I don’t write about this because I feel it is very mundane and most people would know it. I found out I was wrong.

So here it is
.

Business name is a name. It can have ventures or enterprise, associates or a variety of names.

Registered company must end with ‘LTD’.

Incorporated trustees start with ‘Incorporaed Trustees of ‘

Forget whatever you know the name of your church to be, the registered name may be totally different but it must start with ‘incorporated trustees of’.

Just like ‘Deeper Life Church’ is registered as ‘Incorporates Trustees of Deeper Christian Life Ministries’. Most NGOs are registered under this head.

Please don’t register your NGO and a business name or a registered company. There is a leak in your bag. It might be too late by the time you find it.

Their tax structures differ. The liabilities of the founders differ. Their benefits also differ.

For example NGOs ordinarily aren’t taxable. But as we are adapting in our money making methods so is the tax man adapting in his money collecting moves. There are taxation vehicles for NGOs now.

I will not state the laws guiding them here because they are a bit complex for writing and they change.

Yes o. They change.

For example. 19 yeas ago, we were told in law school you could upgrade business name to registered company.

Came to the real world it was not possible. 6 years after that it was possible via certain procedures.

With the digitalization, I can’t say what they’ve made of it. For me, the fear of CAC portal is the begining of wisdom. So I use different approaches, depending on the issue.

Private companies did not necessarily have to have company secretaries. Today they MUST have company secretaries.

Too many changes. The list is endless and it grows by the day.

It is more complex than just entering the portal and doing it yourself (which you can):

What business (es) do you want that registered name for.

What is your long term vision for that idea

Who are those you want to bring on board.

What are other regulations of the government or the union that govern that industry.

What are the contracts you’ve already entered into or partners you are working on, on behalf of that idea.

What is the initial capital liability for it.

The list is long.

Talk to a professional.

On the long run, it is cheaper.

Here is my toast to your perpetual relevance.