sns-network-solutions/businesses/sns-hospitality-group/indian-food-truck/requirements.md

Food Truck #1 — Requirements & Planning

Entity: subsidiary of SnS Network Solutions Holdings LLC — but unlike the other subsidiaries, Holdings is NOT the sole member here. Foodtruck1 LLC will have two Members:

• SnS Network Solutions Holdings LLC — 85%, holding Sam's ownership stake (keeps Sam's interest inside the liability/succession structure described in ../00-sns-holding/00-sns-holding.md)
• Kiowa — 15%, granted for $0 cash under ../00-sns-holding/docs/kiowa-equity-framework.md, vesting quarterly over 12 months from Foodtruck1's Opening Date, contingent on cumulative net profit reaching 2x Sam's invested capital in Foodtruck1 by month 12

This does not change Holdings' own cap table — Sam remains the sole owner of SnS Network Solutions Holdings LLC itself (see ../00-sns-holding/docs/operating-agreement.md). The two-member structure applies only at the Foodtruck1 subsidiary level. Draft operating agreement: docs/operating-agreement.md.

[TODO: fill in the remaining brackets in that agreement — entity legal name, EIN, registered agent, day-to-day manager, staffing model — and record the actual Opening Date and Sam's total invested capital here once known, since both drive the vesting framework's math. Then route it through LegalShield for review before signing.]

Owner role: Sam (via Holdings, 85%) and Kiowa (15%, vesting) co-own the truck; day-to-day running (routes, customers) is not done by Sam.

Staffing Model — decision pending

Two options discussed, not yet chosen:

• Lease/License model — truck leased to an independent operator (their own business entity) for flat rent or % of revenue. Operator hires/manages their own staff; no W-2/1099 question for the subsidiary at all. Cleanest for liability and avoids employer obligations entirely.
• Direct W-2 hire model — subsidiary hires ~3 employees directly (cooks/crew). Food-truck crew doing the core work almost certainly must be W-2, not 1099 (behavioral + financial control tests both point to employee status).

Whichever model is chosen changes everything below — the cost estimates in this doc assume the direct W-2 hire model (3 employees).

Software / Ops Cost Estimates

Item	Estimate	Notes
Gusto (payroll)	$80/mo (high end)	Covers withholding calc, federal/state tax deposits & filings, new-hire reporting, year-end W-2s. Actual quote for 3 employees on the Plus tier runs ~$80–116/mo; using $80 as the planning number.
ERPNext hosting (Frappe Cloud)	$20/mo (confirmed)	Decision: Frappe Cloud "Servers" plan (shared VM, dedicated bench) instead of self-hosting on AWS. Cheaper than the $44/mo self-hosted AWS Lightsail 8GB option calculated earlier, and Frappe manages patching/backups/snapshots instead of us. Plenty for our light (1–3 user) usage.
Total planning estimate	$100/mo	Software/ops line only — excludes wages, employer payroll tax match, workers' comp premium, and any insurance/permits (see Outstanding Items below).

Mandatory Insurance (fact-checked)

Coverage	Mandatory?	Est. Cost	Notes
Workers' Compensation	Yes — Indiana law, no employee-count exemption. Required from employee #1. Penalties for skipping: up to $50/day fine, plus a misdemeanor (up to 1 yr jail / $5,000 fine).	~$75–150/mo	Food-service class code rate ~$1.00–4.50 per $100 payroll nationally; exact number depends on actual wages once set.
General Liability	Functionally yes — not a blanket state law, but every mobile food vendor permit requires proof of GL (typically $1M/occurrence, $2M aggregate, city/county named as additional insured) before the permit is issued.	~$42/mo (~$500/yr)	Confirm exact limit with South Bend / St. Joseph County health dept when applying for the permit.
Commercial Auto	Yes — Indiana requires liability coverage on any vehicle on public roads, and a personal auto policy typically excludes commercial use, so the truck needs its own commercial policy.	~$170/mo (~$2,041/yr)	Bundled GL + commercial auto + equipment/build-out coverage commonly runs $300–700/mo total industry-wide — treat the two lines above as a floor.
Health insurance (ACA employer mandate)	No — mandate only applies at 50+ full-time-equivalent employees. Not a factor at 3 employees.	$0	Common misconception; explicitly not required at this size.

Revised planning total, insurance included: ~$80 (Gusto) + $20 (Frappe Cloud) + ~$75–150 (workers' comp) + ~$42 (GL) + ~$170 (commercial auto) ≈ $390–460/mo, before wages, the employer FICA match, and SUTA.

Outstanding Items (not yet priced/decided)

• Confirm staffing model (lease vs. W-2) before finalizing payroll requirements
• Workers' compensation insurance — confirmed mandatory, ballpark cost above; get real quote once wages are set
• Mobile food vendor permit / health department licensing — confirm which entity holds it, and exact GL limit required by South Bend / St. Joseph County
• Commercial auto insurance for the truck — confirmed mandatory, ballpark cost above
• Employer payroll tax match (~7.65% FICA) + Indiana SUTA — scales with actual wages, not a fixed cost
• Lease/License Agreement or W-2 onboarding paperwork (W-4, WH-4, I-9) — draft with LegalShield once model is chosen