Online Signature Lawfulness for Enterprises in Australia

How to eSign a document: online signature lawfulness for enterprises in Australia

Do you ever just want some company in your life? Look no further! Today, I will  teach you how to make a company! What up Tax Fam? So to save us the trouble of endlessly  repeating myself in regards to how to set   up a company in Australia, we have decided to  shoot a video to explain this in great detail. If you want to set up a company because: You have started a business as a sole trader   and it has now grown a lot, and you think  it is a good time to move to a company. Or maybe, you want to start a new business and  you would prefer it to be set up in a separate   structure rather than your personal name for  asset protection and tax planning purposes,   then you are in the right place. If you are here for fun... Mate - this  is going to be very boring for you. Firstly, what is a company?  A company is a legal entity   formed that can operate a business in Australia. Companies in Australia are normally called Pty  Ltd Companies and they are registered with ASIC. The most simple form of a business  is a sole trader which means the   business is basically run through  the individual and their name. In a Company situation, on the other  hand, the owners and the people who   control the company do not have to be the same  person. We have owners who are also known as   shareholders. And we have directors and  company officers who control the company.   There are also company secretaries who can do  the secretary work for the company as well. So a common question asked is when should  I set up a company for my business?   It really depends on your situation and it's best  to consult an accountant before you set one up.   If you have any questions about this,  it’s best to look at this video here. Here are a few circumstances where we would advise  clients to set up a company for their business: You have assets in your personal name and  would like to protect these from your business. Your personal income is relatively  high and would like the business   to be separate from your personal income. You have multiple businesses and do not  want the businesses to be mixed together. You have investors and business partners and  want to show a clear structure of ownership   and control between investors and partners. The company is normally registered by the  shareholder and the director. You would require   them to sign off on the forms and certificates, so  it’s a good idea to have them present in Australia   when doing this. It's quite difficult to get  signatures on forms if they are not based here. You can register a company through ASIC. It costs  about $500 and it goes up every year. So if you   do set it up for $500 with ASIC, it doesn’t come  with all the extra registrations and documents   for your company and you will need to get them  separately, which will then cost more money. If you want to set up a company  properly with the right registrations,   it's best to go through an accountant or  provider so they can provide the right   advice to you and set up the structure correctly.  This will normally cost you about $700 - $1000. Also, you will need to pay an annual fee  every 12 months to ASIC to keep the company   registered. The annual fee right now is $273  and this goes up slightly every year as well. So what are the Pros of setting up a company? Companies are taxed at 26%, which means that   it is quite low compared to the  highest tax marginal rate of 45%. They are separate legal entities so it can be  used so you can protect your personal assets. Companies are highly preferred by investors,  as it has a clear ownership structure   and ownership can be transferred to  other investors later on down the track. Generally, larger businesses prefer to deal  with Pty Ltd Companies rather than sole traders.  For example, amazon prefers to  only deal with Pty Ltd Companies. But what are the Cons? Companies are more costly to set  up than sole trader businesses.   The ongoing costs per year are also  very high compared to a sole trader. The reporting requirements are more  complex than sole traders as well   and it gets quite confusing if you’re  moving from a sole trader to a company. Alright, here is a quick checklist of  things you need before you set up a company: Firstly, you obviously need a company name.   Make sure you check on ASIC to see if the company  is available to be used in the first place. You will need a registered  office address for the company   and a place of the business address.  They can be the same address,   but please note that this address can be  found if someone pays for a search on ASIC. You will also need to provide the personal  details of the directors and shareholders,   such as their name, address,  DOB, and place of birth. For shareholders specifically, you need to provide  the ownership structure of the company, and if the   shareholder is a company, then you must provide  details of that shareholder company as well. It is important for you to work out  what each shareholder’s rights are,   and it also depends on the constitution. You  can give shareholders the following powers: Attend shareholder meetings. Vote on key  issues such as removing and changing directors.   Or receiving dividends and  distributions from the company. So once the company is set up you  should have the following documents: Company Registration Certificate. Signed   ASIC Company set up Form 201. Share  Certificates showing the ownership of shares.   Signed Director/Shareholder Minutes. And possible  signed Director/Shareholder Consent letters. Company Constitution. The company  constitution is the rulebook of the company.   It basically states what the company  directors and shareholders can and can   not do. It is important for you to keep these  documents stored in a safe and secure place. Australian Company Number – this is a 9 digit  number for ASIC to identify your company.   And a corporate key – this is an 8 digit  number that’s like a pin number for your   company information. You normally receive this in  the mail after you have registered the company,   so make sure you keep this in a secure place. Make sure you read over all those documents and  sign and date the documents where indicated.   You can also make changes to  the shareholders, directors,   and constitutions but it may cost you  some filing fees later on down the track. The next step after you have set up  your company is you must register   for certain registrations and insurances  so you can start running your business. If you are running a business  you must set up the following: Australian Business Number: this is a number  to identify your business with the ATO.   You can not run a business through  the company without an ABN. Tax file number (TFN): this is a number to  identify your tax reporting with the ATO   and allow you to lodge income tax returns  for the business. You need this as well. Goods and Services Tax (GST):   you must register for GST if you believe  you will earn over 75,000 in income a year. PAYG withholding (Pay As You Go withholding)–  when you start employing workers or even paying   the director (which could be yourself),  you must register for PAYG withholding. After setting up your registrations, it’s a good  idea to set up a bank account with a bank as well.   You should not be trading out of your personal  or individual bank account. You must be using   a business bank account under the company's name. It’s a good idea to consider the types   of insurances you need for  your small business as well.  We did a great video about this so I  will link it below and here as well. You will definitely need to set up workers'  compensation insurance if you employ workers,   and public liability insurance if  you have a physical store or office. Another thing you need to think about is the  written contracts. And what I mean by that is,   written contracts are quite important, especially  if you are dealing with third parties within   your business. However, in most cases, it's not  compulsory as well. Let me give you some examples: If you have external investors, it would be a good  idea to get a shareholders agreement in place. If you have employees, it would be a good  idea to have an employment contract in place   to outline the responsibilities, conditions,  and terms with you and our employee.   Some industries will also have contracts in  place with suppliers, contractors, and customers. You should speak to an industry expert  or lawyer about these agreements and   determine which ones you might need for your  business. Sometimes you might not need it   at the early stages of your business,  but you might later on down the track. If you are not based in Australia, you can  be a director of the company in Australia.   But, you cannot be the sole director of that  Australian Company. There must be at least 1   director who resides in Australia. For ownership,  Australian companies only require one shareholder   and this shareholder can be a foreign person  living overseas or a foreign corporation. Okay, that’s all folks. Setting up a company  isn't that difficult and it's good to get   it out of the way first. It's important  to note that once you set up a company,   the banks and other institutions will use the  start date of the company as the start date   of the business. Some institutions do not like  to deal with companies and businesses that are   relatively new in business. So sometimes it’s  a good idea to set up the company early on. We release tonnes of videos about business  structures and companies so please check them   out here. We also have ebooks on our website.  You can find our website on: boxas.com.au Alright guys, if you found this helpful  don’t forget to leave a like on the video,   and subscribe to the channel for more helpful  tips for accounting or running your business!   And if you have any questions or want me to cover  any specific topic at all, leave a comment below!   Thanks everyone, see you next time!