Run the Company After You Register It
Registering the company is the short part. What follows is a cycle of recurring work: books, VAT, invoices, the first payroll and the cost of the work itself. This guide lists what to set up in the first weeks, so none of it arrives as a surprise.
Set up the books before the first invoice
Choose an accountant or bookkeeping firm early, before the first invoice goes out rather than at the first filing deadline. Open a business bank account that is used for nothing else, and keep every purchase invoice from day one: costs you cannot document are costs you cannot deduct. Many legal and accounting firms that work with startups are listed among thesupport organisations in the directory.
Register for VAT, or confirm you do not have to
Every EU country sets its own rules for when a company must register for VAT, and some register every company from the start. Ask your accountant which applies to you before you price anything, because it decides whether your prices include VAT.
- Selling to businesses in other EU countries usually means the reverse charge: you invoice without your local VAT and the customer accounts for it, and you report those sales in a periodic EC Sales List.
- Check the customer's VAT number in the European Commission's VIES service before you rely on the reverse charge, and keep the result.
What an invoice must carry
The EU VAT Directive sets the core content of an invoice, and national rules add to it. At a minimum, expect to show:
- the date of issue and a unique, sequential invoice number;
- your VAT number, and the customer's where the reverse charge applies;
- both parties' full names and addresses;
- what was supplied, how much of it, and when;
- the net amount per VAT rate, the rate applied and the VAT due.
E-invoicing: check your market's date
Across Europe, structured electronic invoicing between businesses is becoming mandatory one country at a time, on the way to the EU's VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package. The dates differ by country and have moved more than once, so this guide does not keep its own table. The reference we maintain isE-invoicing in Europe: who mandates it, and from when: which markets mandate it, from when, and on which model. Read it before you choose invoicing software, because a tool that cannot send a structured e-invoice in your market will have to be replaced.
Hiring the first person
The first hire turns the company into an employer, which brings its own registrations and records:
- A written contract. EU rules require employers to give new staff the essential terms of the job in writing.
- Employer registration. Most countries expect you to register with the tax and social-security authorities before the first payroll run.
- Working time and time off. Many EU countries require employers to record daily working time, following a 2019 ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU, and holiday balances have to be tracked either way.
Know what each project costs
If you sell services, the margin is decided by hours. Record time against the project it was spent on from the first client, compare what each project costs in people and suppliers with what you invoiced for it, and you will see which clients pay for themselves long before the annual accounts do.
If you would rather keep all of this in one place, Flowtly Workspace, made by the Flowtly team behind this guide, brings projects, time tracking, invoicing with Peppol e-invoicing today and Factur-X planned, supplier invoices and team records together, andthe live demo lets you sign in to a sample business to see how it fits.
A first-month checklist
- Accountant chosen, business bank account open.
- VAT position confirmed, VAT number in hand if you need one.
- Invoice template carrying every required field.
- E-invoicing date for your market checked.
- Employer registration done before the first hire starts.
- Time recorded against projects from the first client.