Loading ...Heather James, a Virtual Assistant based in Australia, let me know something really useful. Heather purchased one of my Virtual Assistant agreement templates and in her feedback to me, she indicated that she wasn’t familiar with the term “d/b/a” and had to do some research to find out what it meant.
First, I want to thank Heather so much for this insight. Although we work in a global marketplace, it’s not always easy to know whether certain terms are consistent or understandable in different countries. So thank you for bringing that to my attention, Heather!
In answer to the question, d/b/a means “doing business as.” It is used to denote a sole proprietor’s business trade name rather than his or her personal name (e.g., Jane Doe d/b/a Jane’s Administrative Partnering) or one or more of a parent entity’s business trade names (Smith Companies, Inc., d/b/a/ John Smith Administrative Consulting).
Some countries use “trading as” for the same purpose. Our templates are based on U.S. based business so if you operate in a different country, you’ll want to check for and replace with the correct term for your location. And as always, have your own attorney check any legal documents before you use them in your business.
If you have any similar questions, please do let me know!
One Comment
This is good info to know. I was formatting the Bookkeeping Account Setup Questionnaire i bought from you just 10 mins before receiving this email! I simply scratched it out cause i didnt know what it meant either! In Trinidad & Tobago, the term we use is “Trading As”.
Keep the good advice coming!