Business is said to be any activities carried out in order to get a return(Profit). Business could be either sales of goods(e.g, trading) or provision of services (e.g lawyer, consultancy). Business owner(s) is the person(s) who owns a business. The owner(s) of a business depends of the type/structure of business.

Structure of Business:
1. Enterprise: An enterprise is a type of business owned and controlled by one or two persons, which can be in form of Sole Proprietorship or Partnership. The owners of enterprise are called PROPRIETOR(S), and they actively take part in the day-to-day running of the business, except in the case of a dormant partner.
2. Company: A company is an entity majorly characterised by it’s legal structure. The law recognised a company as being different from its owners, therefore becoming a separate legal entity. A Company could be of the following form:
(a) Private limited Liability Company: This is a type of Company which has a minimum of 2 members and maximum of 50. The Company shares can’t be traded at the stock exchange, but it’s shares can only be subscribed to by the members of the company.
(b) Public Limited Liability Company: The name of these type of Company always end with Plc. The company owners must be minimum of 7 with no maximum, while its shares can be traded at the stock exchange and subscribed to by members of the public
Other types of Company
(c ) Public Limited by Guarantee
(d) Unlimited Company

Business Registration in Nigeria
In Nigeria, the body charged with the registration of Company and business names is the Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC). According to section 7 of Companies and Allied Matters Act(CAMA), the functions of CAC consist of the following:
(i) To administer the Act, including the regulation and supervision of the formation, incorporation, management and winding up of companies
(ii)The Commission also registers Business Names , and incorporated Trusteees as well as provises a wide range of ancilliary services.

Why your Business should be registered

Let’s go through this senerio:
Ade and Tolu are into seperate business. Ade is an entrepreneur who makes durable pampas for ladies with the best quality materials. This has been his line of business for several years, and he has a large customer base. Ade operate in the ancient way in which he doesn’t have a brand name, nor a registered business. His customers tag his product “Ade’s Pampass”.
Tolu, a new entrepreneur joined the business of making pampas. Tolu who is self educated in business got a brand name for his business and registered with “Ade Pampass Ltd” . Tolu started making Pampas with his new Company name, but his pampas are not as quality as that of Ade. Now, customer can’t differentiate between the two Ade.

Ade sales was grossly affected as they now divide Ade customer base. Ade couldn't take any action as his business was not registered. Tolu might even take a successful step in stopping Ade from calling his name Ade pampass.
Tolu run a business that is recognized by the law , whereas Ade run a business that the law doesnt know about its existence.

From the above senerio, i think we must have been able to depict why its important to register your business. Registering your business will help you safeguard your business.

Benefits of Business Registration:
1) Legal Benefit: A business name or company name duly registered with the commission(CAC) is considered to be recognized by law. This give a better image to the public that the business is not illegal in nature. Registering your business name will equally give you a legal right, as no other person can register with that name, or a similar name.
2) Business Formality: Registering your business name will enable you formalise your business. A Company or business name duly registered with the commission will be able to own a corporate accounts with Financial institutions.
3) Expansion of Scope: As a business one of your focus will be to expand your client portfolio or to grow your clientele. These can be achieved by bidding for contracts and jobs. Part of the condition for bidding for most contracts and jobs is to have a CAC certificate of registration. Nobody will trust you and your business if you are not registered.
4) Access to loan and grants: Businesses seek to obtain loans from various institution. Part of the condition for obtaining such facility is to have a CAC certificate of registration. Nobody want to part away their funds to someone they do not trust, so they mostly make CAC certificate of registration a requirement.

How to Register your Business/Company


The Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC) has simplified the process for every Nigerians so everything can be done online. You can visit the CAC website to checkout the process.

Our Company (UPI Consult) is a Financial and Consulting company. Part of our service is to help clients get their Company registered . You can contact us on 07069315012, 08109402458 for guideline on registering your company.

Do the needful today and safeguard your business

You can also read in the link below
https://medium.com/@wahabgcfr/why-you-should-register-your-business-1ed66435776f