Starting a Electrical Contracting business

Hi,

My name is Matt and I'm new to this site. I have just completed my electrical contracting course so that I can start up my own business.

I went to see an accountant to setup the company etc. He advised me to setup as ABC Pty Ltd ATF ABC Discretionary Family Trust trading as ABC. To me this was all about protection. And he told me all finances were to go through the family trust. Now i've then finally got my ABN from this guy (for some reason it took 2 weeks) and applied for my contractors licence from EnergySafety. EnergySafety have told me that an electrical contractor cant operate as a family trust.

Is anyone in this field? If so can you give some advice as to how you have setup to provide some protection.

If I am setup like this in which name do I buy a car and put the loan for the car in?

 

Hi Marshall,

Sounds like your accountant got a bit mixed up. Certainly for the sake of keeping EnergySafety happy. Your accountant may not have any other clients who are electrical contractors (I'd say not, otherwise your accountant would have already had this issue).

It would probably be best to find an accountant who deals with electrical contractors and EnergySafety, as they would be up-to-date and aware of the issues you may have running your business.

Cheers,

Dan

 

Thanks for that Dan. I've never needed an accountant before so just curious how do I find one that would suit me?

 

Hi Matt,

Do you have any colleagues or know anyone else who works as an electrical contractor? You can ask them who they use as an accountant. They can also help you with other issues

Cheers,

Dan

 

You have a company. ABC Pty Ltd.

Why not apply under this company. Who cares if it is a trustee company.

 

Yeah, that's what I did when I was contracting. I just got issued the license under ABC Pty Ltd.

Make sure you work out exactly how much it costs to run you business per hour/day/week/month. Don't just base your prices off what all the other guys are charging. That's not smart.

 

jUST USE YOUR TRUSTEE COMPANY

 

Hi Matt

We are an electrical contractor with the same set up. We are ABC Pty Ltd, as trustees for the ABC family trust trading as ABC. Your company is the entity you register with. You are a company who are trustees for the trust, the trust isnt the legal entity. I know its confusing, took me ages to get my head around it!! Just remember you are a company, not a trust and you should be ok!!

Good luck.

Pink

 

Hi Matt,

Seems you already have your answer, and they are correct.

I have a couple of similar business as clients, and they also use their trustee company to hold their licenses.

If you need any other help please feel free to post again.