One-person business. How to set up a company in 9 steps?

A company in the form of a sole proprietorship mainly involves conducting business on one's own account, responsibility and risk. However, it is the simplest form of running a business. The multitude of existing conveniences in the process of setting up a business does not exclude the obligation to take actions that will enable it. Most of them, however, can be done online.

How to set up a sole proprietorship in 9 steps?

1. Filling out the CEIDG-1 form
2. Indicating PKD codes
3. Choosing a tax form
4. Accounting office or self-accounting
5. Tax Office - VAT issue
6. Social Insurance Institution
7. Company bank account
8. Cash register
9. Company stamp

1. Filling out the CEIDG-1 form

In order to register a company, you must obtain an entry in the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity. The CEIDG-1 application (registration of a sole proprietorship and a civil partnership) can be filled out at the Town Hall or online on the government website. It is possible to sign the application remotely, using an electronic signature or a Trusted Profile. Another way is to fill out the application online and go to the Town Hall within 7 days to sign the application in person. Subsequently, the same form is used to make all changes to the data, which must be reported within 7 days of their occurrence.

2. Indicating PKD codes

When setting up a company, you must specify the type of business activity. For this purpose, the Polish Classification of Economic Activities (PKD) was created, which is a set of types of socio-economic activities that occur in the national economy. The full classification of codes and a search engine with extended descriptions can be found on the website of the Central Statistical Office. Only classification numbers are entered in the CEIDG form.

3. Choosing a tax form

One of the mandatory fields to fill in the CEIDG-1 application is the form of taxation. Possible forms to choose from are: on general terms, flat tax, lump sum income tax and tax card. The choice of taxation depends on the size of the forecasted income, the type of activity carried out, the desire to use tax reliefs or to settle with a spouse.

4. Accounting office or self-accounting

Carrying out business activities requires the necessary accounting documentation. When registering a business, you must specify where the company's accounting documents will be stored. It is possible to keep the accounting records yourself or to entrust them to a selected accounting office, which must be indicated in the form.

5. Tax Office - VAT issue

When setting up a business, you must decide whether you want to be an active VAT taxpayer. If you have such a desire or obligation, you must go to the Tax Office to fill out the VAT-R notification form. The competent office for VAT settlement purposes in the case of a single-person business is the office competent for the place of residence. Detailed rules of derogations and exceptions are specified in the Act of 11 March 2004 on goods and services tax (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 2174, as amended).

6. Social Insurance Institution

As a rule, any person starting a non-agricultural business (if this is the only title to insurance) is obliged to pay Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) contributions. ZUS contributions for companies are not the same for all entrepreneurs. The full amount of ZUS contributions is quite a large amount, especially for a beginning entrepreneur, so it is worth familiarizing yourself with existing reliefs that reduce the amount of contributions paid in the initial period of business activity, such as the "start-up relief" and the "small ZUS".

7. Company bank account

Choosing a bank account is an important element of setting up a business, as it will be used to store the funds necessary to run the business. The applicable law does not prohibit running a business using a private account, but tax and ZUS settlements must be made through a bank account. It is good practice to separate business funds from private funds, especially in the event of a tax office audit.

8. Cash register

If the business activity involves selling goods or services to individuals not running a business and flat-rate farmers, it is necessary to set up a cash register and report it to the Tax Office. However, attention should be paid to the exemption from registering sales on the cash register, both in terms of the turnover limit and the subject exemption. All exemptions with exceptions can be found in the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of 28 December 2018 on exemptions from the obligation to keep records using cash registers (Journal of Laws 2018, item 2519).

9. Company stamp

There are no legal regulations regarding the obligation to have a company stamp, but it may be useful in contacts with customers or contractors. In addition, it is worth having it in terms of communication with institutions - such as banks or insurance companies. The stamp should contain basic company data, such as: full name, registered office address, telephone number, e-mail / website, NIP number, REGON number.

The article was prepared by the Law Office of Arkadiusz Jaskuła, which provides legal services for companies, also for SOTE and our clients: www.adwokat-jaskula.pl

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