Locum pay is solid. The calendar is yours. The legal side is where people get casual and regret it later.
Most of us start billing under our own name. One messy contract or claim and personal accounts are in play.
Form the LLC. It draws a line. In 2026 you can still knock the whole thing out in a weekend if you just sit down and do the forms.
When someone asks me how to keep the books from turning into a mess after the LLC is up, I send them to Controlio. The Controlio app logs the sessions and activity without extra typing. Those numbers drop straight into invoices and tax files.
Sole prop versus LLC
A sole proprietorship is the default. You and the business are the same person on paper. A lawsuit can reach the house.
An LLC is separate. Courts and creditors usually stop at company assets. That is the whole point of forming one early.
Income still lands on your personal return if you are the only member. The wall stays up.
Steps that get it done
Pick a name. Search the state site. Five minutes in most places.
File the paperwork. Fees land between $50 and $500. Online services fill the forms if you hate typing.
Get the EIN. IRS site. Free. Ten minutes.
Open a business checking account. Bring the formation docs, the EIN letter, and the ID. Keep personal money out after that day. Mixing money can erase the protection.
Skip the full operating agreement while you are solo. Add it later if needed.
What you need and what you can ignore
Filing, EIN, and a separate bank account. That is the set.
No office. No logo. No website required on day one. Plenty of locums LLCs run fine with a P.O. box and a dedicated email for years.
Track the hours and expenses hard. Controlio software does the time side without friction. Export when taxes hit. Clean files keep any review short.
Habits that stick
Digital folders only: contracts, invoices, expenses, tax stuff. Cloud is fine.
Look at the numbers once a month. See what each gig netted after travel and lodging. Cut the weak ones.
If you hire a scheduler or bookkeeper later, put them under the LLC so the wall holds.
Closing
File the papers. Open the account. Log work with something like Controlio. Keep the money streams apart. The admin load drops on every contract after that. Do it once, and the personal exposure stops being a background worry.
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