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BOI reporting: What it is and how to stay compliant
Workstream Blog

BOI reporting: What it is and how to stay compliant

By Workstream

December 10, 2024 | 2 min read

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When you’re running a business, the last thing you want is a surprise regulation throwing off your plans—or worse, penalties for missing a deadline you didn’t know about. That’s why Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting matters. Starting January 1, 2024, many businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, must report details about their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) under the Corporate Transparency Act.

This might not sound like a big deal, but the stakes are high: fines, penalties, or even criminal charges for non-compliance. For business owners managing an hourly workforce, this adds yet another administrative task to an already long list. If you’re juggling payroll, scheduling, and compliance, adding BOI reporting might feel overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be.

Let’s break it all down—what BOI reporting is, why it’s required, and how you can submit your information quickly and easily, ensuring you meet the January 1, 2025 deadline and avoid unnecessary stress. Let’s tackle this together and keep your business running smoothly.

What is BOI reporting?

BOI reporting is a new requirement from FinCEN aimed at increasing transparency and reducing financial crimes like money laundering. It requires certain businesses to submit details about their beneficial owners—individuals who:

  • Own or control at least 25% of the company, or
  • Have substantial influence over company decisions.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Who’s really in charge?” BOI reporting makes that answer crystal clear.

Why BOI reporting matters 

Failing to file on time can result in steep penalties, including fines of up to $500 per day for noncompliance. While that’s a strong motivator, completing your BOI filing on time also gives you peace of mind. Early compliance helps you avoid the year-end scramble, ensuring you’re not juggling this alongside payroll, scheduling, and other responsibilities.

Who needs to file? 

Most businesses structured as corporations, LLCs, or similar entities are required to file. However, there are 23 exemptions, including large operating companies (with more than 20 employees and over $5 million in annual revenue) and sole proprietorships. If you’re unsure about your filing status, review the BOI Compliance Guide for clarity.

Step-by-step guide to BOI reporting 

1. Gather the essentials

BOI filing requires detailed information about both your business and its beneficial owners:

  • For your business: Name, address, EIN (Employer Identification Number).
  • For beneficial owners: Full name, birth date, residential address, and a government-issued ID (e.g., driver’s license or passport).

Organizing this information ahead of time will make filing faster and smoother.

2. Determine if you’re exempt

Not all businesses need to file. If you meet the criteria for exemption, congratulations—you can skip this step! Be sure to double-check your eligibility to avoid unnecessary work.

3. Submit your report online

Filing is done through FinCEN’s secure online filing system. The process is designed to be straightforward, and once submitted, you’ll receive confirmation.

4. Review and verify

Your report isn’t a one-and-done task. If there are changes in your beneficial owners or company details, you must update your BOI filing within 30 days of the change.

Avoid common pitfalls

Why BOI reporting matters for businesses with hourly workforces

As a business owner or manager overseeing hourly workers, you already have a full plate—from scheduling shifts to processing payroll and ensuring labor law compliance. BOI reporting may feel like “just one more thing,” but tackling it now will keep your focus where it belongs: on your team and your customers.

Compliance doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By staying organized and acting early, you can make this process manageable and pain-free.

Don’t miss the January 1, 2025 deadline

BOI reporting doesn’t have to be stressful. With a clear plan, you can complete this requirement with confidence and peace of mind. Visit FinCEN’s compliance guide for detailed instructions and get started today.
By Workstream
Workstream is the leading HR, Payroll, and Hiring platform for the hourly workforce. Its smart technology streamlines HR tasks so franchise and business owners can move fast, reduce labor costs, and simplify operations—all in one place. 46 of the top 50 quick-service restaurant brands—including Burger King, Jimmy John’s, Taco Bell—rely on Workstream to hire, retain, and pay their teams. Learn how you can better manage your hourly workforce with Workstream.

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Personal Information and Sensitive Personal Information

Before we discuss the right to limit and the right to opt-out, we must first define personal information and how it relates to sensitive personal information.

Personal information is any data that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked to you or your household. A few examples of personal information include:

  • Name or nickname
  • Email address
  • Purchase history
  • Browsing history
  • Location data
  • Employment data
  • IP address
  • Profiles businesses create about you, including pseudonymous profiles (“user1234”)
  • Sensitive personal information

Sensitive personal information or “SPI” is a subset of personal information, defined as:

  • Identifying information (e.g. social security number, driver’s license)
  • Financial data (e.g. debit or credit card numbers)
  • Precise geolocation (within a radius of 1,850 feet)
  • Demographic or protected-class information (e.g. race/ethnicity, religion, union membership)
  • Biometric and genetic data (e.g. fingerprints, palm scans, facial recognition)
  • Communications and content (e.g. mail, email, text messages)
  • Health and sexual orientation (e.g. vaccine records, health history)

Right to Opt-Out

Californians have the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information. That means you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties (e.g. data brokers, advertisers). You also have the right to opt-out of the sharing of your personal information to prevent the targeting of ads across different businesses, websites, apps, or services.

CCPA-covered businesses must provide a link to allow you to exercise this right. It is usually found at the bottom of a webpage and will say “do not sell or share my personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Sometimes businesses offer privacy choices through a pop-up window or form

To opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information, click on the link or use the toggle provided by the business and follow the directions. Doing this on every website you visit can feel burdensome, but to ease the burden you can automatically select your privacy preferences for every website by using an opt-out preference signal, or OOPS for short.

An OOPS is a user-friendly and straightforward way for consumers to automatically exercise their right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information with the businesses they interact with online. An OOPS, such as the Global Privacy Control. It can either be a setting on your internet browser or a browser extension. With an OOPS, consumers do not have to submit individual requests to opt-out of sale or sharing with each business.

Right to Limit

Californians also have the right to direct businesses to limit the use and disclosure of their sensitive personal information.

Businesses covered under the CCPA must provide a link on their website that allows you to request the limiting of your SPI, if they plan on using it in certain ways. That link will also typically be at the bottom of a webpage and will say: “limit the use of my sensitive personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Once you send this request, the business must stop using your SPI for anything other than to:

  • Provide requested goods or services
  • Ensure security and integrity
  • Prevent fraud
  • Maintain system functionality
  • Comply with legal obligations

Bringing it Together

In summary, the CCPA gives you the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information and gives you additional rights to further limit the use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information.

When you exercise these rights together, you exert greater control in protecting your personal data which is important for your identity, safety, and financial health.

If you are on a business’s website and you can’t find the links to exercise your rights, remember to check their privacy policy. The privacy policy should tell you how you can exercise your rights under the law.

If you find your rights being violated, you can submit a complaint to CalPrivacy.

Next in the LOCKED series, we will explore the right to correct and right to know. Follow us on social media to get live updates or check back in one week for the next post.

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