Starting a distribution business in Poland

Hi im thinking of moving a very small distribution business from Hamburg Germany to Poland.

The company is going really well however the cost of germany is constaly eating into the profits.

If I was to move to Poland ide be looking for a warehouse about 1300m2 and about 6 staff. I was also thinking of moving to Poznan.

Can anyone give me some advive or point me in the right direction for the following questions

• What sort of company form should I take? Any websites?
• How easy is it to find reliable warehouse staff and roughly how much should I pay them?
• Will most low paid workers have access to a car or do I have to rent a warehouse close to public transport?
• Dose Poznan have all the services that ill need to set up the company or will I have to drive to Warsaw to deal with the government?

Any other advice??

Hello !

I am a commercial lawyer and I live near Poznan. I think that I can help you to set up a company in Poznan. Poznan is a large city and it will be quite easy for you to find a few reliable workers. Probably the salary would be between 2.000-3.000 zlotys per month. You will be able to set up the company in Poznan and register the company in Poznan courts and you won't have to deal with the authorities in Warsaw (unless you want to buy real estate in Poland - land, warehouses, etc,). Some workers should have access to cars here. For example you can create spolka z o.o.

At the higher end of that most probably, as he says he wants reliable staff. But of course the costs of employing the staff would be at least 25% higher (add in ZUS contributions and other costs associated with employing people).


I would have thought that for an operation that size he'd do better to start it as a one-person company and then open a spolka as/when the business requires it.

There's a guy who posts here who has a business helping people with precisely this sort of thing. I think he's based in Poznań.

I imagine he'll reply to the post when he sees it, but in the meantime, I think his website is called something like lindenia.

I did it all myself a few years ago, and would really have appreciated something like that to save time and money.

This is probably the best option by far.

Yes a one-person company is the sort of thing im looking at until such time as I have the capital to invest in a limited company.

The work required is simple picking and packing small electrical products no heavy lifting or forklift work. all light work, its usually done in china by girls weighing no more then 40kg .

You probably want to set up a SP z.o.o, thats the Polish equivalent of Limited.

They're not very expensive. You can get a shelf z.o.o. for €2500, ready to go immediately. It would be more hassle than it's worth to go from an "IchAG" to a z.o.o.

Thank you Jonni, it's really appreciated :)

Yes, It's me and my website, I'm based in Poznan.

If he doesn't need the protection of limited liability, then a one person company is the way forward for sure. As an EU citizen, it's absolutely painless to set up - there's certainly no need to engage the services of a lawyer to do so. The real problem is in dealing with ZUS as an employer - but a good accountant can handle this for you.

As for warehouse facilities - at the minute, Poznan has way, way too much oversupply of them - you see constant advertising for units to rent, so it shouldn't be a problem finding a suitably cheap warehouse facility.


Not difficult - Poznan has a decent workforce and low unemployment, so you will have to pay quite a bit to attract good workers. But then again, people are perceiving a crisis here and that may play into your hands in terms of salary.


Given the traffic situation in Poznan is getting rapidly worse, I'd recommend something near public transport. Howeve, most warehouses tend to be located near public transport anyway - so I wouldn't worry in this respect.


You can do everything here :)

However - beware. Poland might not be better for you. We're happy to consult with you on this sort of thing - it does depend on your circumstances.

Top-drawer advice there from a highly-experienced, mid-twenties uni drop-out with a couple of years' TEFL under his belt. Go on, handy, send him a cheque.

Compare that to the cost of starting a one person company - which is zero, zilch, nada, with just the 340PLN payment each month to ZUS (for the first two years) to deal with.

There are many decent mid-sized businesses in Poland that aren't incorporated - including many multi-million zloty turnover businesses.

Top-draw whining there from a late-twenties loser who washed out as an EFL teacher in Poland.