Owner's pay do you 1099 it

Nope.

If owner is a sole proprietor or an LLC then there is no such thing as "pay", only equity draw. At worst if a partnership the K-1 will indicate change in equity or guaranteed payments.

If a Subchapter S or LLC electing S status then the owner is on payroll and gets a W2.

A LLC member that loans money to the company as a true loan might get a 1099 INT, but that is about it

If it’s an owner’s draw, it is not put on a 1099. If the owner received a paycheck, then it should be on a W-2.

Question: if the company is just starting and the owner has not setup taxes yet or insurances to be able to pay himself as a W-2 employee would it be best to just make regular small draws in lieu of paychecks?

Good day, mclain_enterprises.

Instead of creating a paycheck, you may write a check from an owner's equity account. This gives you more flexibility with wages and allows you to adjust the compensation based on the business' performance. I'll guide you how.

Let's create an Equity account first:

1. Go to the Gear icon and select Chart of Accounts.
2. On the Chart of Accounts page, click on New.
3. From the Account Type drop-down arrow, choose Equity.
4. From the Detail Type drop-down arrow, select Owner’s Equity. 
   Note: S Corporations use Owner’s equity to show the cumulative net income or loss of their business as of the beginning of the fiscal year.
5. Enter an opening balance.
6. Click on Save and Close.

Then, write a check by following these steps:

1. Click on the + New button and select Check.
2. Choose the bank account where your money will be withdrawn.
3. Fill in the check fields. Make sure to select the Owner's equity account in the Category field.
4. Click on Save and close once done.

You can learn more about navigating your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account through this link: Getting started with QuickBooks Online. We've collated some resources from there to help you through the setup process and recommended essential tasks to get your books up and running.

We're always to help if you have further questions. Just leave a comment below and we'll fill you in. Take care and have a wonderful day.