Online company registration pro's and con's

[CLC Asia]

Hi,

I've just recently returned to Australia from Asia, where I had my business registered in Thailand.

While I have alot to learn in terms of Australian compliance I have one semi urgent question: What are the pro's and con's of using the online services to register your business in Australia?

I spoke to a local accountant and he quoted $2000 to register a business in less than 24 hours. Fine, but I'd like to (sensibly) minimize costs where I can.

I have a bit of time on my hands, would registering a business via an online provider be a sensible thing to do?

Many thanks in advance.

[FS Concierge]

Hi CLC

Welcome to Flying Solo and welcome back to Australia too.

Apologies that I'm not the right person to answer your question, but I'm sure there'll be someone around here who will pop in to help.

All the best,
Jayne

[StellarScott]

Hi CLC

What are you hoping to register

If you are setting up as sole trader you need to do two things

One is register your trading name second is apply for an australian business number

ABN via www.abr.gov.au

trading name via the appropriate state authority

If your setting up a proprietary limited company or are unsure worth sitting down with an accountant / adviser and setting it up right

this site will give you lots of info about operating in NSW

http://www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Make sure you accountant is one who listens and understands your needs

Check the fine article linked on the home page under the finance tab for some ideas on finding right accountant for you

[Adam Wozniak - wecancreate]

Hi CLC,

If you're talking about starting out as a sole trader, you might be interested in an article I wrote about the steps needed to accomplish this. Check it out here.

Hope it helps, and best of luck with it all!

[victorng]

$2,000 for incorporation is a lot! Did that include anything else? $400 to $800 sounds about right.

EDIT: I see you use the term 'register a business' - my comments relate to company incorporation.

[CLC Asia]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the answers so far!

Hopefully I am being more specific here, but I'd like to incorporate a company (Pty Ltd). I was told it would all be done in 24 hours.

Based on this, does online registration make sense?

[Felicity_Sapphire]

The ASIC fees to set up a company are $400, so anything above this is for the preparation of paperwork & the accountant's time.

A good accountant should be able to get a company within 24 hours without charging a premium for it - in my experience, I've never had one take longer.

To give you a guage, the company I use for my business charge me $551 for a standard Pty Ltd company, which includes all of the paperwork and a nice folder, which I oncharge to my clients at cost. I then charge for my time on top of that, which is approx 1-2 hours at my hourly rate.