3 Mar 2014
Kuljus Consulting gets a lot of questions regarding establishing a company in Finland. Below I briefly describe the forms of business, the process of establishing a company in Finland and what and where needs to be done.
Let’s Start With Forms of Business
Forms of business, frequently used by foreigners in Finland, start with the registration of a foreign company in Finnish tax registers or establishing a branch office. People residing in Finland sometimes start by registering themselves as a sole trader or private entrepreneur (called yksityinen elinkeinonharjoittaja or Tmi or toiminimi in Finnish). Another popular form is a private limited company (called osakeyhtiö or Oy in Finnish). When you have somewhat bigger plans, you may go for a public limited company (called julkinen osakeyhtiö or Oyj in Finnish). There are also other forms of business in Finland, but due to their infrequent use, we will not mention them in this article.
Foreigner entrepreneurs usually use the forms of private entrepreneur or a private limited company for their activities, depending on the scale they are planning to operate. Foreigner businesses usually register their company as a foreign taxpayer; establish a branch office or a private limited company. The process may also be scaling, with starting from the smallest form and changing with the increase of activities.
Establishing a Company in Finland Step-By-Step
The process usually starts with filing the registration documents with the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH). Forms in English and Finnish are available on the PRH and the Finnish Tax Administration’s (Vero) joint Business Information System’s website. There are also specific forms for making changes in the different registers and those are grouped based on the forms of business. A word of caution, although some of the forms are also available in English, they can only be submitted in the two official languages in Finland and these are Finnish and Swedish.
Depending on the form of the business it may be a good idea or an obligation to open a bank account for the company. This process may be somewhat complicated. It would be wise to agree a time for a meeting with an official in a selected bank beforehand and during that process also ask for specific documents that you should take with you to that meeting.
After the establishment process you should think about obligatory and good to have insurance policies.
Before hiring employees it is wise to consult with a specialist as the details regarding employment and the collective agreements are quite difficult to grasp in Finland and making mistakes can be quite costly.
Persons having a Finnish personal ID number and electronic bank codes wishing to establish a private limited company (Oy) may do it also electronically. State handling fee for registering an Oy electronically is also somewhat less than that in case of establishing on regular paper forms.
Permits and Intellectual Property Rights
Operating in certain fields may also require a permit. An overview of fields of activity requiring a license to operate in and other background information for starting entrepreneurs is available in a Guide to Becoming an Entrepreneur in Finland created by the Finnish Enterprise Agency.
Applications and fees related to protecting intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks etc.) can be found on the PRH website.
What Can We Do For You?
When you want to have the documents filled correctly and make the process as fast and smooth as possible, you should contact a specialist in the field. You can contact our specialist through the contact form, by calling our office at +358 503 220 600 or writing an e-mail to info@kuljus.eu.
We are happy to answer your questions regarding establishing and running a company in Finland.
After establishing your company you need a variety of professional business services to keep you focused on the key activities, the bureaucracy under control and your company developing fast towards your goals. This is the area where our company can help you once more. Please see our website for more information and follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ for a constant flow of information helping you develop yourself as an entrepreneur.
by Lauri Kuljus
Related links
Helsinki office of the Finnish Enterprise Agency holds many beginner level courses related to entrepreneurship and establishing your company in Finland. Some of these training sessions are also in English.
Federation of Finnish Enterprises
Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority deals with providing fi-domain names (among other activities)
Environment for Creating an Electronic Business Plan
Finnish Franchising Association (only in Finnish)
Finnish Market for Companies is one of the environments, where you can buy or sell a company in Finland (only in Finnish)