How to register a new business in Poland

Hello,
I have been doing some work for a company, and they require me to write them an invoice so i can get paid. Inorder to write and invoice i need to be registered as a company. Can anyone tell me how i go about doing this??

hello,

First of all, you need to know: type and the name of the company, its address, the day when you wanna start the company.
Then you should: go to Urzad Gminy, get REGON (from The Statisstics Office), NIP (tax identification number - you get it from Urzad Skarbowy), sort out ZUS docs, set up company bank account...

Depends on what you do you may need a concession as well.

Owww, I do not think you can sort out all the stuff on line - well, for sure you can set up office bank account ;)

Cheers.

ADKINS
Wolność 6/66
01-018 Warsaw
phone: (+48 22) 838 23 92
(+48 22) 838 23 94
fax: (+48 22) 636 36 47
e-mail: biuro@adkins.pl

Hi,

firstly you have to consider if you really want to set up a company. You can provide an business aktivity as a sole trader - in such case the cost would be lower and the procedure of setting up wouldn't be so comlicated. As a sole trader you can also draw invoices.

its not as easy as you write.
how about the Court Registry,(KRS) that is the first step before al the other things you listed. To get one thing you need another, then another, then another....you must have sooooo many documents before opening a company bank acct, and there are so many checks from govt offices knowing what you are doing, how much u r making.....

my advice>
GETA LAWYER AND AN ACCOUNTANT TO DO THIS FOR YOU

3 weeks from KRS for your documents.
it will take 6-8weeks in total to get all your documents in order.

Hi. Just wondering if you will need this company on an ongoing basis. Setting it up is one thing, but then you have the returns to do, ZUS to pay etc. If you are going to be involved in developing your business then it would probably make sense. Alternatively, if this is a one off, would you know anyone you could trust that could run the invoice throught their company? Just a throught.

?? What defintion do you have for this term? And what advantages do people have in Poland by using it?

The natural person as an individual can run an business activity (without setting up any company). For this purpose it have to be registered by business record (town council), tax office, statistic office, insurance office (ZUS). The main advantages: lower costs of accounting, no obligation to submit the yearly financial statements, no obligation to bring in the initial capital (share capital), lower costs of setting up an business activity - lower registration fees etc. But the main disadvantage is that you bear the entire liability for the debts arising during running your business.

/\ wrong unless you are talking about a Polish National Natural Person.

I am a Canadian living in PL. I had NO CHOICE but to set up a Spółka Komandytowa with a Polish National. There are no agreements with Canada and Poland when it comes to a sole trader. Trust me on this. I had 3 diff Polish lawyers check this.

the owner of every company in PL is responsible for the debts of the Spółka.

I'm talking about polish people and foreigner from the countries of the european union. You as Canadian cannot run business activity as a sole trader.

The shareholders (owners) of sp. z o.o. (Ltd) and spółka akcyjna (joint stock company) don't bear any liability for the debts of the company.

I ask it once again...Can I run business activities in Poland when I am a member of the European Union without setting up any place of business in Poland? As a sole trader I do not need any company address to make business in Poland? I cannot believe this. Please explain it for me once again!

First question: not - you have to be registered as a sole trader in the business record (town council), tax office, statistic office, insurance office (ZUS). In such case you have to have an business address in Poland (for example your private address in Poland) ! The costs of setting up a sole trader businnes activity are lower because of lack of register fees etc.

On the other hand you can set up a company (a sole trader business activity is not deemed to be company). A company (Ltd and joint stock company) have to be registered by register court - in such case you have to collect a capital for your company (for Ltd it's at least PLN 5,000), draw up articles od association etc. A company have to be also registered by tax office, statistic office.

If you run business activity as a sole trader you bear full personally liability for the debts. In case of company your liability is limited to the extent of the capital of the company (for the debts ist liable only a company).

In both cases you have to be registered in Poland and you have to have an business address in Poland but it's not problem because many consulting firms rent their rooms for business activity address for PLN 100 monthly.

If you need further help please contact me by my private mail box.

Hi, I'm new to Poland I moved here last week, having interviews at the moment, for teaching English.

It's clearly been explained to me that I need to set up myself as being self-employed, I've no problem doing this but are the steps the same as above?

I've done the residency bit (well I've been approved for my "temporary" time of staying here, even though I plan on staying here for a long long time) and am getting registered at my new address tomorrow. I get a Pesel number when I'm registered to the new address?

And when I set myself up as being self-employed, I get a Regon, yes? Then I can get a bank account?

What's next, get a ZUS? Then I apply for a NIP number when I get my first pay cheque?

Then how do my tax payments work? Will I need an accountant at the end of the tax year, actually, when is the end of the Polish tax year? Will I be able to claim expenses on the tax returns if I keep all relevant receipts over the year?

