You can pay yourself in many ways and depending on what type of structure you have for your business.

If you are a sole proprietor or sole trader, check out How to pay yourself as a sole trader or proprietor (simple answer and long version).

If you have a company structure for your business, there are multiple ways you can go about this. Some ways you could pay yourself (along with the pros and cons of each method) are shown below:

• Employee. You set yourself up as an individual employee. So the company employs you as an employee. You pay yourself a wage, super etc…. Pros: you get a regular payment as an employee. Cons: super obligations by the company and heaps of paper work associated with employee paperwork.

• Dividends. It’s likely if you ‘own’ the business, you’d be shareholder. You can pay yourself by declaring a dividend and paying the dividend to the shareholder (assuming that you). Pros: can control the amount paid and simpler than employee obligations. Cons: Again, paper work involved.