The True Cost of Exporting: Operating Overseas
Operation Budget checklist
Costs to factor in when you’re setting up overseas.
- Due diligence. This should involve research to see if a location is suitable for your business expansion, and to find out what other costs there might be.
- An address. Whether you’re after an office, a shop, a factory or a farm you’ll need to lease or buy it. If it’s a greenfield site—that is, new and empty—you’ll have to consider the cost of fitting it out with furniture, equipment and infrastructure.
- Business bits. Do you need to register your business name? Set up a bank account? Apply for a post office box? Mount signage on your building?
- Foreign exchange. Earning money in the local currency requires a strategy to handle foreign exchange, whether that’s repatriating your profits or re-investing it in the overseas business.
- Tax obligations. Once you’re ‘local’, you’ll need to find out what the council and government want from you in terms of rates and tax; some governments have tax incentives.
- IP fees. Find out whether you need to budget for protection of your intellectual property. Exporters may have different IP protection requirements if they move from a distribution model to having premises.
- Insurance. Operating overseas has its risks, so make sure you’re covered. One product that’s pertinent is political risk insurance, which will cover you for government intervention in your assets.
- Employees. Figure out whether you’re going to pay for an Australian employee to relocate or whether you’ll hire locally. In addition to wages, there may be other labour costs.
—Adeline Teoh
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