Many fabulous business ideas are currently languishing in indecision and intimidation over the bureaucracy and confusion surrounding simply registering a company. The information that you can get piecemeal from government departments and magazines can be difficult to understand, but company registration is a fairly straightforward process for most new small businesses. Today we check out the Company Registration process for proprietary companies, the most common type of small and medium businesses in Australia, through 4 simple steps.
Step 1: Name your business
Deliberations over the best name for your business usually start at around the same time as you get the base profit-making idea for it. When you've decided to start on the road to company registration though, these are the steps that need to be taken to make that name official. Reserve your company name: If you have your heart set on a business name but aren't yet ready for company registration, you can pay a $35 fee to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to reserve it. In addition to giving you the time to organize registration properly, reserving your name also allows you to turn up potential problems with it early. Use your ACN as your company name: If you aren't feeling particularly creative at company registration time, you can simply tick the box on your form indicating that you'll be using your Australian Company Number as your registered business name. Of course, this doesn't doom you to days of answering the phone with "Welcome to Eight Three One Four Six Two Zero Zero Two, how may I direct your call?"! You can always set an alternative trading name later.
2: Deciding on a constitution
You'll need to set down the rules the company will be governed by at the time of registration. Most small businesses opt to use the Replaceable Rules contained within section 141 of the Corporations Law as their constitution. However, you can also modify, add to or displace parts of these rules with your own company constitution. If you choose to do this you may need a lawyer to review them to ensure that your Online Company Registration constitution adheres to all other relevant laws.
3: Directors and Secretaries
Proprietary companies need at least one director and one secretary. They can be the same person. Written consent is needed to indicate that each relevant person is willing to be named as a director, secretary or member of a registered company. These consents don't need to be lodged with the company registration application, but much like your tax return receipts, they will still need to be held.
Registration of a company: Step 4: Submit the form
You will need to complete a form, obtainable from ASIC, stating:
• The class of the company
• The type of company
• Details of the principal office (which must be within Australia)
• Director's details
• Secretary's details (As mentioned, this can be the same person as the director if necessary)
• Member/s details (Not necessary, but if they are included their details are required)
• Share details
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