A clear and powerful business name is a fundamental part of your brand identity and how your company is perceived in the market. It plays a very important role in everything that you do. The right name can have a significant positive impact on your business whereas the wrong name could cause harm. Therefore, it needs to be a name that you can be proud of and that people will remember in a good way.
Here are a few tips to help you decide on a good name for your company:
Step 1 – Find Ideas for the Right Company Name
- Avoid hard-to-spell and hard-to-pronounce names – you wouldn’t want your potential customers getting confused and constantly misspelling your company name, especially when they are trying to search for you online. Opt for a simple and catchy name.
- Choose a name that conveys meaning – this can be one that is in line with your company values or that is easy to associate with the product or service that you are providing. If you need help finding words, you can check out https://www.thesaurus.com/.
- Try to avoid names that are too narrow nor too vague – for example: Taman Seri Setapak Bridal Services, or Beautiful Sdn Bhd.
- Be aware that names that are too similar or may be associated with other company names or brands may not be accepted by SSM. For example, trying to apply for the company name Berjaya Sports Clothing Sdn Bhd or Coca Cola Trading Sdn Bhd will most likely be rejected by SSM because they are associated with existing company names and brands. This is also to avoid confusion among the public.
You should also be aware that in Malaysia, there are certain words that are not allowed to be used as company names. These include offensive and gazetted words, as well other controlled terms. Check out the examples in the SSM Guidelines for Naming a Company (Sdn Bhd) here.
Step 2 – Check the Name Availability
Once you have a few ideas, you can check whether the company name you want is available in Malaysia via SSM eInfo (https://www.ssm-einfo.my/) or MYDATA (www.mydata-ssm.com.my). You will need to register for an account and then you can enter your desired names to see if they are available or already in use by another company. If your desired name shows in the searches, your name is already taken.
Step 3 – Complete Name Search and Application in SSM
Once you have completed the above steps, you can start the name reservation with SSM via the MyCoID platform. You may apply and reserve for as many names as you want, but please be aware each name reservation will be charged RM50 by SSM. Quadrant Biz Solutions can assist you with your name search to help you avoid applying for names that are likely to get rejected by SSM.
Names will be approved in 1-2 working days by SSM if they follow the guidelines for company naming.
Approved company names by SSM will be reserved for three (3) months. You will need to submit your complete company registration documents within the three-month period to finalise the company naming process.
There are in fact many different compliance requirements that apply depending on the type of business, ranging from a sole proprietorship, Private Limited (Sdn Bhd) to a Public Limited Company (Berhad), and the processes can be complex to navigate.
Let Quadrant Biz Solutions provide you with the best advisory service for the most suitable, efficient, and effective approach to incorporating your company so that you can focus on running and expanding your business.