Most new businesses set these up in a hurry and in the wrong order, then spend a year untangling accounts registered to a cousin’s Gmail. This is the order I recommend. Costs are typical figures for late 2026 and vary by provider.

1. Accounts and ownership first

  • A business Google account that is not your personal one. It will own your Business Profile, analytics and Search Console.
  • A password manager (Bitwarden, 1Password or similar) with two-factor sign-in turned on. Every account below goes in it.
  • A one-page record of every account: provider, login email, who owns it, renewal date, cost. Keep it in the password manager.

Why first: every later step creates an account. If those are spread across personal emails and staff phones, you will eventually lose one.

2. Domain

  • Register the domain in the business’s name, with your business email as the contact. Typical cost: $10 to $20 a year for a .com.
  • Turn on auto-renew and domain privacy.
  • Prefer a short name that is easy to say over the phone. Avoid hyphens if you can.

3. Business email

  • Email on your own domain through Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Typical cost: $6 to $8 per person per month.
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC records set in your domain’s DNS, so your mail is not marked as spam.
  • A shared address such as hello@ or office@ that forwards to whoever answers.

4. Website

  • At least one page that says what you do, where you work, your hours and how to reach you. A phone number someone can tap is worth more than any design flourish.
  • A page for each main service once you have more than one, because each is a separate thing people search for.
  • A contact form that you have tested by sending yourself a message.
  • Hosting in your name. Typical cost: free to $35 a month, depending on platform.

5. Google Business Profile

  • Create or claim the profile at business.google.com, using the business Google account.
  • Pick the most specific primary category you honestly fit, add services, hours, photos and your service area.
  • Hide your address if customers do not visit you. Service-area businesses are allowed and common.
  • Complete verification. Google chooses the method (video, postcard, phone or email) and decides whether the business is eligible.
  • Match your name, phone and website exactly to what is on your site.

6. Measurement

  • Google Search Console, verified for your domain, with your sitemap submitted. It shows which searches show your site.
  • Analytics, either Google Analytics 4 or a privacy-friendly alternative, with form submissions and phone taps counted.

7. Getting paid

  • A payment processor: Square, Stripe, or your bank’s merchant service. Expect roughly 2.6% to 3% plus a few cents per card payment.
  • Invoicing that matches how you work: QuickBooks, Wave, or the processor’s own invoices.
  • Keep the processor’s payouts going to a dedicated business bank account.

8. Booking, if you take appointments

  • An online booking tool (Square Appointments, Calendly, Acuity or an industry-specific one) linked from your website and Google profile.
  • Confirmation and reminder messages switched on. They reduce no-shows more than anything else.

9. Backups

  • Business files in cloud storage (Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox), not only on one laptop.
  • A second copy of anything you cannot recreate, such as accounting files and customer records.
  • One test restore. Open a backed-up file on another device. A backup you have never restored is a hope, not a backup.

10. Basic security

  • Two-factor sign-in on email, banking, domain registrar, payment processor and Google accounts.
  • Automatic updates on every computer and phone.
  • A separate guest Wi-Fi network if customers use your internet.
  • Remove access for anyone who leaves, the same day.

Where to get help

You can do everything on this list yourself, and many owners do. If you would rather hand it off, the new business setup covers steps 1 to 6 as one quoted job, alongside a Local Launch Page or Starter Website.