Partnership – advantages and disadvantages
Advantages of a partnership include that:
- two heads (or more) are better than one
- your business is easy to establish and start-up costs are low
- more capital is available for the business
- you’ll have greater borrowing capacity
- high-calibre employees can be made partners
- there is opportunity for income splitting, an advantage of particular importance due to resultant tax savings
- partners’ business affairs are private
- there is limited external regulation
- it’s easy to change your legal structure later if circumstances change.
Disadvantages of a partnership include that:
- the liability of the partners for the debts of the business is unlimited
- each partner is ‘jointly and severally’ liable for the partnership’s debts; that is, each partner is liable for their share of the partnership debts as well as being liable for all the debts
- there is a risk of disagreements and friction among partners and management
- each partner is an agent of the partnership and is liable for actions by other partners
- if partners join or leave, you will probably have to value all the partnership assets and this can be costly.
Source: https://www.business.tas.gov.au/starting-a-business/choosing-a-business-structure-intro/partnership-advantages-and-disadvantages