I realise there's a lot of questions there but I'm new to all this and would be extremely thankful of your help.

Cheers.

Merged:Opening my own, one-person company in Warsaw, Poland

I want to start my own one-person company here in Warsaw. How long would it approx. take to fullfill the formalities and what is the cost price for that?

I was thinking of following things to do
- Regon
- Nip (what comes first? I guess NIP ?)
Any other bureaucratic hurdles to overcome?
I already live six years here (EU citizen, pobyt na stale) but this company stuff is new to me..

lots and lots.. search the forums.. i think there used to be a lot of info that is related to all this.. you will definitely need an attorney, for starters.. polish bureaucracy is a bltch.

good luck and keep us posted.

Nonsense.


Don't be ridiculous. An attorney, for a sole trader? You must be joking!


About 2-4 weeks for everything to come through, cost - nothing.


It's pretty simple -

If you don't have a NIP, go to the Urzad Skarbowy and apply for one.
Go to the relevant place in Warsaw where they register new sole traders.
Fill in the form, then hand it in. You'll be told when to come back (usually within a few days)
Go back and they will give you some documents. You'll be told to wait for the REGON to come through the post. When that arrives, go to a friendly accountant (you'll need one, but you can get a good one for 150zl a month easily) who can handle everything with ZUS.

You'll also have to go to the Urzad Skarbowy to fill out some basic form about how you want to pay taxes and which tax scheme you want to use. An accountant will advise you on this if you don't know what to do :)

It is very, very painless - but I advise the use of an accountant to deal with ZUS as the accountant should take responsibility.

Is there no longer the need to apply for permission to open a company? I certainly had to do that when I opened my company. The application was made at the gmina offices and I think the permission was issued by the mayor of Warsaw (but I'd need to check that). Another thing needed is to decide on your corporate purposes (in Poland 'making money' is not considered a sufficient purpose for companies).

As far as I know, a lot of the bureaucratic nonsense went out of the window with the move to the "one window" scheme.


Aha, yes - the infamous PKD codes. When registering, you need to decide just what your business is doing - and it's well advised to list every single thing that you might possibly be interested in doing at a later date. I even have beer and cider production listed!

No.
The Polish government has changed quite a bit on how to open companies, it is much easier now.


Yes.
Because if you change the function of the company later you have to do it through the courts and it costs money, whereas if you list most of the possibilities you have the ability to use the company for other functions, at no added cost.

Thanks everybody :). I already have a "friendly accountant". She is really cute by the way :)
Hope to get started latest end of June, will keep your guys posted.
Btw does it make a difference in this process if you are EU and have a KP na staly or not?

Concerning NIP - I have one, as every private taxpaying person in Poland has - but not a company one. Would it mean my "private" NIP would be transfered to my company, or will I get a completely new one?

Nope, EU citizens are treated on exactly the same basis as Polish nationals. It's well worth giving them a copy of the residence document just in case of any problems, but it's not strictly needed.

Not with one-person companies. Last year I added teaching to the list of things my company can do: it cost me nothing to add that and was done at the gmina office.

Good point.

So... It is going ahead..I will start as from Monday running around doing all formalities...One thing though. Quite a few here have their own business. Which bank would you say is the best for small businesses?

Privately I have an account with Kredyt Bank but I am not terribly impressed with them.

Private people and small businesses have different needs...

mBank is perfect for me - it's no good for businesses which need to handle lots of cash, but it's very very good for small businesses that rarely deal with physical cash.

Thanks :) The kind of cash I would be deal with is the taxi to the airport and that kind of things:) Do you have an E-account or a "normal" one with them? I have to say a few friends have accounts with them and are very satisfied, be it on a personal level. How are they businesswise for us small entrepeneurs?

mBank are solely electronic, are they not?

They are fantastic if you don't expect anything of them - for instance, their system works, I don't have problems and it's generally reliable. There's also always an English speaking advisor on the phone if you have any questions.

But if you have anything more than quite simple requirements, I'd give them a miss - my impression is that they are fantastic at providing basic facilities, but not so great with providing advice in English about overdrafts/etc.

You can listen to the good advise from Delphiandomine.

I also recommend this official website, full of interesting economical data about Poland. The "Polish Law" section will also tell you everything you must know about starting and running a business.

paiz.gov.pl/en

Hi. i am just wondering if she is also reasonably priced and knows her stuff as i am looking to change my accountant.

Hi guys,

I am considering to set up a one-person company too and work as a self-employed..
for this reason I need to find out loads of info.... one of my polish colleague already explained me what categories and options you have here in Poland in terms of taxation.

I am looking for an english speaking accountant to get started and make things clear...


@Sobieski: can you please tell me about the accountant you found? I need someone speaking english, can explain the tax types and procedures....

Cheers