Need form 5500 for plan with no assets?

Hello! I have a small business and a plan with no assets set up as part of a ROBS from personal retirement funds.  I've had a company file form 5500 each year.  Almost 5 years in business and we do not have any assets in the plan--I don't take a salary, there haven't been any profits, the admin is too much for my small business.   I would close the business but it does pay off the bank loan and my personal guarantee on the 10 year lease. 

A company that specializes in using personal 401K funds to start a business (ROBS) helped me set up and borrow from my retirement funds.  The $150K I borrowed is likely gone given our current lack of profits and trend.  The monthly fee to my company is a cost I need to verify whether it's necessary, if some shortened form (no census) would be acceptible and/or DIY.  OR, if partnering with the same person each year would be a smoother process.   However, finding anyone familiar with this kind of financial instrument has been difficult. 

Is filing the form 5500 necessary given the lack of assets? I've read less than $250K  is not necessary to file. The company who files for me yearly always is puzzled but I still fill out a census of every employee,  assign a value to company by best guess method.  It's always someone different handling the filing than the last year, it takes several emails/phone calls to clarify that although we have revenue, we are either losing money or realizing less than 10K profit/year on 1 million in sales and I have no extra time to make a 401K part of employee benefits.  The company I employ specializes in ROBS but the process seems too expensive for a once/year filing ($130/month + filing fees of another $150 or so).  I need to streamline and although this let me start a business when banks weren't lending to small business, I've had to accept the $150k is gone.   Apologies if this isn't the appropriate forum, I wear a lot of hats.  I appreciate professionals weighing in on alternates or if staying the course  is recommended.  Trying to sever ties with the admin company got me several letters of gloom and doom from them. Any insight would be very appreciated.

You found the right place to find people who can help but your question is kind of a mess.  So allow me to start helping by asking some basic questions:

1) You say this plan is a ROBs but it has no assets.  That doesn't make sense it would seem like the plan has to at least have the company stock in it as an assets.  It might not be worth very much given the facts you are saying but it seems like it ought to at least have one asset in it the company stock.  Is that true there is still company stock in the plan? 

2) You talk about filling out a census for every employee.  So you have employees on your payroll?  If so, are there any employees that are NOT family members? 

Let's start there and you might find others will ask a few other questions.  But based on those answers we can either start to answer your questions or have a better sense what the follow up questions need to be. 

I would also point out this forum is mostly populated with people who work  in the retirement field.  I just so happen to stop by here this weekend.  You will get most of your answers Monday not on the weekend as most people (myself included) rarely stop by on the weekends. 

You say this plan is a ROBS plan but it has no assets. In order to have a ROBS plan, the 401k has to own some stock of the corporation.  You state the business is losing money or realizing less than 10K profit/year.  However revenue, or lack thereof, is not the basis of whether a 5500 is required.  The 401k has to own a percentage of the corporation and that corporation has to have a value.   As ESOP Guy said, It might not be worth very much but it has to have some value.