ABN or company? The 90-second difference before you register anything

Most first-time founders register the wrong thing first. Here is the practical order of operations.

By LawsFinder Desk

What this means for your money and paperwork

An ABN identifies a business activity; a company (ACN) is a separate legal person. Registering a company creates the entity — the ABN is then registered for that entity. Doing it in the wrong order means duplicate applications and confused tax registrations.

Who is affected Anyone starting to trade: sole traders, partnerships, and new companies.

The practical order 1. Decide the structure (sole trader / partnership / company) — this decision affects tax and personal liability, and structural advice is where a professional earns their fee. 2. Company route: register the company with ASIC first (you get the ACN). 3. Then apply for the ABN (and GST if you expect ≥ $75,000 turnover).

LawsFinder can help you prepare the ABN paperwork correctly — and will point you to a professional for the structure decision, because that one is advice, not paperwork.