Setting Up An Engineering Consultants Firm
Setting up an engineering consultants firm is not a difficult task. It requires certain steps to be followed and a small fee is required. More might be spent in the form of legal costs. The first step is to select a suitable name for the engineering firm. The name must be professional and ideally, should be short. The guidelines about selecting a professional name are given in manuals issued by the national engineering overseeing authority. The name should appropriately reflect the type of work the firm does. Having the word engineering as a prefix can help.
Most jurisdictions do not allow an engineering firm to register as a limited liability company. There are several benefits of registering as a limited liability company or partnership. This allows the partners or members of the firm to limit the amount of money they will be liable to contribute in the case of the firm liquidating. This limit is usually defined in law and depends on the size of the firm involved. Small firms are usually asked to contribute a smaller amount in case of a dissolution. Where registration and practice as a limited liability partnership or a company is not allowed, engineering consultants will register as a firm. In some cases, smaller forms are allowed to limit their liability but larger firms do not have that luxury. This reflects the authorities preference to give a free hand to small practitioners while at the same time, reigning in the more established ones. This practice is often consistent for law and accountancy firms as well.
The next step is to decide upon the number of partners a firm needs to take on. The role of a partner is multifaceted. It involves executive level decision making, providing networking opportunities to the firm’s alumni, bringing business to the firm and might also include providing initial capital. This is however not an extensive list and the exact duties of a partner might vary.
A partner on an geotechnical engineering firms Melbourne might either be entitled to a fixed salary or he or she might be entitled to a share of the profits of the firm. The exact nature of the remuneration is detailed in the employment contract of the partner. The employment contracts are usually drafted to cover a time period of four to six years. They might be extended with slight additions or changes after that time. It is unusual for a partner’s employment contract to radically change once it has been drafted. Most partners stay on for life after starting a firm. Some however leave to create their own firms or change their line of work. The most important thing a partner provides is leadership. Partners set the direction of the firm and determine its long-term future.