The Principal Business Activity Code For Consulting is a must for every business in the US to file federal business taxes. So, each company will have either a SIC code (of up to 4 digits) and/or NAICS codes which can be six digits long!
The US federal government has developed the SIC and NAICS codes for many purposes, but most importantly, to make it easier on statisticians.
There are subtle differences between NAICS and SIC codes. The 1170 industries covered by the NAICS are more robust than the 1004 industries only on offer with a traditional industrial coding system like SIC, which was created before modern industry classification practices were introduced.
It's not enough for your business to have a great name and logo; you need an accounting code too. Why? Well, let us tell you all about NAICS codes and SIC Codes in this article!
The IRS categorizes businesses for statistical purposes by using business codes. These provide the agency with information about what type of company you are, how your products or services work, and whom they sell them.
The North American Industry Classification System is a code developed by the United States federal government in cooperation with Canadian and Mexican statistical agencies. The codes were created for use by federal statistical agencies to collect, analyze, and publish data related to US economic growth on an international level.
The NAICS code is assigned automatically, meaning there’s a list of available codes for different industries and companies to select the one that suits their activity best. If your company has involvement in more than one business line, then you may have to use multiple NAICS codes - but don't worry! There are plenty from which to choose when it comes time.
The NAICS system, with its Subsector, Industry Group, and six-digit code, is used to categorize industries of all sorts. One thousand one hundred seventy different types are covered in the system!
Here are the NAICS business codes for consulting:
The Standard Industrial Classification code is a 4 digit number assigned by the US government to businesses with only one purpose: identifying what primary activities these companies do. Unlike NAICS, SIC codes cover just over 1,000 industries, and not all of them are classified as manufacturing or production-based sectors either!
In 2004, the SIC codes were replaced with NAICS in the United States. However, some government agencies and departments such as SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) still use these outdated coding systems to classify companies.
SIC is not as up-to-date or extensive to be used as NAICS at the SEC, but it still holds some weight.
Here are the SIC business codes for consulting:
Management Consulting Services- 8742
Business Consulting Services, not elsewhere classified- 8748