Skip to main content

Why You Should Register Your Business Now!

Why should I register my business? 

That may seem like an obvious question to everyone who has registered his business, but it may be a nagging question at the back of the minds of those who have not registered their businesses or who feel that their businesses are not worth registering. In Nigeria, where a large number of business men and women are petty traders, that would be a good question to ask. But everyone who engages in any kind of business, including trading, and is serious about the growth of the business, should seriously consider the necessity of registering their businesses, as it may be one of the wisest decisions they ever took. 

Although, this article focuses on business names, it also applies to companies and incorporated trustees (NGOs).

An unregistered business name is illegal

Some businessmen and women claim that they have business names and have been using it for years. In reality, to say that you have an “unregistered” business name is a contradiction. You cannot have an unregistered business name; you can only have a business name, because every business name must be registered. If it is not registered it is not a business name.

The body charged with undertaking the registration or incorporation of businesses in Nigeria is the Corporate Affairs Commission, often referred to by its acronym, CAC. Every serious minded businessperson must approach the CAC to incorporate their business. Incorporation or registration means that your business has gone official or is now recognised by the government. The further implication of this is that you are no longer operating an “illegal” business. Yes, if you have not registered your business, you are operating it illegally. 

You may be using another person’s business name

For the businessperson who is trading or doing business under a name that is not registered with the CAC, chances are that you are infringing on another person’s registered business name? This is a very good reason to undertake the formal registration of your business with the CAC — it safeguards your business name from being used by others. 


It is very common to find persons who have been using a certain business name for years to find the name declined for registration by the CAC, because either someone else has already registered the exact name, or the name is so similar to another name already in existence. This is particularly detrimental to a business when a person has built up customers who know him by that name. 

Not registering your business will lead to future loss of opportunities, grants and aids for your business

Avoiding the future disadvantages of not registering your business is greater than the money you will spend in registering your business. For instance, every serious minded person knows that they will attract more customers and business deals with a registered business or company than with an unregistered one. In fact, it is not uncommon for people to lose very important and profitable opportunities because they could not provide their certificate of incorporation to the client or customer. Not wanting to lose such opportunities, some businesspersons bring in their friends with registered businesses to front for them on the agreement that they will share the profits. Registering their businesses would have saved them this headache and loss of profits. 

Some persons may think this a good way out of not registering their businesses, but you need to understand that every registered business name has a “nature of business” for which it is registered. That is, every business is registered to carry out specific types of businesses. If you haven’t registered your business and seek to use a friend’s registered business to secure a contract, what is the guarantee that the nature of business for which your friend’s business is registered tallies with the business you want to carry out? 

Apart from losing business opportunities, you could also lose grants and aids from the government or non-profit-organizations. One of the criteria for grants or aids is the presentation of your CAC certificate. Not having it means automatic disqualification.

Don’t wait until the dying moments before registering your business

Most business persons will not see the need to register their businesses until the needs discussed above arise. What that does is to simply depict the ignorance or unseriousness of a business owner. For why should a businessperson wait until the dying moments before doing what is needful for the growth of his business? When we do things at dying moments, we are often hasty and anxious. And at such times there is no guaranty that a person won’t fall into wrong hands, get duped, pay more for the registration or even get delayed for one reason or the other. This is a myopic way of living. Most businesspersons who operate this way lack foresight; they think of the moment and the moment alone. A serious minded, forward looking, businessperson would foresee the future and make necessary arrangements in the present to safeguard his future. One way for a businessperson to safeguard his business is to get it registered with the CAC today.

Articles on this site are meant for general knowledge only, not as professional advice. If you need personal advice on matters contained herein, you are advised to contact a professional.

We are a firm of legal practitioners and CAC certified agents. We help business owners, entrepreneurs and associations register their businesses, companies and associations with ease. If you need our help with any of the matters contained in the article, feel free to send us a mail at niyiama@yahoo.com or reach us on WhatsApp at +234-08126194751
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Requirements for Registration of Companies

This discussion focuses on requirements for the registration of a Private Company Limited by Shares, otherwise called Private Limited Liability Company or Ltd for short. The reason is not farfetched. It is the major brand of companies registered with the CAC in Nigeria. Apart from that, except for a few differences, the requirements are largely the same with other brands of company registrations. 1 - Proposed Names You must supply at least two proposed names for the company. They are called proposed (options) because until either of the names is submitted and reserved by the CAC for registration, you can’t use them for registration. Only the CAC can decide which name is appropriate for registration. Always state your preferred name first, because CAC looks at the first name stated, before considering the second. If approved, a name is reserved for 60 days. To know more about choosing a name for your business, read this article .  2 - Objects of the Proposed Company The objects of the
Post a Comment
Read more

Be Wary of these Scams (2) - The Crypto Investment

Crypto currencies have become very popular. Although their acceptability as a means of exchange is still widely debated, it has come to be one of the greatest sources of investments in the world today. Since the advent of Bitcoin in 2009, there now exists over 20,000 crypto currencies in the world. As of August 15, 2022, the number of cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap stood at 20,575. According to Finbold , this figure represents a growth of 709 new digital assets or a 3.5% increase from the 19,866 recorded on June 15. Nigerians are not left out in the craze to invest in cryptos. This is particularly true for teens and youths. And that’s why there is a need to watch out for crypto scams, because fraudsters have also gotten on the game. The United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission in a recent article posted on its website stated: We are concerned that the rising use of virtual currencies in the global marketplace may entice fraudsters to lure investors into
Post a Comment
Read more

Requirements for Registration of Incorporated Trustees (NGOs, Associations, Foundations, Clubs)

Unlike business name and company registrations, registration of Incorporated Trustees (IT) is in a class of its own. This is because Incorporated Trustees are non-profit organisations (NGOs) and often end with Associations, Clubs etc. Since the coming into place of the CAC’s Company’s Registration Portal (CRP), the procedure for registration has become really simplified and less time-wasting. ITs are often registered for religious, educational, literary, scientific, social, development, cultural, sporting or charitable purpose.  1 - Proposed Names As in business name and company registration, you must provide proposed names. But unlike the former, Incorporated Trustees now allows for 4 proposed names. This is because the cost of reserving a name for IT registration is ten times more than that for reserving a business name or company. Application for Reservation of name for registration of an IT is called an application for consent to register the association with the CAC. A
Post a Comment
Read more