Minimise Start-up costs of New Business

Falconjack on 12/10/2019 - 17:08

Hey all, I have a regular job but am planning to start a new business operating from home - selling various goods online. I have enough space to store them in my spare bedroom. In order to minimize my start up costs, I was hoping to get some advice on the following:

  1. Business address:
    a) Use home address? [I live in an apartment, zoned residential]
    b) Virtual office
    c) Additional PO box address
  2. Business bank account: I will have an online payment gateway (e.g. Paypal), that will pay into my business bank account.
    a) Transaction account - ?Bankwest ?AMP
    b) Saver account - ?AMP ?Citibank
  3. Software recommendations please:
    a) Customer Relationship Management software
    b) Accounting software
  4. IT services: Any recommended companies for:
    a) Email service
    b) Web hosting
    c) Server hosting
    d) Phone system - I plan to outsource customer service. Any recommendations for VOIP?
    e) IT security

I don't expect you to answer all questions, but it would be great if you can share shed some light in your areas of expertise.
TIA

Education & Work

Comments

  • Some Human on 12/10/2019 - 18:44

    Use a P.O. Box. You don’t want customers to know where you live. Costs around $130 a year.

    • specks on 12/10/2019 - 21:04

      not sure if parcel lockers can be used as a business address but they are free

      • kerfuffle on 12/10/2019 - 21:46

        Free, but not a professional look

  • 87percent on 12/10/2019 - 19:39

    What will you offer, that the likes of amazon, Banggood, Ali express don’t offer?

    • whooah1979 on 12/10/2019 - 19:57
      +1

      Local shipping and consumer guarantee.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/10/2019 - 21:00

    Accounting- xero or myob will be sufficient

  • Digitalco on 12/10/2019 - 21:21
    +1

    I wouldnt set up a business account unless your store is doing well and you have good income coming in i probably put it in my normal account first

  • scotty on 12/10/2019 - 21:26
    +3

    First thing you might want to figure out is the structure — sole trader, trust, company, etc and who owns what? The cost for each is a bit different, and it also depends on what do you envision your business to be. Just say I made a few mistakes setting up OzBargain…

    I do not think you can use PO Box or Parcel Locker to register your business address with ASIC. However some accountants will offer their business address for registration (for a fee of course).

    For business bank account, it has been discussed a few times here. For example this one here. For zero fee — going with either BankWest Business Zero Transaction Account, NAB Business Everyday Account. Not sure about savings — none of them have good interest rates unfortunately :(

    Software — go with Xero, which occasionally have deals to get them some free months. It also has a basic contact management built in for CRM.

    Your IT infrastructure depends what you want to do. However for small business it would be wise to out source as much as you can. For example GSuite or Office365 for emails and documents. Shopify to get a basic ecommerce site up and running quickly, etc.

  • Third_Gear on 13/10/2019 - 08:45
    +2

    I'm an owner and currently work with a couple other online retailers. Advice comes from years of experience.
    1 - Use your home address for all registrations etc and a PO Box for all packages shipping out.
    2 - Normal bank account is fine. Contact Paypal ahead of selling online and start the authentication process early. Tell them you want to open a business account.
    3 - Don't need any CRM software…ever. You can run everything from a gmail account or full GSuite. No need for book keeping software as you are starting out. Run a basic excel file of cost of goods and other expenses subtracted from sales. When you break the GST threshold then review.
    4 - Shopify or Neto. I prefer Neto because you can do some amazing stuff with automated data feeds and bulk data manipulation. Their integration with Australian services and direct plug into Zapier is great too.

    Also running your company on the basis that you are offering local shipping and a consumer guarantee is NOT a sound business plan. Outsourcing customer service is absolute and utter failure. Do it yourself and don't offer a phone number…simple. Your business has to solve a need and also have a story of some sort with the goal of building a brand that people will get behind.

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