So you registered your business… now what?

I’m Kalilah Reynolds, founder and CEO of Money Media – money made simple! And this is The Business Blueprint, brought to you in partnership with the Companies Office of Jamaica, giving you tips on starting and running a business!

Congratulations on registering your business! You’ve completed a major step on your journey. 

Now there are some things that you’ll need to do to stay compliant. It is important to be compliant in order to avoid late fees, fines or even imprisonment. Additionally, many grants and loans require that a business name or company is up to date to receive funding. 

You must always inform the Companies Office of Jamaica of changes, including change of name, changing the address of the registered office or adding or removing a proprietor. 

It’s also important to renew your business registration every three years.  If you’re closing your business, you also have to notify the COJ to ensure you don’t get hit with any fees. 

Companies have to comply with a lot more obligations, so the list of changes to be reported can be quite long. Be sure to check with the COJ to ensure that you’re up to date and compliant!

Here are some of the popular changes that a company may make:

•       Changes in registered address (Form 17)
•       Change in company secretary (Form 20)
•       Change in directors (Form 23)

A major part of compliance for companies is filing annual returns. Annual returns at the Companies Office of Jamaica are not for taxes.  Rather, this provides a summary of any changes in your directors, company secretary, shareholders etc. Here’s a link for doing your annual returns: 

Just like your car needs regular maintenance to be road worthy, your business vehicle needs to be kept up to date. 

Stick with us for more episodes as we provide you with the Business Blueprint!

And head over to orcjamaica.com and bohubjamaica.com to get more information on everything you need to know about doing business in Jamaica!