If you ask most people in Malaysia, they’ll say that starting up an online business in Malaysia is simple. All you need to do is find a platform, get your products, and you can start selling. Now I’m not saying that they’re wrong, but there’s a huge misconception there. You see, a lot of people believe that they don’t have to register their business with the Company Comission of Malaysia (SSM).
And that’s a huge mistake. Every company, no matter how big or small they start off, have to be registered with SSM. So today in this article, I’m going to show you how to register your company in the SSM online registration system.
1) – Come Up with Your Company Name
Before registering your company in the SSM online registration system, first you have to think of a name of your company first. But you’re not only going to brainstorm one name, you should think of three company name. This is so that if your first company name is already taken, you have two more names you can consider.
When thinking of a company name, you should think of names that has these three things;
- Memorable
- Attention-Grabbing
- Relevancy to your business
And because you are registering an online store, don’t forget to check if the business name you came up with is available as a domain. You can check that out here.
You should also note the differences between a Business name and a trade name;
- Business Name – An official name that is given to a person or an entity that owns the business. This will be your business’s legal names. Any forms or applications you choose to fill in after this will be made using this name. You will have to add the business suffix in your business name, such as .inc or sdn bhd.
- Trade Name – A trade name is different from the business’s legal name. These is the name used for your business on the signboards or advertisements. Most of the time, people use a variation of the business name for the trade name, but it’s not necessarily the case.
A good example of the difference between trade name and business name is McDonalds. McDonalds is their trade name, while their business name is McDonalds Corporation.
2) – Signing Up for SSM Ezbiz Portal
Now that you have your name, all you have to do is go to the ezbiz SSM website. This is the website where you’re going to go to register your online business.
Before you can think about registering your business using the SSM online registration system, here are two things you need to do;
- The first step is signing up for the ebiz portal. All you have to do is just fill the details they need.
- After signing up, you have to activate your account by going to the nearest SSM office. When you activate your account, they will tell you the two prerequisites to register your business with SSM online registration; The owner of the company must be a Malaysian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Malaysia and the owner of the company must also be aged in between 18 years and above.
After doing both of these things, you can register your company. Registering a new company is fairly straightforward.
But although it’s straightforward, it’s still a meticulous procedure.
3) – Registering A New Business
Once you’ve logged in your newly registered and activated account, you just have to click on My Business Services > New Business Registration > New Business.
For a successful online registration of a new business, you need to fill out details in 5 different sections. It starts with the Main Information section, where you have to fill in details like Business name, Business start date, registration period, and business address information.
SSM does have a guideline on the name you can use, so be sure to understand the guideline as well. Then, if it’s applicable to your business, you have to input the details of any branches of your company in the Branches section. But if it’s not, then you can just skip this section.
Next, you will have to fill in the business code for your business in the Business Code section. Here’s a guideline for you to choose which one is the business code that is applicable for you. After that, you need to fill the details of the owner of your business in the Owner Details section.
And the last part will be paying the registration fee. This varies depending on your company’s type, whether it’s a private limited company, a corporation, a partnership, and more. Lastly, you just have to make your payment, and include the payment details in the Fees and Declaration section as proof.
4) – Payment Details
Now as mentioned before, the last step of registering your company in the SSM online registering system is to make payments for your company. These payments are made for the registration fee, and the other fees that they need to register your business.
You have to note that there are different fees, depending on several factors;
- If you’re registering a business with sole proprietorship using your personal name on your identity card – RM30
- If you’re registering a business with sole proprietorship or partnership using a trade name – RM60
- Payment for each branch – RM5
- Business Information Print Out – RM10
You can make your payment in the ezbiz SSM online registration system in two ways, by using a credit card or using the FPX (Online banking) service.
Once you have made your payment, you just have to wait for an officer to approve of your registration, and you will find your registration certificate in the Payment History Section.
And that is the last step! You just registered your own online business with SSM online registration system. Now, you can get back to your online store and start selling with peace of mind.
