Organizational legal forms of organizations sp. Choice of legal form

Today we will talk about what is organizational and legal form of activity and how to determine what organizational form to choose for business, what should you pay attention to.

So, the choice of the organizational and legal form of doing business is one of the most important moments that anyone who wants to faces.

This will directly depend on:

simplicity and convenience of doing business;
future business expenses associated with the payment of taxes, and hence profits;
degree and frequency of control by state bodies;
the number, frequency of submission and complexity of reporting that will need to be submitted in various state structures;
the need to maintain an accountant, cashier and other employees;
a lot others important points on which success in the future depends greatly.

When thinking about which organizational and legal form to choose for your activities, you must definitely take into account the following points:

Do you plan to do business on your own or will you hire a manager (director)?
will you finance your business alone or will you attract partners/investors?
How big will your business be, what is the planned monthly and annual turnover?
What is more important for your business: cash or non-cash payments?
Are you considering selling your business in the future?
etc.

The choice of organizational and legal form of activity will depend on these and other points. Before considering the main types of such forms, you need to understand what it is in general.

The organizational and legal form of activity is a form of conducting economic activity subject, enshrined in the legislation of the country, which determines the rights and obligations of this subject, as well as the procedure for disposing of its assets and property.

Because this site is visited by residents different countries, besides, in each country the legislation changes periodically, I will not consider the choice of the legal form of activity with reference to some laws, figures, rates, etc. I will describe the general points that are suitable for any country, but for every businessman starting his own business, I strongly recommend that you closely study the current legislative framework relating to its type of business and the chosen organizational and legal form of the enterprise.

So there are several organizational forms reference entrepreneurial activity. The most common among them for small and medium-sized businesses are an individual entrepreneur (in a number of countries, a private entrepreneur is a private entrepreneur, a sole proprietorship is an individual entrepreneur, etc.) and an LLC is a company with limited liability. Most likely, you will have to choose between these two organizational and legal forms of activity. However, in some cases, such forms of doing business as JSC (joint stock company) or NCO (non-profit organization), or some other (cooperatives, associations, etc.) may be more suitable.

Consider all the main organizational legal forms activities, their advantages and disadvantages.

IP, PE (individual or private entrepreneur).

IP (PE, FLP) differs from all other organizational forms in that a businessman can conduct commercial activity without creating a legal entity, on its own behalf. This is the simplest organizational and legal form of activity for small businesses.

IP advantages:

IP is the easiest to open and close, in comparison with other forms of business;
The cost of opening an IP is also minimal;
No accounting required;
Ability to use simplified taxation schemes;
The entrepreneur is the sole owner of his business.

IP Disadvantages:

Entrepreneur bears unlimited liability with all their property, incl. and personal;
Harder to get;
It is more difficult to legally competently combine or disconnect capital with partners;
It is impossible to exceed the legally established limits on cash turnover;
In many cases, it is required to pay taxes and insurance premiums, even if the activity is not carried out or unprofitable.

LLC (limited liability company).

A limited liability company is already an organizational and legal form of a legal entity, the simplest enterprise for doing business, so to speak. This form, like IP, is very common for small and medium-sized businesses. The liability of the founders of an LLC is limited, as can be seen from the name.

LLC advantages:

Ease of creating an LLC in comparison with other organizational and legal forms legal entities;
It makes it possible to correctly distribute shares in the business among several founders;
In many countries, an LLC can have 1 founder;
The founders of an LLC do not risk personal property, but are liable strictly within the limits of the funds contributed by them to authorized capital OOO;
The minimum possible authorized capital of an LLC is small;
LLC, as an enterprise, can use banking credit services for legal entities, which, according to their conditions, are more profitable than for individuals (IP);
In some cases, an LLC can also operate under a simplified taxation system and at the same time not keep accounting records, or keep it in a simplified form;
It is easy to sell an LLC as a business - it is enough to make changes in the composition of the founders.

