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Hi Charles

"I have been preparing to set up and register a business"

I'm a little unclear as to what you mean have been doing to date. One of the first things to do is to sort out what form / forms you want the business(es) to take. This has implications as to how the businesses are taxed, and other issues. So this requires some thought and a greater understanding of you and your goals. If you start off as a sole trader (the default) you can change at a later date - that's what many do - but there are issues - even such as trading names.

"1. Can you please tell me what are the fees that I have to pay in order to keep the business running(apart from tax/GST)? Do I have to have a certain amount of cashflow to keep the business running?"

You don't need to have any specific cashflow - especially while a business is getting started. But if it never generates a profit, there will come the question: is this a business or a hobby?

You mention GST, and you mention that the business includes property management and vehicle repair. First there's the general rule that you don't have to register for GST until your turnover exceeds $60K (per year). Usually it's best to register unless your clients are not registered. Then it requires working out with more care. However, in this case there's an added complication. I'm unsure what this side of the business will be doing, and for whom, but it may or may not be subject to GST.

"2. I'm also looking into starting a business which will include property management and vehicle repair. What I need to know is can those two all be put under one business name or do they need to be under separate businesses?"

If a property is rented for normal rental accommodation, then it's own cannot be registered for GST, and GST cannot be charged or claimed. If this business includes that, then you need to separate out the GST business from the non-GST business. While you can run both in your own name, you have to keep the records of both separate. It may be that keeping them as separate entities is a good idea.

"Business name" can be a complex issue. The legal name and the trading name are two different things. Generally you can use any trading name (subject to a few niceties such as avoiding trademarked or otherwise protected names) so you could operate both entities under separate trading names, even if both are legally operated by the same entity.

So there are a number of inter-related issues here which require further consideration. You can ask further questions here - but you may want to bite the bullet and use a Chartered Accountant to help you resolve these and other issues. For example you haven't mentioned accounting (and tax) systems - it pays to have these in place before commencing business. If you are still sorting out these while establishing your business, that is problematic - you need to keep good records from day one. And if this is your first business, you want to know about the possble tax savings available in the first year by paying possible "provisional" tax.

And of course you may want to think about other advisors also such as insurance. You're undertaking a big effort - even though you may be the only person in the business, you face many of the issues larger business face - which is why you might benefit from using people with different experience and outlooks on life. One book I always recommend to people in business - and especially to newbies - is "The E Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber.