Business Name Registration and ABN, taxation, book keeping

Hi folks, I'm new here, thanks for the owner of this forum for providing such a pleasant place and online community. Bravo! to you

Ok, here we go...

My business name registration is about to expire, and I got a few things to change down the road.

I’m planning to expand our business into 3 different businesses/industries:

1. Furniture Removals
2. Information Technology (website development and computer hardware and service)
3. Retail (merchandising and accessories)

Questions:

1. Can I have 3 business names using the same one ABN (i.e. go to Office of Fair Trading register 3 business names and link them with my ABN that I’ve been using for my Web Specialist business?

2. Ideally, should I do record keeping for each separately? i.e. make it easy when I want to sell one of the businesses in the future

3. Should I register all 3 different business names, OR just 1 business name and make it TRADING AS 3 different names?

4. Also when it comes the time to convert to a Pty Ltd / a company, is it gonna be easy to bring all these 3 business entities under a new company name? For instance Company A trading as business 1, business 2, and business 3.

I'm based in QLD by the way, and I heard from some friends that the rule might be different when it comes to business name registration, especially regarding the circumstance I have as mentioned above?

 

Howdy Besticanbe and welcome to the forum

I can only comment on NSW, however i am fairly confident that the same rules apply in Qld.

Questions:
1. Can I have 3 business names using the same one ABN (i.e. go to Office of Fair Trading register 3 business names and link them with my ABN that I’ve been using for my Web Specialist business?

YES

2. Ideally, should I do record keeping for each separately? i.e. make it easy when I want to sell one of the businesses in the future

ABSOULTELY

3. Should I register all 3 different business names, OR just 1 business name and make it TRADING AS 3 different names?

REGISTER 3 NAMES - same reason as 2

4. Also when it comes the time to convert to a Pty Ltd / a company, is it gonna be easy to bring all these 3 business entities under a new company name? For instance Company A trading as business 1, business 2, and business 3.

YES, YOU WOULD NEED TO SUBMIT A FORM AT DFT TO TRANSFER OWNERSHIP OF THE NAME TO A COMPANY.

GOOD LUCK !

 

Wow, I just posted this thread about a minute ago, and already got one good reply! This is really a great forum!

And thanks very much for your reply NickM.

I'm now hoping if someone from QLD could give some more insight on this. I too was suspecting that the rule would be the same in QLD and NSW when it comes to business registration, particularly for my current situation.

 

Hi BestICanBe

You'll be looking all over Queensland to try to find someone more knowledgable than Nick I'm in Queensland and he's in NSW, and he's our accountant

In my limited experience, NickM's advice on your question applies equally to Queensland. We have multiple business names all owned by one Pty Ltd Company with one ABN.

If you need to be certain about your specific situation, your best bet is to have 3 strong coffees and march on up to the Office of Fair Trading (www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au) with your list of questions and write down the representatives name, time, date and their answers.

Its the record-keeping for multiple businesses that is the killer I reckon... good luck

Cheers
Carl

 

Hi Carl, thanks so much for your reply. Finally someone from QLD comes to the rescue
And aha! NickM happens to be your accountant?? Unless we've run out of accountants here in QLD, NickM must be a really good accountant seeing that you're using accountant from other state NSW?

I'll have a look at the qld office of fair trading website. I think I might just pop in their office next week, and bombard them with questions, as my current business name registration will be due next week

Thanks heaps!

 

He sure is

 

Don't forget the coffees - actually you might get some sense from phoning their help line... I've had mixed results, and often given up and gone in to the service counter, but to save a trip you could see what they say over the phone. Anyway, good luck !

 

Are you going to be doing all this yourself? Or will you have employees?

 

Employees for sure
Or perhaps you have better suggestion?

Thanks again Carl, I'll give them a call before I visit their office.

 

Nope, employees sound good, unless you don't need to sleep, or eat etc