You’ve just gotten that brilliant business idea, done your market research, sales are promising, and you’re about to open a business account. However, to legally establish your business in Nigeria, you must register it with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) using a name that sends the right message and hasn’t already been taken.
Registering your business has many advantages besides the legal benefits it offers your business.
In this article, we’ll go through the steps, documents, and benefits of registering your business online on the CAC website and fintech apps like the Moniepoint Business Banking app.
Let’s dive in!
What’s a Business Name?
A business name is the official unique identity of your venture, which makes you stand out from others and is legally recognised by the law.
Your registered business name ensures that your business stands as a separate legal entity. It also enables you to open an official bank account, gain a professional presence in the market, and conduct marketing functions.
Ultimately, your business name makes your business credible and improves your customers’ trust and loyalty.
Why Should You Register Your Business Name with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)?
Registering your business with the CAC comes with numerous benefits, some of which include;
1. You Obtain a Certificate of Registration
When you successfully register your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission, you receive your Certificate of Registration and Status Report Document. This certificate comes in handy for various authentication and verification processes.
Fortunately, you can obtain your CAC e-certificate without walking into a nearby CAC office by registering online on the CAC website or a Fintech banking mobile app like the Moniepoint Business Banking App.
2. Boost Your Businesses’ Credibility
Gaining the utmost trust and loyalty of your customers is essential for the growth of your venture.
Registering your business with the CAC boosts its trustworthiness, thereby making your customers and investors more at ease. Knowing they can track your business, clients feel safer paying into your business account with a registered business name than a personal account.
3. Saves your Business from Liabilities and Sanctions
Operating your business with a registered business name is compulsory in Nigeria, and doing so can free your business from sanctions.
Registering your business with the CAC protects your business from shady operations by scammers who might pretend to be you.
Additionally, registering your business as a public or private company enables your business to become a separate legal entity. This means you don’t have to use your personal assets to pay off any debts if your business fails. Pretty reassuring, right?
4. It Makes your Business Attractive to Investors
Registering your business opens up many financial possibilities, such as attracting investors and accessing loans. Most investors feel assured investing in a registered business instead of an unregistered one.
How to Register Your Business Name on the CAC Website
You can register your business by following the steps below:
- Sign up on the CAC portal: Navigate to the CAC website and sign up with your personal details, such as your date of birth, name, gender, phone number, nationality, NIN or a valid ID.
- Verify your Account: After signing up, verify your account via the link sent to your email.
- Reserve a Business Name: You can check if your preferred business name is available on the CAC portal.
- Input your business details: After reserving your business name, enter the availability code given to you by the CAC on the dashboard. Then, go ahead and fill in your business start date, address, etc.
- Provide particulars of directors: These are your personal details and those of any other owners and directors in charge of the business. The details include email addresses, NINs, phone numbers, etc.
- Memorandum of Articles of Association documents: this step is essential if you are registering a public or private company.
- Upload required documents: At this level, you will need to upload the necessary documents, such as passport photos, utility bills, signatures, and valid IDs.
- Pay the registration fees: These include the registration fees, filing, and stamp duty fees.
How to Register your Business Name Alternatively on the Moniepoint Business Banking app
An alternative way to register your business with the CAC is on the Moniepoint Business Bank. As an account holder, you do not have to provide all your details from scratch and get your certificate of registration within five days.
Follow the steps below to register your business;
- Log in to your Moniepoint Business Banking dashboard and click on the CAC business name registration banner at the top.
- After clicking on the banner, you’ll see a page showing your business information. The information contains details such as the registration cost and a list of documents the CAC requires for your business name registration.
- Once you see the requirements displayed and wish to continue, click “proceed”. You’ll see a page where you can select the type of business registration you want to perform. However, on the Moniepoint Business Banking app, you can choose only the “business name registration” option.
- To proceed to the next step, you must have successfully linked your NIN to your account. If you haven’t done so, you’ll receive an error message preventing you from continuing.
- Once you have linked your NIN to your business account, you can proceed to a page where you’ll be required to provide your business information.
- After providing your business information, you will be directed to the next page, where you can choose your preferred business name. The names will also be verified to ensure they don’t contain prohibited words and haven’t previously been registered with the CAC. You’ll know if your names are okay to use if you are allowed to proceed to the next stage after clicking “continue.”
- The next step is for you to provide some personal information, such as your gender, occupation, and nationality, relevant to your registration with CAC.
- On the next page, you’ll be required to upload a valid means of identification, such as your NIN document, driver’s licence, or Voter’s card.
- Next, input your business address in the required field. You can also use your residential address if the details are already in your Moniepoint business bank app.
- On the next page, the Attestation page, you’ll see the details you filled out on this page while completing the business name registration process.
- This step allows you to review your inputted details and edit them if necessary before submission. Once satisfied with the displayed information, click “I Attest.”
- After this, your information is submitted to the CAC business registration service. However, if incorrect information is flagged, you won’t be allowed to proceed to the final step until you rectify it.
- Once the business registration service successfully sends and receives your information, you’ll be navigated to the “Payment Page.”
- If you are satisfied with the payment information, click the “Confirm Payment” Button to process the payment. If the current available balance is insufficient for the transaction, you will be informed, and the “Confirm Payment” button will be greyed and inactive.
- Once your payment transaction is successful, you’ll be shown a page that shows that your request has been successfully processed and is in a pending state at CAC.
- When you click “Continue to Dashboard” or log in to the app, you will be taken to your dashboard.
- Here, you will no longer see the CAC Business Registration banner; rather, an “alert” banner showing that your business name registration has started will be displayed.
- If the CAC has approved any of your preferred business names, you’ll receive an alert showing that your business name has been approved.
- Once you click the “Download Certificate” button, you will be shown the approved business name, and your CAC Registration certificate will be downloaded to your device.
- If the registration failed and your application was rejected, you will receive an alert on your dashboard. Once you click on the “view details button”, you will see the complete details.
Conclusion
Registering your business with the CAC isn’t just unnecessary paperwork. A registered business enables you to boost your venture’s credibility, protect your assets, and open you up to opportunities you need to grow your business.
