Are you a driven entrepreneur seeking to establish your business venture? If so, then why not consider setting up a sole proprietorship? Setting up a sole proprietorship can provide you with a range of incentives such as maintaining complete control over the business operations and decisions, and enjoying 100% of the business profits. In addition to that, registering a sole proprietorship is simple and requires minimal documentation and formalities in comparison to various other business structures.
So why don’t you take the first step and register your sole proprietorship today? Through this blog, we will be covering the procedure to register a sole proprietorship and will further cover the pros and cons of a proprietorship firm.
What is Sole Proprietorship?
A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business with a single owner and no legal separation between the individual and the business. The owner obtains all earnings but is responsible for all obligations and losses.
A sole proprietorship’s owner is responsible for paying personal income tax on firm profits. Many sole owners operate under their own identities since registering a separate business or trade name is unnecessary.
A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole trader or a proprietorship, is the simplest sort of business to set up or dissolve due to a lack of government oversight. As a result, they are extremely popular among business owners, independent freelancers, and consultants. Most small businesses begin as sole proprietorships and either remain that way or expand to become a limited liability firm or corporation.
Who is Sole Proprietor?
A sole proprietor is an individual who has complete control over the revenue and operations of a business. In addition to receiving all earnings, the lone owner is liable for all debts, litigation, and taxes incurred by their business. If their firm is sued, personal assets such as their house, credit score, and money are not protected.
Features of Sole Proprietorship
Some of the features of sole proprietorship are:
Absence of legal etiquette
There is no distinct law that governs a sole proprietorship, as a result, there aren’t many unique guidelines to follow. It also does not necessitate any form of registration or certification.
In most circumstances, we merely require a license to conduct the intended business. And much like when it was formed, there isn’t much of a judicial proceeding associated with its dissolution. Overall, it facilitates doing trade with the least amount of fuss.
Liabilities
Because there is no distinction between the owner and the company, the sole proprietor’s liability is likewise limitless. As a result, if the firm becomes unable to satisfy its obligations or responsibilities, the entrepreneur will be responsible for paying them.
For example, he might just have to liquidate all his belongings (such as his vehicle, house, and other possessions) to pay off the business’s obligations and liabilities.
Profit & Risk
When a person goes into sole proprietorship, he is the single risk carrier as he’s the only individual who has financial shares in the business. As a consequence, he must carry the full brunt of the danger. In other terms, if the company fails or loses money, he would be the person who will bear the suffering.
He does, however, get to keep all the revenues from the company. He also isn’t required to share his earnings with some other stockholder because none exists. As a result, he must take full responsibility in return for complete profits.
No distinct identity of the proprietor
The owner and his company are equal in terms of the law. A person with a sole proprietorship will not be assigned a different legal status. As a result, the proprietor will be accountable for every company activity and operation.
Consistency
As can be seen from the aforementioned point, the company and its owner are the same. As a result, a sole proprietorship is completely reliant on its founder. The sole proprietorship will be affected by mortality, retirement, insolvency, illness, jail, and other events. In such cases, the proprietor’s company will dissolve, and the organization will stop existing.
High Levels of Confidentiality
Another significant benefit of sole entrepreneurship is privacy. That’s because the owner handles the entire firm, so, as a result, the company strategies are only accessible to him.
Furthermore, the operator is not obligated to disclose or publicize his financial records. In today’s business environment, the less a competition knows about someone’s company, the safer. The opponents will only be able to make educated guesses.
Tax Benefit
This sole proprietorship source of finance has specific tax advantages when opposed to another type of business. A sole proprietor’s revenue, for instance, is taxed just once, whereas organizational income is sometimes taxed at a higher rate, resulting in double taxing.
Easy to Dissolve
When you are a sole proprietor, you are responsible for everything. Since there is no one to partner or co-owner with you, there isn’t any room for disagreement if you decide to close the company. Proprietorship is frequently utilized to test company concepts due to its ease of creation and termination.
So, if you are thinking of starting your enterprise, we hope these sole proprietorship features will help you in coming to an appropriate conclusion.
How to Register a Sole Proprietorship?