Disadvantages of an LLC:

There may be disagreements between the founders that are difficult to resolve (for example, if there are 2 founders with shares of 50%, as is often the case);
Some decisions (for example, changing the founder) require the consent of all the other founders of the LLC;
More costs for the creation of an LLC in comparison with an individual entrepreneur;
A more complicated procedure for closing an LLC in comparison with an individual entrepreneur (often it drags on for many months).

The organizational and legal form of the LLC legal entity is well suited for businessmen planning large turnovers on bank accounts, planning to attract credit resources for replenishment working capital. LLC makes sense to choose small and medium wholesale trading companies, construction companies, transport companies, small and medium manufacturing enterprises, large, etc.

JSC (joint stock company).

A joint stock company is a more complex organizational and legal form of a legal entity, which makes sense to use when it is planned to finance a business by attracting resources from a limited or unlimited number of investors. These investors will become shareholders of the company.

JSC can be of two types: closed (JSC) and open (JSC). In the first case, the company's shares are distributed strictly among a limited number of founding shareholders, in the second case, they are issued for free circulation and anyone can purchase them. Each shareholder has not only the right to receive dividends from the profits of the JSC, but also the right to his voice in the management of the company.

JSC maintains full accounting records, in addition, performs all actions related to the maintenance of the register of shareholders. JSC is obliged to publish its reporting in the public domain, and register each issue of shares in a special public service. JSC owners need to have a highly qualified accountant and lawyer on staff who will monitor all changes in the legislation so as not to violate anything, because considerable fines are due for this.

At the same time, a joint-stock company is considered to be the organizational and legal form of an enterprise that is more protected from raiding, in comparison with an LLC, especially if it is an OJSC with many small shareholders. In a joint-stock company, it is easy to leave the founders: for this, you just need to sell your shares. True, for this there must be someone who wants to buy them.

JSC is the organizational and legal form of a legal entity, which is preferably used to create big business. Large trade, construction, manufacturing, transport companies, banks, financial structures are created in the form of JSC.

NPO (non-profit organization).

In some cases, it makes sense to use such an organizational and legal form of an enterprise as a non-profit organization. Already from the name, an NPO cannot aim to make a profit: all cash earned by the company should be used to achieve its goals and objectives. Usually these are some social, humanitarian, educational goals, etc.

At the same time, an NPO can conduct commercial activities, the profit from which will go to its founders, for example, in the form of a payment wages.

Usually non-profit organizations have many tax benefits: they can be exempted from paying income tax and VAT, which, of course, is used by businessmen to benefit.

In conclusion, I want to note that in some cases it is possible to conduct a business without forming an individual entrepreneur and a legal entity, for example, this is how you can open.

This was general, introductory information about what the organizational and legal form of activity is, what main types of organizational forms are popular, what are their pros and cons. I hope that this will help you in general terms to decide which legal form to choose for your business, but in detail, I repeat, you definitely need to study the current legislation.

That's all. Good luck in business! See you at!

The business is almost done. There is the most necessary - calculations, a business plan, the premises are looked after. It remains quite a bit - to decide in what form the business will begin to exist.

The main task of every businessman is to make a profit and increase it. Depending on what kind of income you want to achieve, the form of activity will be chosen.

Having come to the idea that it is necessary to start a business, a potential entrepreneur is faced with the issue of choosing the legal form of his favorite business.

This choice is determined by a combination of both subjective factors affecting the entrepreneur and objective reality.

The concept of form

Under the legal form, it is customary to understand the method of using and securing property by a business entity and the legal status, as well as the goals of the activity that follow from this.

The right choice of the form of the enterprise gives the founders additional tools that allow them to rapidly grow their business.

Most often, an individual entrepreneur is registered (stands for the organizational and legal form "individual entrepreneur"). In addition, limited liability companies (LLCs) are registered. Each of the forms has both its own advantages and disadvantages, which you need to know about before the business registration stage.

Individual entrepreneurship

The organizational and legal form of an individual entrepreneur is most often chosen for registration of a small business. Most often, activities are related to retail trade, catering, as well as services that are provided to the population. This choice is made due to the fact that individual entrepreneurs are given greater freedom in the matter of handling cash. Accounting for this form is very simple: it does not require the hiring of qualified personnel and deep knowledge in this area. However, in the event of a burnout or bankruptcy of the business, the entrepreneur will be liable with all the property that he has.

IP features

Organizational and legal form of an individual entrepreneur (PBOYuL or PE until 2005) - involves registration individual as an entrepreneur. In this case, the legal entity does not open. For such businessmen, the rules of the Civil Code) are used that regulate the actions of legal entities or legal acts (according to Article 23 of the Civil Code). Due to some legal limitations, the actual form of business organization is almost always a small or micro business.

Doing Business

Before registration, the owner thinks about the form of "individual entrepreneur". What organizational and legal form is good, optimal, what to focus on in choosing?

The term "entrepreneurial activity" itself is the implementation at one's own risk of independent activity, which is aimed at obtaining a regular profit from the use of property, the performance of work, the sale of goods or the provision of services. The key point is "regularity". A one-time sale or rendered service can be provided without an IP. However, there is no exact wording in the legislation of what is considered “regularity”. Without registration, it is possible to receive income only from renting out your housing.

Responsibility

For the fact that the activity is carried out without registration with state bodies, a fine is imposed. Its sizes reach up to 300,000 rubles. or an amount equal to the sum of wages or other income for a period which may be equal to two years. Also, the punishment can be equated to working out compulsory work. The term lasts from 180 hours to 240. Arrest for a period of up to six months can also be applied.

The organizational and legal form of the enterprise "individual entrepreneur" in the event of receipt of income over one and a half million rubles. (is a particularly large size) involves liability in the form of punishment:

a fine, the value of which starts from 100,000 rubles. up to 500,000 rubles;
a fine in the amount of any income or wages for a time interval of one to three years;
imprisonment up to five years with an additional fine, the amount of which is equal to an amount reaching eighty thousand rubles;
imprisonment up to five years, with or without an additional fine.

For obligations, transactions, contracts, an entrepreneur who does not have registration is fully responsible. The reference to non-registration is not a mitigating factor.

fines

The organizational and legal form of an individual entrepreneur is obligations, rights, responsibilities, the execution or non-performance of which entails punishment.

If, in order to start a criminal case, the amount is not reached, then a fine will be imposed. Incomplete payment or non-payment of the entire fee (tax) in case of underestimation of the tax base, incorrect tax calculation or other illegal actions are punishable by a fine equal to 20% of the unpaid tax.

OKOPF code

The code of the legal form of an individual entrepreneur is indicated in the classifier.

The abbreviation OKOPF is the All-Russian classifier of organizational and legal forms. Given code is necessary in order to:

had the opportunity to form informational resources, which contain information about business objects;
solved analytical problems of statistics, economics and taxation, which are associated with the disposal of property and property management;
socio-economic processes were predicted and analyzed;
recommendations were developed on the issues of regulating the economy.

The code itself is made up of 5 digits. For example, for forms of entrepreneurship, the following codes are applicable:

LLC (code 1 23 00);
non-public joint-stock companies (code 1 22 67);
PAO (code 1 22 47).
individual entrepreneurs (code 5 01 02).

Code Definition

The organizational and legal form of an individual entrepreneur, CJSC or LLC is embedded in the classifier code.

To determine the code, you need to figure out what each digit means.

The first is a section.
The second and third digits are responsible for a certain type of legal form; and the fourth - for the type of specific organizational and legal form.

In order to view the code, you must use the classifier in the classifier system or contact the services of consultants.

Restrictions

The organizational and legal form "individual entrepreneur" does not have at its disposal restrictions on geography in the Russian Federation or on the number of points. There is also no dependence on the place of registration. There are also no limits on business income.

Employees of the FSS and PFR, tax, FSB, Ministry of Internal Affairs, officials, rectors, school leaders cannot be IP.

State employees who do not have special powers can be individual entrepreneurs (doctors, teachers).

Advantages and disadvantages

The organizational and legal form of an individual entrepreneur (for example, private stores, etc.) has both its advantages and disadvantages.

An entrepreneur who does not form a legal entity has among the advantages:

a simple procedure for registering a business, as well as terminating activities;
a small list of documents required for the procedure;
a simple short list of taxes;
absence accounting: IP keeps only a book of expenses and income, and also provides a quarterly report on expenses and income.

It's very important to do right choice organizational and legal form. The status of an individual entrepreneur obliges to understand what disadvantages a business may have in the chosen form.

Among the disadvantages of IP note:

responsibility for all issues with their property in the whole volume;
inability to distribute responsibility for obligations that arose as a result of activities between the founders;
difficulties in attracting investors due to the lack of shares or shares;
difficulties with the sale of a business, since it can only sell personal property in the form of assets;
the transfer of business by inheritance is associated with a lot of paperwork.

The organizational and legal form of ownership "individual entrepreneur" is convenient for the founder of the business, but often legal entities do not want to work with individual entrepreneurs, preferring more significant CJSC or LLC.

Distinctive features

able-bodied adult citizens Russian Federation;
minor citizens with the permission of the guardians or parents;
citizens of another country who live on the territory of the Russian Federation;
citizens of 16 years of age who have entered into marriage or recognized by a special body as capable.

Registration procedure

For registration you need:

statement in one copy state registration IP;
a copy of the individual taxpayer number;
form P21001, completed by the tax authority;
copies of the passport and registration;
fee payment receipt.

Registration takes place within five days or the entrepreneur receives a reasoned refusal.

If the procedure is confirmed, the following is issued:

certificate of registration as an individual entrepreneur;
extract from USRIP ( state register, containing a list of IP).

The cost of this procedure will be about 2,000 rubles. You need to pay 800 rubles. duties and about 1,000 or 1,500 rubles. for the services of a notary, but only when his services are needed. You can also come to the authorities yourself, it's completely free.

In the future, activities will be accompanied by the payment of taxes and the submission of minimal reporting. Online services that provide services on a free or paid basis can remind you of the deadlines for submitting documents to the authorities.

Russian citizens have the right to organize their business on the territory of the country within a large number of forms of doing business, each of which has its own specifics and is better suited for specific cases.

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation clearly spells out all the provisions that are taken into account when choosing any form of doing business.

What features, for example, does the organizational and legal form of an IP have? What form of doing business is better to choose?

The wording "entrepreneurial activity" means by itself the activity that is carried out at one's own risk and is aimed at obtaining a constant profit from the used wealth, performance of work, provision of services or sale of products.

It is important to emphasize that entrepreneurship is a regular activity. Consequently, a one-time profit from any action cannot be called a business, which means that it is not necessary to register it. Although the law does not specify the concept of "regular" and this must be constantly taken into account.

In the Russian Federation, common forms of business registration are:

There are other forms as well.

Sometimes there are cases when a citizen conducts his business without any registration (even as an individual entrepreneur). In this case, it is important to note that not every business can be carried out in this way (registration is required for most).

For example, without creating an individual entrepreneur or registering a legal entity, it is legal to rent out your housing.

IP is an organizational and legal form, which is one of the most (if not the most) popular among businessmen. What is it connected with? For the most part, with ease of registration and further bureaucratic interaction with the state.

In order for a citizen to register himself as an individual entrepreneur, he collects a small package of documents and pays a relatively inexpensive state fee compared to other forms of doing business.

Individual entrepreneurs do not even have to open a bank account. In any case, the legislation does not oblige, although it is more convenient to interact with business partners through it.

Above it was said about the minimum bureaucratic burden. Indeed, individual entrepreneurs very rarely interact with tax authorities and other controlling state structures. In some cases, individual entrepreneurs can draw up and send a declaration and a small package of documents related to the staff once a year.

There were also some shortcomings, if they can be called such: the entrepreneur is obliged to pay insurance premiums to various funds for himself:

regardless financial position;
if the IP has no revenue at all;
if he did not conduct entrepreneurial activity at all during some period;
if he is employed and the employer pays similar contributions for him.

It is convenient for individual entrepreneurs to manage their proceeds: they can easily withdraw it for personal use or invest it back into the business by paying taxes in advance.

What is the legal form of the IP? To find out, the features of the civil law status of individual entrepreneurs are considered.

They are as follows:

A person who has reached the age of 18 has the right to register an individual entrepreneurship. With the permission of the parents - from the age of 14.
Citizens in public service cannot be registered as individual entrepreneurs.
An individual entrepreneur is not a legal entity, but an individual (previously it was customary to call an individual entrepreneur PBOYuL - an entrepreneur without forming a legal entity). Consequently, they are responsible for their obligations independently.
A sole trader owns his own business. It cannot be divided into shares and sold or donated to anyone.

Sole proprietorship is a form of ownership that is not devoid of its small drawbacks (for some citizens - insignificant), which at the same time overlap large quantity benefits.

Another popular form of business registration in the country is LLC. It can be created either by one person or by a group of persons not exceeding fifty people in number.

An LLC is a legal entity, therefore the founders of an LLC are deprived of individual liability for their obligations (with the exception of contributions to the authorized capital).

The founders of a legal entity have the right not to pay contributions to state funds such as:

FFOMS.

When registering an LLC, an authorized capital is necessarily created, minimum size which - 10,000, as well as open a current account and register a seal. At the same time, the reporting provided for an LLC is much more complicated than that which is required to be submitted by individual entrepreneurs.

The difference between an LLC and the organizational and legal form of an IP is the need for mandatory reporting to the tax authorities when disposing of its proceeds. It was said above that individual entrepreneurs can easily manage their earnings. The founders of an LLC do not have such benefits: they need to formalize, for example, the withdrawal of funds as a payment of dividends or wages, while also paying tax on them to the funds listed above.

The specificity of an LLC is that:

The number of founders of an LLC cannot be more than fifty people. To expand the composition, the organizational and legal form of business is changing.
The authorized capital cannot be less than 10,000 rubles. When it is increased, it is taken into account that if the sum net assets companies will be significantly higher than this capital, then they will have to be reduced. When the price of the company's net assets is below 10,000 rubles, the company is liquidated.
LLC can transform its legal status.

It is worth dwelling in more detail on the founders of the LLC.

if the charter of the company allows, then one of the founders can withdraw from its composition by transferring his share to another person;
sale of own share in the company's business is allowed.

An LLC is a form of doing business that has more opportunities for managing a company than an individual entrepreneur. At the same time, bureaucratically it is much more complicated.

Organization of entrepreneurial activity as joint-stock company(JSC) can be beneficial for those citizens who plan to create a big business in the future.

Joint-stock companies, like LLCs, have their own authorized capital. True, it has a slightly different form - the form of shares. These shares are needed to confirm the mandatory nature of the rights of the founders.

It is somewhat more difficult to prepare reports for a JSC than for an LLC (we are not talking about IP at all).

Since 2014 joint-stock companies are divided into:

public;
ordinary.

After the reforms that were carried out in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in 2014, the difference between LLC and JSC was noticeably reduced: both types of business received founding documents one model - the charter, the development of which should be carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant state bodies.

PJSC is called such a legal entity:

In which papers are distributed in the format of the so-called open subscription, and are also quoted on the market in accordance with the provisions of the documents governing their circulation.
The founders of which have the right to clarify in the charter of the company and in its company name PAO status.

The remaining JSCs do not have the right to have the status of public, but this may change if the company's management issues shares distributed by public subscription. Then it will be possible to issue the status of PAO.

The code of laws of the Russian Federation also provides for other forms of business organization. In addition to LLC, IP and JSC, there are partnerships and cooperatives, as well as peasant farms.

The former have much in common with such forms of business registration as LLC and JSC. Partnerships also act as legal entities with a certain authorized capital.

Partnerships are divided into:

Full. The organizers of such a firm bear collective responsibility for these obligations.
Limited. The organizers of the company in this case are responsible for these obligations within the limits of their contributions.

Cooperatives are subdivided into:

Consumer. They are associations of individuals or legal entities, within which the property share contributions of the founders are combined.
Production. These are associations of individuals (possibly including legal ones) for the purpose of organizing production activities, performing work or, for example, selling any product.

In both cases, the participants of the companies bear subsidiary liability, with the only difference being that in the consumer type of organization, the liability does not go beyond the unpaid part of the additional contribution, and in the production type, it is within the amounts determined by law and the charter of the cooperative.

If the entrepreneurial activity of people is directly related to agriculture, then the law provides for such a form of business registration as peasant farms.

Then a legal entity is registered on the basis of collective work and property contributions of the participants, who are at the same time the founders.

The main feature of such an economy is that all its property is in common use of the founders of this economy. At the same time, the participants of the company bear collective responsibility for these obligations.

Which OPF to choose?

For various businesses special organizational and legal forms (OPF) are suitable:

if the business is run independently, without registering a large staff, then you can safely register an individual entrepreneur. In this case, you will have to submit minimal reporting to regulatory authorities, not be distracted by a large number of bureaucratic operations, not to keep an expensive accountant on staff for this and devote free time business development;
if the business is created collectively, then for a start you can register an LLC. As soon as revenue begins to grow noticeably, it is possible to increase it by issuing shares and switch to OPF of a joint-stock company of any of the two types;
to unite labor efforts, you can unite in cooperatives; if we are talking about agricultural activities, then in peasant farms.

In addition to these types of doing business - the most popular - there are also other types of business organization: NPOs (associations or unions) - although they are much less common.

All available OPF can be found in all-Russian classifier legal forms or OKOPF, which is freely available on the Internet.

All non-profit organizations can be divided into two types provided by law:

Associations.
Unions.

It is important that the laws of the Russian Federation do not officially distinguish between these types of NCOs. At the same time, in practice, associations most often create companies with the same organizational and legal form of relationship or belonging to the same branch of the economy; and unions are registered according to the remaining principles.

Associations can be:

commercial enterprises;
individuals;
and commercial enterprises, and an individual with the legal form of IP.

Officially employed employees who wish to protect their rights do not have the right to join the association. This is prohibited by law. But they can unite in a trade union, according to Federal Law N 10-FZ of January 12, 1996.

The association includes at least two members.

In this form of NPO, there is no mutual liability of participants to each other for obligations. Debts are paid by the property of the organization. This is an important characteristic of associations. True, nevertheless, the transferable responsibility is fixed by the charter or other document of the organization.

Important issues for the association are decided by the meeting of participants, and the chairman of this NPO directly manages the organization. Also, the management of a legal entity has the right to carry out collegial bodies such as a council or board.

Union example:

Union of Enterprises of Yekaterinburg;
Union of Writers of Russia.

Alliances are usually created by individuals who have similar or identical interests and goals (professional or non-financial, for example).

From the practice of many entrepreneurs, it is clear that the most popular forms of business organization are individual entrepreneurs and LLCs. Therefore, it is advisable to compare these OPFs in order to find out whether it makes sense to immediately switch to an LLC for greater benefits, or is it better to start with an individual entrepreneur so that there are no problems with controlling government bodies.

There are no restrictions on the types of business activity for an LLC (with the exception of those that can only be carried out by non-profit organizations or government agencies), while individual entrepreneurs cannot provide banking or insurance services, as well as engage in the supply of alcoholic products.

At the same time, for the registration of an individual entrepreneur, it is not required to draw up any constituent documents; to create an LLC, on the contrary, it is necessary to draw up a charter and an agreement on the establishment.

It is worth saying a few words about the legal address: for an LLC, it is issued on non-residential premises, where the director of the company is located, and for an individual entrepreneur it is issued at the address of the entrepreneur's registration. Moreover, in the first case, you can change the address arbitrarily, and in the second - only in the case of a change of residence.

It is easier to get investments for an LLC than for an individual entrepreneur, they are also more willing to work with legal entities major customers.

An individual entrepreneur is easier to liquidate than an LLC, but an individual entrepreneur is liable to creditors with his property (including private property), and an LLC in terms of liability for obligations does not go beyond the authorized capital.

