How would a business name end up on the wrong ABN?

If the trust and the trustee company each have an ABN, a new registration can go onto either. Nothing afterwards checks it against where your other names sit.

Which ABN should my business names be on?

That depends on your structure, so it's a question for your accountant. Komiti shows where they are now; it doesn't decide where they should be.

Does the check cost anything or need an account?

No. The structure check is free, needs no account, and nothing you enter is stored.

A business name can sit on the wrong ABN, and nothing tells you

If you trade through a trust with a corporate trustee, or run more than one entity, you have more than one ABN. When a new business name is registered, it goes onto one of them. It's easy for it to land on the wrong one, for example the trustee company's own ABN instead of the trust's, and nothing in the process flags it afterwards.

It happened to Komiti's founder

A new business name was registered to the trustee company's ABN instead of the trust's, where the other names sit. Nobody noticed for about five weeks. It was found by checking the register by hand.

It's an easy mistake to make and a hard one to see, because everything keeps working. That's why it's worth checking rather than assuming.

Why it's worth knowing

Which entity holds a business name depends on how your structure is set up, and that's a question for your accountant. Komiti doesn't decide it. What Komiti can do is show you, from the public register, where each name sits right now, so the question gets asked at all.

How to check in seconds

Komiti's free structure check reads the public ABN register (ABN Lookup). Enter the ABN of the entity that actually trades (for a trust, the trust's ABN) and up to six other ABNs in your group. It lists every business name registered to a different ABN from the trading one. No account, and nothing you enter is stored.

If you'd like to know if anything changes, the free monthly watch re-reads the register for those ABNs each month and emails you only when a business name moves, appears or disappears, or an ABN's status changes. You confirm it from your inbox first, and stopping it is one click from any email it sends.

Check your business names

Questions

How would a business name end up on the wrong ABN?: If the trust and the trustee company each have an ABN, a new registration can go onto either. Nothing afterwards checks it against where your other names sit.
Which ABN should my business names be on?: That depends on your structure, so it's a question for your accountant. Komiti shows where they are now; it doesn't decide where they should be.
Does the check cost anything or need an account?: No. The structure check is free, needs no account, and nothing you enter is stored.

General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice.