Atlas got you to the starting line. The eight items above are the actual race.