Thus, if:

business partners are not needed;
no need for a large staff;
no investment is needed for future development;
no restrictions for specific type activities;

then such an organizational and legal form of an individual entrepreneur is suitable.

business will expand in the future;
it is planned to attract partners;
additional investment in the business will be required;
it is planned to participate in tenders and work with large customers;

It is better to register an LLC.

To make it easier to make a choice, you can answer five simple questions:

There is no permanent residence in the region where the activity will be carried out?
Will the business be conducted jointly with partners?
Are there any plans to attract investments?
Will alcohol be handled? Maybe with the banking or insurance sector?
Do a significant part of suppliers work with VAT?

If at least one of the questions was answered positively, then it is better to stop the choice on LLC, otherwise - on individual entrepreneurship.

IP as a whole is to receive income without unnecessary hassle with government agencies. LLC - the choice of those who want to create complex business with a perspective (network, large suppliers, orders, promotions).

By law, all organizational and legal forms commercial organizations and entrepreneurs have equal rights as business entities. However, the opportunities and responsibilities of a business vary greatly depending on the choice of its organizational form.

IP form (individual entrepreneur)

Previously, this form of business organization was called PBOYuL (entrepreneur without forming a legal entity). The name has changed, but the actual meaning has been preserved: an individual entrepreneur does not work as a legal entity, but as an individual, which determines the specifics of his activity. The procedure for registering an individual entrepreneur in comparison with the registration of other forms of entrepreneurial activity is quite simple and transparent. To register, you only need a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, a TIN and a willingness to choose a tax regime. You can register an individual entrepreneur yourself by contacting the Federal Tax Service, by mail (in this case, all documents for registration must be notarized), using law firm or by proxy.

The advantages of working as an individual are obvious: the creation and liquidation of a business is very simple, the cost of opening is low, and there are no requirements for the presence of authorized capital and constituent documents. At the same time, an individual entrepreneur pays low penalties and duties, and also maintains a simplified procedure for accounting for income. IP involves the sole adoption of management decisions and free use revenue, as well as the possibility of simplified patent taxation.

But this form of business has its drawbacks. An individual entrepreneur bears personal administrative and criminal liability in case of trouble with the business. In addition, as an individual entrepreneur it is impossible to obtain licenses for certain types of activities (for example, for the sale of alcohol). A business with the status of an individual entrepreneur has the image of a small company, and it is impossible to sell it.

Form LLC (Limited Liability Company)

As for limited liability companies, they differ from individual entrepreneurs primarily in that they are a legal entity. This imposes a number of additional requirements. For example, the form requires the mandatory presence of constituent documents in which it is necessary to describe and regulate the activities of the company. An LLC can have from 1 to 50 founders with different shares in the authorized capital. The presence of the authorized capital is mandatory, its minimum amount is fixed by law and at the same time can be contributed not in money, but in other property or rights.

Theoretically, the registration of an LLC can be a long process, not only because more investments are needed than for organizing an IP, but also because even the approval of constituent documents can take a long time if there are several founders. The organization of an LLC is much more expensive than an individual entrepreneur: both duties and fines are higher, a seal and a current account are required. It is also not so easy to liquidate and reorganize an LLC, management decisions must be accepted by all founders jointly.

The main advantages of an LLC include the possibility of carrying out a wide range of types of business activities, the possibility of switching to a simplified taxation system and a low level of liability of founders for debts. Co-founders are liable for the obligations of the company only with their share in the authorized capital, criminal liability is borne by the director or Chief Accountant, administrative - society itself and officials. A limited liability company has the freedom to choose the name of the organization. Such a business can be sold at any time by agreement of all parties.

Form CJSC (closed joint stock company)

As well as an LLC, a CJSC has a charter, an agreement on the creation and an authorized capital, expressed, however, not in shares, but in shares. The presence of shares requires their mandatory registration, for which the state charges an additional fee. Thus, the activities of a CJSC are additionally regulated by the legislation on the securities market and the protection of investors' rights, which means that they are more regulated than the activities of an LLC. The cost of registering with the tax authority is quite comparable to registering an LLC. A CJSC is also subject to a limit of 50 members and can be set up by one person.

