Business registration

When a registration is needed

Business registration is the step that registers an online shop with the responsible authority. It is needed as soon as an activity is carried on independently, on a planned basis and with the intention of making a profit. A shop that sells goods meets that in most cases, regardless of whether the volume is small and whether the profit turns out low.

Exceptions exist for professions that do not count as a trade and for activities carried out only occasionally. Anyone selling a few private items is not running a business. The boundary lies in acting on a planned basis, and anyone buying goods in order to resell them acts on a planned basis.

How the process runs

Registration happens at the municipality of the business address, usually before the activity starts. A form is completed with details on the person, the activity and the start date. For limited companies details from the commercial register are added, for legal entities the authorised representatives.

Several bodies learn of the registration automatically: the tax office, the employers' liability association, the chamber of commerce or the chamber of crafts and, for certain activities, further authorities. That is why the registration triggers several duties that follow afterwards.

Which duties follow

• Tax registration: the tax office issues a tax number and raises a questionnaire on tax registration. That also decides whether VAT applies.
• Small business rules: below the turnover limit it may be invoiced without VAT. That decision binds for several years.
• Membership: chamber and liability association contributions apply even when turnover stays small.
• Labelling duties: legal notice, privacy policy, withdrawal notice and price statements belong in from the first sale.
• Bookkeeping: receipts, retention and regular advance returns, unless that is waived.

Which details should be settled beforehand

Three questions decide the effort. First the business address: it is decisive, and a purely online shop can sit where the operator lives. Second the legal form: a sole trader is registered quickly, a limited company offers liability limits and costs money continuously for accounting and publications. Third the description of the activity: it should be broad enough that goods, consulting and digital products later fall under it without a new registration.

Frequent questions

• Can I sell first and register later? No, the registration belongs before the start.
• Do I need a shop premises? No. A business is possible without a business room.
• What does registration cost? A fee at the authority, plus the ongoing chamber contributions.