Opening a company entity (for example, a branch office) in Germany – a checklist and estimated prices or fees.
For example, a limited liability company (a “GmbH”).
The listing corresponds with the usual order.
- – Draw up a shareholders’ agreement (=”Gesellschaftervertrag”): Rights, obligations, and the share capital are defined in the agreement.
- – Notary appointment for notarization of the shareholders’ agreement – at least one managing director must be physically present.
(one-time costs: approx. 2-4k Euro) - – Open bank account, a deposit of share capital min. 12.500 Euro. (monthly costs: approx. 50 Euro)
- – Rent office space
(usually in business: 5-10 year lease contracts 5-40 Euro/sqm/month. Or a “Rent & Work workplace” for 500-1000 Euro/desk/month). - – Present the proof of the share capital contribution to the notary public, thereby the registration with the Commercial Register is carried out by the notary public. (one-time costs: approx. 200-700 Euro depending on the type of company.
- – After confirmation of the commercial register (=”Handelsregister”) – which takes a few weeks – the business registration is ready.
(annual costs: min. 60 Euro plus trade tax – depending on profit : loss) - – Registration with the Trade Association (=”Berufsgenossenschaft”) (annual costs depending on the type of company, turnover, and number of employees). (annual costs from 200-1000-xxxxx Euro)
- – Optional but recommended: Tax advisor if necessary, incl. payroll accounting (costs depend on company form, effort, and turnover). (monthly costs from 500-2000-xxxxx Euro)
For establishing a German entity – a GmbH – setting up an office, and establishing the processes expected by distributors, resellers and customers (e.g. MDF, sales-assistance, tech-support, RMA, recycle-processing, press-feeding, etc.) works best with local experience & assistance and always takes its time.
BridgeToEurope (=B2E) provides advisory support and local expertise in this early stage.
B2E also offers the possibility for partial outsourcing of local services so that the manufacturer can focus on the important things.
Please ask for our full checklist – including more detailed information about costs, links, etc.
