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ABNs: What are they and why is it important to get them right on your business contract?

ABNs… a tiny little detail that is so easy to get right, and yet so often mangled.

Australian businesses are legally required to have an Australian Business Number, or ABN.

But what is an ABN? What’s the point of it? Why should you worry about getting them right on your contract, and what can you use them for?

I find clients either totally ignore them (which is a missed opportunity for gathering some intelligence about commercial partners) or else overemphasise their significance.

I suspect this is because ABNs are a bit of a mystery.

This video gives a quick rundown on ABNs.

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About Gemma

I help construction, engineering and consulting businesses create and negotiate clear contracts so they can achieve great project outcomes. I founded SoundLegal to help SMEs in the engineering, construction, consulting and light industrial sectors manage their risk to support business growth, by finding practical, common sense solutions to contractual and other legal challenges. Subscribe to the SoundLegal newsletter “No Jargon” to hear monthly business insights from me.

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