Opening a business

hi,

i'm just dealing with the same issue as you if you want an accountant company who will also open your business for you it will cost you 150 eur/month + tax and 5 eur per employee per month + tax --> registration (opening) of the company will be in this case for free. But you will still need to pay cca 100 eur to bank for opening an account and some other minor expenses.

If you are willing to open company by yourself (good luck! and then just hire an accountant for doing the taxes and payrolls it will cost you 60-70 eur per month.

This is what i have discovered for now. If you have some other/additional information would be awesome if you share it.

Cheers

Hi, 

This largely depends on the type of incorporation.  ie. Dooel.  Which is similar to a Limited company structure in the UK and much of Europe. OR DOO which is a little like a PLC.

A Dooel requires 5,000 Euros in share capital. Though you will find this can be deferred for a year as you may be investing far more than this but may not be able to show the expenditure until after formation.

You should not be charged a fee by the agent for the incorporation itself.  In fact, I believe that they are prohibited under law from charging since the registry of companies decided no one but designated agents can access the country registry.  This sounds slightly crazy just as everyone goes self service but if you have experienced the chaos, you will know this is reasonable solution which doesnt require huge investment to make the system fit for purpose. 

The country has a chaotic companies registry with no electronic access or self service.  It worked OK when dealing with local people ( many Macedonians would probably have a view about that) but struggles greatly when it comes to international ownership or anything other than this.  The experience can be extremely inconsistent and the legal system is very different to anything I have seen in any of the 100-140 jurisdictions I work in.  For example, this is the only country in the world where Limited liability does not truly mean limited in several circumstance.   It is good to get an overview on of the general obligations and local legislature concerning companies very carefully, as they can change overnight, particularly in terms of taxation with very far reaching implications.   Be very wary of partnerships and investors as a Macedonian Limited Liability form of incorporation is not limited liability if you have a partner, particularly local partners.  For example, you may find share transfers impossible or the removal of a director or partner that did not meet their obligations if they are part of a company with unpaid debt, particularly to the state.  This is not the only unusual legislation and it pays to be aware of it.   Outside of partnership or where all the investment comes from you or your own company elsewhere, Limited liability is the same as most other developed countries.  I highlight this example to make the point that everything looks very familiar on the surface, until you find it really isn't.  It pays to be aware of the differences  and conduct some sensible due diligence if you are planning a business of any scale.

So, in an effort to make matters more efficient, one now has to go via designated agents to register.  The agents are obliged to provide the incorporation service free of charge.  There are costs of registration but these are relatively minor.  In the region of 50 Euro, plus you will have costs with local or your home notary and authority in your home jurisdiction which needs to legalise your documents for use abroad. (See,theuniversalgroup.net for a fuller explanation of international document legalisation).

The agents provide the service on the basis that they might get a new client, however, in many cases they are realising it hasn't worked out like that.  So many now try to avoid this work.   Many are perpetually busy when they realise what it is for.  Or they will try to squeeze them all in to one afternoon etc.  The end result is that the problems still exist because the experience and understanding isn't there and the requirements are not clearly documented for anyone (or so I am told).  So the registration process can be very painful.

Some companies are charging huge amounts for this service anyway.  One member of our chamber received a quote for 1600 Euros for a very straight forward registration. In a sense, this is a good thing as this is a good indication of which companies to avoid going forward. 

On going accountancy services vary by a huge amount and will revolve around the number of transactions and the burden on them.  Anywhere from 5-200 a month for a typical single ownership branch of a foreign company. 

Expect to pay an additional amount for each employee and you may need the services of a legal counsel on a retained basis.

i have had several quotes for an accountant on a small business in MK. None has been close to that figure.. usually around 30euros a month.

I can recommend a very reliable and reasonable one in Ohrid if you are interested, please get back to me. .... and no , I'm not on commission

regards, Ian

@eurod   Pls give the the contact of reliable and reasonable one in Ohrid, so that I can proceed...

@Poicid, dear, my private message at right blocked for their site policy, .....

@Poicid, but I got your message in my notifications. whatever, can you give me some more details about your food and beverage exporting.... I will let you know my plan too...

Let's email then **

Hi Can you recommend someone who can open and manage trade licences in Macedonia for expats?

Yes me contact me privately please