HOW TO REGISTER A BUSINESS NAME WITH JUST N5,000 IN NIGERIA

In the course of working on this directory, our team realised that most small and medium – scale enterprises were not legally registered with the Corporate Affair Commission (the body that regulates the formation and management of companies in Nigeria). A lot of reasons were given for none registration of business names, ranging from lack of finance to lack of awareness. Some felt that the rigours in registering an enterprise or company are complex and would prefer not to be involved in it. Others are of the view that the government (federal, state and local) and her agencies are not doing enough in terms of mass orientation and public awareness. Above all, it was generally opined that the government and other trade organisations should take it upon itself to educate would-be entrepreneurs and existing entrepreneurs that have not registered their businesses to do so as to give such businesses some legitimacy and uniqueness. REASONS WHY ENTREPRENEURS AND COMPANIES REGISTER BUSINESS NAMES Some of the reasons why entrepreneurs or prospective entrepreneurs are encouraged to register their business or company are: For legitimacy. Legally registering a business gives it legitimacy. It shows potential customers, suppliers, and lenders that you are serious about your work and your responsibilities as a business owner. To enforce any contract that you sign under the business or company name. You cannot file a lawsuit in court as a business owner if your business is not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Registration is required as to provide notice to the public of who owns or stands behind a business entity. Businesses are registered to allow the business owner to have the name on the file so that the business or company name would not be used by another business. The more you use it and become known to the public by the name, the more legal protection your business name earns against “encroachment” by other businesses. Registration is required of any business or company so as to open and operate a bank account in that name. With the registration, loans and advances can also be accessed from the bank. HOW TO REGISTER A BUSINESS NAME Different countries, world over, have different ways of registering business names or company names. In Nigeria, the mandate to register businesses was given to the Corporate Affairs Commission, established by the Companies and Allied Matter Act and was promulgated in 1990. Registering a business name depend on the type of business ownership, that is, sole proprietor (one-man business), partnership, private/public companies and incorporated trustees (Non-Governmental Organisations). HOW TO REGISTER A BUSINESS NAME AS AN ENTERPRISE OR SOLE ENTREPRENEUR The registration of business names can be done in two different ways. Firstly, is by registering the business name yourself; and secondly, by engaging the services of a lawyer. But doing it yourself is cheaper and stress-free. Doing it yourself involves the following processes: Þ Decide on a name (or alternative names) to use as business name. Þ Walk into the nearest Corporate Affairs Commission’s office to get the necessary forms; Reservation and Availability of Name form Application forms and file Þ Fill the forms and submit with your fees. Reservation and availability of name – N250 Business Name search fee – N500 Registration of business name – N4, 000 Þ Search would be conducted for the availability of the names submitted from the database of the Corporate Affairs Commission (usually two business names are submitted). The search result would be release at least 2 weeks after submission of the names; as ‘available’ or ‘not available’. If the search is successful as a result of the name not being in use before; the registration process can continue and the certificate is expected to be ready for collection after a month. If the searched name is already in use, another search will be conducted with another search fee. This will continue until an unused name is confirmed. Therefore, it is advisable to use entirely new or formulated name for any business or company.