[ErrantX]

I assume you are US based? In the UK there are govt agencies called "business link" which will gve you free advice on startups and getting your business off the ground. They can give you quite a bit of info related to laws and accounting. I assume that in the US there are similar initiatives (though you might have to pay).

As to employing someone?

I'd say it comes down to how much admin time you want to spend on the company - or rather how much you can spare. If you find yourself becoming too much of a manager and lose the ability to drive the project forward (IMO essential in the opening stages of a startup) then it might actually be more beneficial to employ someone.

Plus of course if you can employ someone experienced for 18 months then that is 18 months where you get to see how it is done and pick up tips & tricks from them. (after which it might then be economical to do it yourself).

I have been quite lucky. My father has run his own firm for a number of years - which is quite small (so he does all the admin). As a result he knows a lot about the books, accounting and legal aspects (if only on a small scale). In the end I decided to go with an accountant - but only because I have a friend qualified from university who is doing it on the cheap :) (if you don't know anyone like that then go befriend them! :D)