Businesses

Owning and running a business is a very technical process with lots of rules and regulations involved. It is an exciting venture, nonetheless. For most people, having a business is a dream come true because of the prospects of being in charge of something they care about deeply enough to monetise. However, it also comes with many responsibilities which one could avoid when working for someone else. With your business, you have to take up all the duties yourself. Even if you have employees, it is still your job to make sure they do theirs. Add to this is the fact that you have to be very familiar with the different laws that are subject to modifications over time.

When it comes to doing business in Australia, there are certain things that you have to consider. One of them is the business structure. Your business structure determines many things such as the level of control you will have in the business, the regulatory obligations, amount of tax you have to pay, your personal liability, and many others. In Australia, there are four business structures that you may have. These includes:

Sole Trader: This business is a sole proprietorship where you register as the sole owner. For this type of business, you are responsible for every legal aspect and have personal liability.

Company: A company is a commercial entity that exists solely as a legal being different from the shareholders and those running the company. This means a company has its liability separate from that of everyone connected to it.

Partnership: This is when two or more people or entity form a business that is not registered in the form of company.  There are usually restrictions in terms of the maximum number of people that can form a partnership.

Trust: This is an entity holding an asset which could be income, property, or anything else for the benefit of a third party.

The structure of your business is the first thing you have to consider, and once this determined, you can go ahead to choose the business type that is most suitable for your industry. There are many options available such as independent contractor, franchise, online business, etc.

It is when you have done the above that you can go ahead and apply for a business number. The Australian Business Number is an obligatory condition for starting any business. It is a unique 11-digit number that serves as an identifier for your business. It is this number that gives you the ability to get all the benefits for this owning a business, register a business name, claim taxes, etc. Usually, the application for a business name and ABN can be made at the same time, and it is easier this way.

You also need to have a domain name for your business after you have the ABN and business name. It is essential to pick an easy to recognise the name that’s completely related to your business. There are many other things you will need to like securing a funding source, registering for taxes, choosing software stack, etc.