Dependent Branch Office
A dependent branch office (unselbständige Zweigniederlassung) is a subordinate branch of a foreign company and cannot operate independently from it.
338€ *
Autonomous Branch Office
An autonomous branch office (selbständige Zweigniederlassung) is dependent on a foreign head office but operates independently in Germany.
338€ *
Foreign Owned Subsidiary
Limited liability companies in Germany commonly have a GmbH legal form and can be wholly foreign owned.
378€ *
| Dependent Branch Office | Autonomous Branch Office | Foreign Owned Subsidiary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services of firma.de | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Set up of payroll accounting (plus €9.99 per month per employee) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Set up of annual financial accounting €100 (plus preparation of annual accounts for €999) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A dedicated consultant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Direct line to the firma.de executive team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contract and document templates | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Checklists and form pre-filling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Coordination and referrals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| On demand telephone support | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Set up of bookkeeping services €29 (plus €75 for up to 40 entries per month) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referral to a tax consultant in your area | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services of the tax consultant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Completion of your Finanzamtfragebogen (tax office questionnaire) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalised consultation on your company's opening balance sheet | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services provided by Werthing Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial consultation via telephone (30 mins/€89 net) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Obligation-free insurance check by AXA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Obligation-free business address offer by REGUS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Digital handbook for founders: Firma gründen (currently only available in German) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 338€ excluding tax | 338€ excluding tax | 378€ excluding tax | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start | Start | Start | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note:
* The notary fees and the costs for entry in the commercial register (Handelsregister) are not included in the price and will be charged separately.
** firma.de Firmenbaukasten AG does not provide legal advice itself but works exclusively with lawyers and independent tax advisers who specialise in the field of limited liability entrepreneurial companies. The 30-minute attorney consultation is carried out by Werthing Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, Günthersburgallee 37a, 60316 Frankfurt am Main. Please make an appointment: +49 611 17207-0 or by e-mail at support@firma.de. complete comprehensive
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Take advantage of the "Made in Germany" reputation. German made products are synonymous with the highest quality standards.
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If you partner with firma.de to start a corporation (UG, GmbH, AG, KG, Holding, UG & Co. KG, GmbH & Co. KG, gemeinnützige UG, gemeinnützige GmbH) the process is as follows:
The abbreviation GmbH stands for Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, which translates to "company with limited liability".
All liabilities are covered by the company rather than the personal assets of its shareholders.
The corporate form is widespread in Germany and can be best compared to the US-American LLC, the British Inc. or Ltd and the Australian Pty.
The Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschränkt) — commonly known as the UG — is a limited liability structure that caters to the needs of startups that are bootstrapped (the minimum share capital is only €1.00 per shareholder) but still want to benefit from limited liability.
The UG is not a corporate form of its own, as frequently assumed, but is a variation of the regular GmbH, which was created by the legislation to Modernise the Law on Limited Liability Companies and to Combat Abuse (Modernisierung des GmbH-Rechts und zurBekämpfung von Missbräuchen [MoMiG]) in 2008.
Since its introduction, the UG or the "Mini-GmbH" has been enormously popular among founders with more than 200,000 formations already — a number that is steadily growing.
The Aktiengesellschaft (AG) - the German stock company - is a corporate structure with limited liability via share ownership, in which these shares are tradeable on the stock market.
If you want to grow your company as quickly as possible, the AG could be your best option. By selling company shares in the form of equity, you can raise capital without bureaucratic hassle.
An AG does not necessarily need to list on the stock exchange, but the listed AG is the more common variant.
A Holding is a parent company with at least one subsidiary that it holds shares in. In many cases, the parent company owns 100% of its subsidiary.
In recent years, the Holding has increased in popularity as a corporate model, introducing innovative company structures to startup ecosystems around the world.
For example, if there is more than one founder, it may be feasible for each founder to set up their own Holding that holds shares in different subsidiaries.
How to set up a company in Germany checklist
We’ve put together a roadmap to help guide you through the setting up a limited liability company in Germany.
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