The main difference between a CJSC and an LLC is that the sale of shares (unlike shares) does not require registration with any body (only in the register of shareholders, which can be maintained by the CJSC itself) and is carried out in a simple written form under an agreement. In addition, a CJSC may have an impersonal charter, in which the founders will not be registered, and the Unified State Register of Legal Entities will not contain data on shareholders, which indicates a high confidentiality of business ownership. The advantages of creating a CJSC are the low level of liability of the founders for debts and the ability to quickly change the owner of the organization without making changes to the constituent documents. In addition, there are no restrictions on licensing and permits for CJSC. One of the disadvantages of this form of doing business is the threat of decision-making by a narrow group of shareholders against the interests of other shareholders.

General Director of the Greenwich Pub Timur Alimardanov:

Perhaps the most popular form of doing business in Russia is an LLC, the simplest is an individual entrepreneur, and the most secure and fashionable is a CJSC. The LLC form is so widespread due to the small initial authorized capital, the relatively simple management system and the low legal liability of the owners. IP is a measure for those who are not ready to invest a lot of money in a business and may not be sure of the success of their enterprise (this business is easy enough to liquidate). This form does not have the status of a legal entity, but the entrepreneur has the right to engage in almost any legal activity, be a customer and contractor, and also hire people. Registering an IP is great for small businesses.

But in no case should we forget that an individual entrepreneur, in case of an unfavorable outcome, is liable with all his property (apartment, car, etc.). Many start their own business and get into unpleasant situations associated with this moment. However, an individual entrepreneur has many advantages: he does not need to have a bank account, he does not need a legal address and there is no need to keep an accountant on staff. Nevertheless, IP is no longer suitable for a serious business with good prospects. In the forms of LLC and CJSC, the potential for the growth of the company is laid, and the costs required to create and run such a business, with a competent approach, pay for themselves with interest.

Under legal form means the method of fixing and using property by an economic entity and its legal status and business goals.

A correctly chosen organizational and legal form of an enterprise can give the founders additional tools to implement their plans for the development and protection of the business. Most often registered , and. Each of these forms has its advantages and disadvantages and is used depending on the tasks that entrepreneurs have to solve.

The most popular form of a commercial legal entity among representatives of medium and small businesses is a limited liability company, which has a number of advantages compared to other organizational and legal forms of commercial organizations. For example, unlike other legal entities, a limited liability company may consist of one founder - an individual. Becoming the founder of such an LLC, as well as CEO, the entrepreneur will be able to fully control his business.

But representatives of small businesses most often choose the status of an individual entrepreneur. Usually this is an activity in the field retail, Catering and other services provided to the public. Individual entrepreneurs are given more freedom in handling cash. Accounting for an individual entrepreneur is simpler and does not require deep knowledge in the field of accounting. But in the event of bankruptcy, the individual entrepreneur is liable with all his personal property.

OJSC (Open Joint Stock Companies)

Pros:

the maximum number of participants in an OJSC is unlimited;
additional issues of shares are possible to increase the working capital of the company. This makes it possible to attract significant financial resources dispersed among small shareholders.

Organizational features:

the minimum authorized capital is 1000 minimum wages;
JSC shareholders have the right to sell their shares to any person without the consent of other shareholders.

If you are planning to organize a business together with several partners, the relationship between you is stable and trusting, while you do not want to complicate the structure and want to avoid unnecessary risks - the most optimal form of activity will be an LLC. If you care about the stability of the future enterprise, its independence from the will of an individual founder, you plan to create a clearly regulated management structure with separation of powers, choose the form of a JSC. If the circle of shareholders of a joint-stock company is limited and its increase is undesirable, create a joint-stock company. If you plan to raise significant financial resources from a large number of shareholders, and in the future the enterprise will need additional funding, and at the same time it is possible to form an authorized capital in the amount of 100,000 rubles, it is necessary to choose the form of OJSC.