A single person controls and manages a sole trader. Furthermore, no contract is needed to establish such a company. A lone proprietor, on the other hand, must incorporate within his trademark within any one of the statutory acts that apply to his company. A certification in any state act is comparable to a sole ownership company formation.
A sole proprietorship can establish under the following acts:
- The Shops and Commercial Establishment Act
- GST Registration
- MSME Registration
After learning about the features of sole proprietorship, you should also learn and understand how to register yourself as a sole entrepreneur. This will make your enterprise official. The sole proprietor registration is easy and does not require much effort. In the following points, you will get an idea of how to kickstart the registration procedure.
Advantages of Sole Proprietorship
It is time for you to get familiar with the benefits that come along with being a sole entrepreneur.
Some of the advantages of a sole proprietorship are mentioned below:
- It is simple to start and close a sole proprietorship.
- A single individual makes all of the company’s decisions.
- The earnings of the company are completely owned by the company’s owner.
- Certain government discounts are also available to this type of corporate entity. This is due to the modest size of activities of a sole proprietor.
- The solo businessman is capable of keeping trade secrets private and therefore maintains confidentiality.
- The cost of running such a company organization is low. This is because the entrepreneur personally oversees the company’s operations.
Disadvantages of Sole Proprietorship
As we must know, everything comes at a price. Sure, there might be several perks to becoming a sole proprietor, but it has its drawbacks as well. And it is our job to help you get familiar with them.
So, here are some disadvantages of a sole proprietorship mentioned below:
- Because the lone proprietor is accountable for managing the finances, the quantity of cash he may raise is restricted.
- The lone proprietor’s responsibility is limitless, and all his possessions could be utilized to settle unpaid loans.
- A solo entrepreneur might not have been a specialist in all functions of leadership, resulting in the loss of managerial skills.
- The lifestyle of an entrepreneur has intertwined with this one-man army kind of business. If somehow the proprietor becomes ill, dies, or becomes bankrupt, the company may have to close.
Conclusion
The best type of business structure for entrepreneurs who want to start a firm on their own is a sole proprietorship. It is advantageous to incorporate a sole proprietorship since it allows you to manage all elements of your firm, maintain the privacy of any sensitive data, and collect all earnings for yourself.
We would suggest you get in touch with our experts at OnDemand International, who can help you get up your business in hustle free-manner. Just get in touch with our experts to know more about it.
FAQ’s
Sole ownership (also known as a sole trader, single entrepreneur, or just Proprietorship) is an established business owned solely by one person. This is a straightforward type of business structure that is widely used globally.
Based on the industry, forming an LLC or a single proprietorship may be advantageous. Small firms with minimal risk and modest earnings are best served by sole ownership. The company will serve a small, focused set of consumers rather than a large number of people. Sole proprietorships typically begin as a hobby and grow into a business.
The grounds for forming an LLC are the polar opposite of those listed above. The business comes with some hazards, as well as the potential for very significant earnings, a loyal customer base, as well as the ability to take advantage of specific tax structures.
It is not difficult to start a Private Company. All you have to do to start a bootstrapped start-up is:
- Choose an official name for your company.
- Find a suitable site for your company.
Fill out an application for an existing business or government permit.
The sole ownership model contradicts the idea of a wage being exchanged within the company. The founder’s profit, not salary, is determined by how much he/she made as a lone proprietor. You may, however, hire persons and give them a portion, but you may not compensate yourself in this manner.
Because they run their firm and do not serve as a worker, a sole owner can be termed self-employed. You are legally considered a self-company owner if you own and operate your own company.
A sole proprietorship lacks enough financing & 3rd party credit options. Partnerships allow a business operator to split financial and operational responsibilities, allowing the company’s smooth growth.
Whether it’s a grocery store or a food vendor, and even tiny manufacturers and traders, the majority of local businesses operate as sole ownership. That doesn’t rule out the possibility of larger companies operating as sole ownerships. Nevertheless, from a development aspect, it’s not recommended.
As a single trader, you must complete the usual claim Form for personal taxes, as well as Schedule C, that shows your company’s assets and liabilities. The annual revenue from both is used to quantify the sum of taxes you have to pay.
