Expanding your business into America Guide [2026 edition]

March 14, 2022
Reading time 15min

Our free Expanding Your Business Into America ebook is a practical guide put together by our US expansion team. It covers the steps involved in moving your business into the United States and hiring your first American employees. The content draws on years of working with clients around the world as they make this transition.

It pulls together the questions we hear most often and gives ballpark costs for each stage. You’ll also find honest reflections from companies already on the other side, plus input from our specialists in tax, visas, and HR.

The Expanding your business into America eBook outlines:

Routes to setting up a business in America, including forming an American subsidiary

The pros and cons of the different options, times when subsidiary is the only way to go and indications of costs attached to different options

Benefits American employees will expect and costings of them

Advantages and disadvantages of establishing your business in different states

Visa types

Tax considerations

The process of opening a US bank account

American business culture and how it may differ from what you’re used to - a kind of faux pas avoidance cheat sheet!

A look at litigation and liability

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CLIENT REVIEWS

Since 2015, hundreds of businesses have put their trust in Foothold America.

"Foothold America was able to get things done for us very quickly. They made life easier for us and worked with us to make sure staff were looked after and that we were able to get up and running."

Operations Manager, UK Network Security Company

"We needed to access the US market to maximize our potential for growth. We selected our employee and Foothold America managed the payroll and payroll taxes, benefits, taxes and other employee logistics, enabling us to avoid dealing with the bureaucratic maze of employing someone in the US."

CEO, Belgium Manufacturing Company

"Foothold America was instrumental in helping my UK company employ field applications sales people in the US without having to set up a US subsidiary, which is the usual route for foreign companies. Foothold America facilitated this by employing the people we had chosen and handling all the employment, terms, salaries, taxes, social costs etc. They then billed us monthly for these costs plus a reasonable service charge. As a result, we were able get going very quickly with our own people in the USA and at a much lower cost base."

CEO, UK Biotech Company

"I couldn’t manage our US subsidiary without Foothold America. Our small HR department isn’t equipped with the knowledge or staff to handle our US employees. I could end my workday in the UK knowing Foothold America would take care of everything in the US."

Head of HR, UK financial services firm

"We currently use Foothold America's Employer of Record Service and plan to move to their People Partnership Service when we set up an entity in the coming months. It’s great knowing we can work with one partner through various stages of our growth."

CMO, Norway IT company

"We started US expansion on our own and soon after, we stumbled over employee benefits leaving our expat staff and families without healthcare insurance. It was a huge risk for them and our company. Foothold America came in and got us sorted. They’ve been taking care of us ever since."