What is a business name?
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 16 Oct 2026
Definition
A business name is the name a business trades under, the one its customers know it by and see on its signs, invoices and website. It can be different from the name of the person or organisation that owns the business, which is why the business's records often need to show both names.
In the books, it helps to keep two names straight: the business name customers see, and the legal name that identifies who owns the business. The business name goes on invoices, quotes and receipts so customers recognise who they are paying. Recording both names in the business's details, and using the same version of the business name on every document, makes payments easier to match and records easier to find.
The same applies to costs. Suppliers may address bills to the business name or to the owner's legal name, and when the cost is the business's, both kinds of bill belong in the same books.
In Australia
business.gov.au describes a business name as the name a business trades under, the one it gives its customers. It says business names are registered nationally through the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), with no separate state or territory registration, and suggests checking whether you need to register the name you have chosen.
Among the steps it lists before registering are choosing your business structure and checking that the name is free, and it says you cannot register a name that another person already holds as a registered business name or trade mark. It adds that registering a business name does not give you exclusive rights to it; for that, it points to a trade mark.
Once a name is registered, business.gov.au says there is no need to put the registration certificate on display, but the name itself has to be on public view wherever the business operates and appear on all its written communication, invoices and quotes included. It says ASIC emails a renewal notice ahead of the renewal date and may cancel a name that is not renewed on time.
Common mistakes
- Using slightly different versions of the business name on invoices, quotes and statements, which makes payments and records harder to match.
- Treating a supplier bill addressed to the owner's legal name as personal when the cost belongs to the business, or the other way round.
- Assuming that registering a business name stops anyone else from using it. business.gov.au says exclusive rights come from a trade mark.
Related terms
Related service
Small business bookkeeping
Your books kept current, every month.
Sources
- Register your business name
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 16 October 2026, released 13 November 2025. Checked 16 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.