Registering with CRO

O

orredred

Registered User
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11
Hey,

I'm a registered sole trader and I want to set up a web design site to showcase my portfolio and give information about my business. If I had a website such as davidsdesigns.com should I register 'Davids Designs' with the CRO.
I know you can just set up a .com and don't need CRO, but should I still register it as it's for commercial purposes and to a degree I'm trading under a different name. Say if it was DavidSmith.com, I know I wouldn't need to register with CRO, because that's a name, you only need to register with CRO if your name you're trading under is altered or you're using a completely different name such as Davids Designs.

So can I go advertise my site DavidDesigns.com in newspapers even though I'm not registered with CRO?

I just want to make sure everything is in order with revenue.

I know for .ie I would need to, but is .com totally okay? Like if I was to declare buying the DavidDesigns.com domain in a Tax return, would revenue say, hang on a minute how come he didn't register Davids Designs with the CRO?

I have a feeling I can just go get the .com domain, not register and it won't come back to haunt me, but I just want to make sure.

Thanks.
 
@orreddred

You are a sole trader - when you say registered - I assume that is with Revenue.

If your name is Joe Bloggs and you trade as "Joe Bloggs" then thats fine. If you trade as "Joes Designs" then this name needs to be registered as a business name with the CRO using RBN1.

Similarly if you are a Company and its name is Joe Bloggs Ltd and you are trading or want to trade as Joes Designs, the company would register that business name similarly.

The simple question is then if you are Joe Bloggs and the web site is Joe Bloggs and your address is clear then there is no issue as far as I can see.

Its the same as letter heads - you need your business and its address if you are a sole trader. If you are a company you need to have the registered number, the registered office, where incorporated and the Directors etc on the letter head. The gist is that the web site is no different.
 
Anyone can register a .com domain name - private individual, company, other type of organisation. It can be pretty much anything not already taken, and has no bearing on anything to do with Revenue (there's no need to declare it to them, for example).

However, if you start trading as that name (i.e. start invoicing people using the name "davidsdesigns.com") it's the same as trading under any other name you might choose to trade as, so you should register it with the CRO.

Things are slightly different for ".ie" domains, where the criteria for registering it are more strict: you have to show a connection to the name. The easiest way to do this is to register the name it's based on with the CRO.
 
Thanks guys.
ang1170, so if I invoice under my own name I should be grand. I will also advertise under my own name, I will just have a site like davidsdesigns.com as my portfolio.
A .com domain with my full name doesn't exist, because it's taken, that's why I want to create a site under a different name like designsbydavid.com or davidsdesigns.com to showcase my work.
I suppose your point ang1170 is contrary WizardDr. Is it all about the definition of what does it mean to trade under a name? I want to do everything under my name. I just can't get a .com domain with my name. Does having a website with a different name constitute as trading under a different name even if it's .com?
Anymore input would be greatly appreciated.
 
I don't think I'm saying anything that's contrary to the earlier post. Domain names are not relevant to company or trading names (and are irrelevant to the CRO or Revenue), other than it's desirable to have them as close as possible to your trading name to minimise confusion. Technically, a domain name is a form of addressing, saying where to find your e-mail or Web site, and as such is closer to a post-code or phone number than anything else.

Is there any particular reason you don't want to use a trading name that can be registered as a domain? I would think it would be quite confusing if all your business dealings were as "Joe Bloggs" (invoices, tax returns etc. etc.), and yet you had to advertise "joesdesign.com" or whatever as your Web and e-mail address. It's a very straightforward and cheap process to register a business name.

By the way, quote from the CRO Web site: "The registration of business names ending in a domain name suffix such as ".ie", ".com", ".net" or prefix such as "www" is considered undesireable, for the purposes of section 14(1) of the Registration of Business Names Act 1963."
 
@orredred

I think how you tie the two aspects up is that on your website you make sure there are
details such as your trading name - Joe Bloggs - and your business address. That might get around it.

The more you move away from Joe Bloggs, the harder it is to resist that you have another business name and need to register that name because it would be a matter of fact that you are trading - albeit on the web - with another name.

The mitigating factor is making sure your details are available easily on web site.
 
Since it is very easy to register a business name and only costs 20 euro, I'd just go ahead and register it anyway, because that way there is no confusion / ambiguity.

It also leaves you free to promote 'David Designs' etc as much as you like - on business cards, advertising etc. Branding is important right from the start.

On that note, you may want to consider other names that are not tied to your own name. Are you sure that you will always be a one man band? Even if you are, do you want everyone to always have that impression? Using a name other than your own gives you much more freedom, and it will sound more professional to many people.

Also, some people tend to do searches on the CRO website before they do business with people. So it's good to be on the register for 'David's Designs' or whatever domain you go with, even if you still invoice in your own name.
 
@fizzy - all good stuff. I agree and it also means protection of the name from copying,
 
@TMcGibney - I take the point. The example though is such that that pub probably is a name used in every market town - whereas try and register a less generic name or a specific name and the CRO may refuse to register or someone could object. Try the same for "McDonalds" and see McLawyer in action.
 
True.

The CRO rarely objects to a business name, except where it contains a profanity or obscenity, although corporate lawyers tend to be much less reticent in defending their clients' branding and trade names.
 
When you are starting a business you have to make sure that you have properly registered the business, the business name and the patent in your name. Otherwise it may cause trouble for you in the future. You must contact a business incorporation service like the New Business Now.com at Ontario and get the necessary documents and contracts ready.
 
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