6 prompts I use to run a US company from outside the US

BaseAcross — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 22:06:21 +0000

I run a US company from outside the US. Most of the admin isn't hard, but it's written for people who grew up with it: IRS letters, bank compliance questions, state notices. These are the prompts I keep reusing. Paste them into any chat model and fill in the brackets.

One rule before any of them: the model explains, it doesn't decide. Check anything that involves a deadline, a form or money against the official source.

1. Read an IRS or state letter

I'm a non-US founder of a [Wyoming/Delaware] [LLC/C-corp]. Below is a letter I received.
Tell me, in plain English:
1. Who sent it and why.
2. Whether it asks me to do anything, and by what date.
3. What happens if I ignore it.
4. Which parts I should confirm with the sender or an accountant.
Do not guess at amounts or dates that aren't in the letter.

[paste the letter text, with your EIN and address removed]

The last line matters. Without it, models fill gaps with confident numbers.

2. Answer a bank's compliance questions

Banks and payment platforms ask foreign owners the same things: what the company does, where the money comes from, who the customers are.

I'm applying for a business account for my US [LLC]. I live in [country].
Here are the bank's questions and my rough notes.
Rewrite my answers so they are short, specific and consistent with each other.
Keep every fact I gave you. Do not add claims, customers or numbers I didn't give you.
Flag any answer that looks vague or contradicts another one.

Questions: [paste]
My notes: [paste]

3. Describe the business in one paragraph

You'll need the same description for the bank, Stripe, PayPal and your website. Write it once.

Write a 60-word description of my business for a bank and a payment processor.
What I sell: [ ]
Who buys it: [ ]
Where customers are: [ ]
How they pay: [ ]
Plain words, no marketing language, no claims I haven't listed.

4. Turn a deadline list into a calendar

Here are my company's yearly obligations as I understand them: [list].
Make a 12-month table with the month, the task, who it's filed with,
and what I need ready one month before. Mark anything you're unsure of as "check".

Ask it to mark uncertainty. It will, if you tell it to.

5. Draft a reply to a customer or supplier in the US

Reply to this email from a US [customer/supplier]. Tone: polite, direct, brief.
I want to [say yes / ask for X / decline].
Use US spelling and date format. Don't promise anything I haven't said.

[paste email]

6. Explain a term before you sign something

Explain "[term]" as it applies to a US [LLC/C-corp] owned by someone living outside the US.
Give a two-sentence plain explanation, then one example, then what question I should ask
my accountant or lawyer about it.

Good for "registered agent", "franchise tax", "operating agreement", "EIN" and the rest of the vocabulary you meet in the first month.

I put these together while building BaseAcross, which forms and runs US companies for founders outside the US. The prompts work on their own, whoever you use.