After reading the article, you will learn: is it possible for a foreigner to open a company in Poland online, is it possible to run a business remotely. The nuances and limitations that we personally encountered. We will give you a list of specific tools to help you manage your business while in another country. Not everyone is going to live in an RP. Some go on business trips. Or there is another reason why you need a business in Poland remotely.
We have prepared a video for those who are more comfortable watching rather than reading.
Poland is not a country in a smartphone. Better than Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, but not as developed as England or Estonia. There is an inconvenient limitation – getting a TIN (taxpayer number). The number is assigned to a physical person to open a company in Poland online or through a notary. These are two ways to register a company.
- What you need to do business remotely in Poland
- Identify the head of the Polish firm
- Determine how to sign documents
- Open a bank account in Poland
- Legal address and accounting
- All board members have the right to sign
- If possible, do not make a seal.
- Notarial Power of Attorney in Poland
- Digital tools
- Conclusion:
What you need to do business remotely in Poland
Identify the head of the Polish firm
The manager is responsible for everything that happens in the company and is financially responsible, he is in charge of any audit. He is the nucleus of the firm, can sign the highest level of documents.
Determine how to sign documents
It’s impossible to do business online without it. You have to sign a lot of documents in Poland. Two options:
- Get a pesel – an identification number. It is issued for several reasons (work, business, residence permit). You decide on the reason, then do the pesel, use it to make a profile ePUAP (Electronic Public Services Platform – Elektroniczna Platforma Usług Administracji Publicznej) – a free tool that allows you to sign and have a digital signature. It must be confirmed, mostly done through the bank where the account for a physical person is opened.
- Buy digital signature.
Open a bank account in Poland
Not possible to do remotely. The head of the company has to come to Poland, open a company and a bank account for a legal person. This is usually done in one visit. You come for 5-7 days, set up the tools, and you can manage your business from anywhere.
Legal address and accounting
A legal entity has to have an accountant, not necessarily, but it’s hard to figure it all out by yourself. The legal address is a virtual place that you rent, but you are not actually located. It is necessary to take care in advance about an important point – who will receive correspondence and pass it to you. There are situations – a registered letter from Urząd skarbowy (tax office) or ZUS comes, you have to pick it up at the post office. We recommend that the accounting department and the legal address should be in one place, so that accountants deal with correspondence. The letter came, the accountant picked it up, printed it out, photographed it and sent it to you, or if he has a power of attorney, picked it up at the post office.
All board members have the right to sign
In case – you trust your partners, you want to do business in Poland comfortably online and less coming here. When only you have the right to sign documents and are for example in London and your partner is in Warsaw, he can not meet with the client and sign the contract.
If possible, do not make a seal.
By law you have the right to put a seal or sign. The seal must be present on all documents. We did not and do not regret, we would have to physically walk around with a stamp. Either make several seals at once, or do not use at all.
Notarial Power of Attorney in Poland
It is issued for a person, partner, accountant. It can be issued for different types of actions. The nuance – it is better to issue such things to an accountant or lawyer, not just someone you know. Powers of attorney are working in 90% of cases, in 10% of inspector may not issue a paper, because you need the personal presence of the owner. There are usually no questions to the accountant.
Digital tools
- Stock up on the co-working tools. If you need to hold a meeting, you don’t always need to rent an office and spend money on it.
- Buy a Polish number or ip number. Virtual ip number, costs 5 euros, connected usually through a virtual PBX (service Zadarma). It is important for the state is a way to communicate with you. If you apply for zezwolenie na prace (work permit) for an employee, you can call the inspector, something to clarify, perhaps check. You can receive calls and call your partner/client from your home country.
- A website and mail with a Polish domain, to communicate with the local community, in their language, with their mailer – will help improve communication. In our company, the mail is in Russian, and Polish letters end up in spam. The system thinks that a letter in an incomprehensible language is spam.
A few more important points:
- Don’t lose your passwords to services.
- Don’t lose old SIM cards if you have passwords attached to them.
Not all activities are suitable for remote management. For example, you trade goods, there are import-export and the company is in the RP, when registering the VAT number (VAT) you must specify the location of the warehouse, if you want to return the VAT. And it is refundable here. Read the article on how to make the most of your Polish company. The inspector may come to the warehouse, look at something or check – a virtual address will not work here.
Conclusion:
To conduct business in Poland remotely you should take care of:
- The method of registration. We recommend registering online, not through a notary. If you need to change something, you have to change it only through a notary.
- An electronic signature or an ePUAP profile. Without this it is impossible to manage the company.
- A reliable assistant – an accounting company, a partner who lives in Poland. Draw up the necessary powers of attorney. They will be a guide, handle tasks, perform some operational activities.
If you want to know more about how to enter the Polish market, open a company here, we can help. Leave an application, we will meet and discuss your case.
