hi, i was wondering what suffix to put for an online business/company. INC, LTD, CO??? which is right? i am lost i would appreciate any help thanks
You cannot just add a 'inc', 'ltd' or 'co' to your business name just like that. It depends on how you are registered with your local chamber of commerce. In the US, INC means Incorporated. Basically, you will have to incorporate your company as a corporation to be able to use the INC suffix. In the US, you do not use LTD. Basically, that is Private Limited or Public Limited. Private being privately own and Public meaning publicly own (typically for listed companies and big companies). Limited refers to the limited liability of the company. UK and Commonwealth countries typically use Ltd. If you are unincorporated then you cannot just add those in just like that. It would be misrepresenting yourself.
Well, it does not necessary have to be just online business. Any business should be registered, it can be as simple as a Sole Proprietorship (Doing Business As DBA) or Partnership (Limited Liability Partnership LLP) or Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) or a Corporation (Corp or Inc).
Well, the business you want to deal with has no bearing on the type of business structure you intend to use. The number of shareholders, liability and the term of the business would be more important factors. A Sole Proprietorship (DBA) is appropriate if you are the sole owner of the business. It is easy to set up as you are the business, it just give you an alias to run the business as. There is no limited liability so you are responsible for all the debt of the business. The DBA dies when you stop the business or when you dies. A Partnership is appropriate if you have more than one owner. A LLC or a LLP have limited liability so if the business closes because of business failures, it is only liable to the total of the share capital. As long as no fraud is committed, your personal assets are protected. A LLC or LLP has a limited lifespan. A Corp or Inc has limited liability and the owners are considered separate from the business. In theory, the company is its own breathing and living entity separate from its owner. It can however live forever, its owners and managers can change but the business goes on.