Business start-up checklist: step by step to your own business

The business start-up checklist at a glance

Here is the checklist to tick off. It applies to all legal forms. The table in phase 3 shows which additional points apply to your legal form. The list is also available as a PDF, without registration [REDAKTION: PDF erstellen und verlinken].

Phase 1: Preparation

Phase 2: Legal form

Phase 3: Forming and registering

Phase 4: Launch

Phase 1: Preparation

Business idea and requirements

Can anyone start a business? In principle, yes. Adults may register a trade in Germany. Minors need their parents' consent and approval from the family court (Sec. 112 BGB). EU citizens are treated the same as Germans. Anyone from a country outside the EU needs a residence permit that allows self-employment (Sec. 4a, 21 AufenthG).

Professional requirements depend on the activity. In licensed crafts, a master craftsperson or equivalent qualification is usually required. Other activities need a permit or proof of expertise, for example security services, restaurants serving alcohol, estate agents or road haulage (Sec. 34a, 34c GewO, Restaurant Act or state law, Sec. 3 GüKG). Clarify the permit requirement before all other steps. You may not start without a permit, and processing can take weeks.

Information is available from the trade office, your chamber of commerce (IHK) or chamber of crafts, and the single point of contact in your federal state:

Federal state	Point of contact
Baden-Württemberg	Serviceportal BW
Bavaria	Dienstleistungsportal Bayern
Berlin	Offizielles Hauptstadtportal
Brandenburg	EAPBbg
Bremen	Handelskammer Bremen
Hamburg	Handelskammer Hamburg
Hesse	Dienstleistungsplattform Hessen
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	IHK Neubrandenburg
Lower Saxony	Dienstleistungsportal Niedersachsen
North Rhine-Westphalia	IHK NRW
Rhineland-Palatinate	BUS Rheinland-Pfalz
Saarland	Ministerium für Wirtschaft
Saxony	Sächsische Staatskanzlei
Saxony-Anhalt	Staatskanzlei Sachsen-Anhalt
Schleswig-Holstein	IHK Schleswig-Holstein
Thuringia	IHK Erfurt

Business plan

A business plan is not a legal requirement. But banks, funding bodies and the Federal Employment Agency require one, and it forces you to answer the most important questions in advance. Typical structure:

• Business idea, offering and target group
• Market and competition
• Marketing and sales
• Founder or team
• Legal form and organisation
• Financial plan: capital requirement, revenue and cost planning, liquidity
• Opportunities and risks

Financing and funding

Many founders underestimate how long it takes until revenue covers costs. So plan not only for purchases, but also for the running costs of the first months and your own living expenses. Possible sources are equity, bank loans, development loans from KfW and the state development banks, the start-up grant from the Federal Employment Agency for founders receiving unemployment benefit (Sec. 93 SGB III), and investors. Can you start a business without capital? Legally, yes: there is no minimum capital for a sole proprietorship or a GbR. Economically, you almost always need some start-up capital.

Phase 2: Choosing the legal form

The legal form determines liability, capital, formation effort and taxes. The four most common forms compared:

Legal form	Minimum capital	Liability	Formation	Recht 24/7 fixed price
Sole proprietorship	none	unlimited, including private assets	usually 1 to 3 days for activities not requiring a permit	€259 net
GbR	none, from 2 partners	unlimited, all partners jointly and severally	usually 1 to 3 days for activities not requiring a permit	from €259 net (eGbR €369 net)
UG (haftungsbeschränkt)	below €25,000, to be paid in full in cash	limited to the company's assets	usually 5 to 14 days until registration	€259 net
GmbH	€25,000, of which €12,500 to be paid in immediately	limited to the company's assets	usually 5 to 16 days until registration	€319 net

All fixed prices plus VAT and official fees, and for the UG, GmbH and eGbR plus notary and register costs. The durations are based on experience, not a guarantee.

Which legal form is the easiest to set up? The sole proprietorship: trade registration, questionnaire to the tax office, done. The price for this is unlimited liability. Our guides UG or sole proprietorship and UG or GmbH explain the decision in detail. If you are unsure, an initial consultation with a lawyer for €169 including VAT will clarify your questions in advance.

Phase 3: Forming your business, steps by legal form

The formation steps differ significantly by legal form. The table shows what applies to whom.

Step	Sole proprietorship	GbR	UG	GmbH
Partnership agreement / articles	not applicable	legally also oral, written strongly recommended	mandatory, notarised	mandatory, notarised
Notary	only for registration as e.K.	only for registration as eGbR	yes	yes
Payment of capital	not applicable	not applicable, contributions as per the agreement	full share capital in cash	at least €12,500
Register	commercial register only as e.K.	partnership register only as eGbR	commercial register	commercial register
Trade office	yes, except liberal professions	yes, for each partner, except liberal professions	yes	yes
Tax office	tax registration questionnaire	questionnaire for the GbR	questionnaire for the UG	questionnaire for the GmbH
Transparency register	no	only as eGbR (Sec. 20 (1) GwG)	yes	yes
Bookkeeping	cash-basis accounting up to €800,000 turnover and €80,000 profit (Sec. 141 AO, Sec. 241a HGB)	cash-basis accounting within the same limits	balance sheet	balance sheet

Sole proprietorship

You register your trade with the trade office (Sec. 14 GewO). Many municipalities allow this online. The trade office informs, among others, the tax office (Sec. 14 (8) GewO). You still submit the tax registration questionnaire yourself via ELSTER, within one month of opening the business (Sec. 138 (1b) and (4) AO). If you are in a liberal profession, such as a doctor, engineer, journalist or designer, trade registration does not apply. You notify the tax office of the activity directly. Without a commercial register entry, you trade under your first and last name, supplemented by a business designation. You decide in the questionnaire whether the small business scheme suits you: it is possible if your turnover did not exceed €25,000 in the previous year and does not exceed €100,000 in the current year (Sec. 19 (1) UStG). More on Set up a sole proprietorship.

GbR

A GbR comes into being as soon as at least two people join together for a common purpose, even orally if need be. Without an agreement, the statutory rules apply, and they rarely fit: decisions are in principle unanimous (Sec. 714 BGB), profit is shared according to the agreed shareholdings or contributions, otherwise in equal parts (Sec. 709 (3) BGB), and if a partner dies, they leave the partnership without their heirs taking their place (Sec. 723 (1) no. 1 BGB). Since 2024, a GbR can be entered in the partnership register (eGbR). This is mandatory if it is to acquire registered rights such as real estate or GmbH shares (Sec. 47 (2) GBO, Sec. 40 (1) GmbHG). This is followed by trade registration for each partner and the tax office. Details are on the service page Form a GbR.

UG and GmbH

For corporations, the process is longer: check the company name, articles of association or model protocol, notary appointment (in person or by video), business account and payment, entry in the commercial register, then trade office, tax office and transparency register. From notarisation, the company can act "in formation"; full limitation of liability only applies from registration. Our guide Forming a UG step by step explains each step with its duration and costs. At a fixed price: Form a UG; forming a GmbH costs €319 net.

Phase 4: Launch

Business account: A UG and GmbH need their own company account, opened after the notary appointment. Even as a sole proprietor, you should keep private and business finances separate. Many banks exclude business use of private accounts in their terms, and bookkeeping becomes easier.

Insurance: Health and long-term care insurance are mandatory. Depending on the activity, business or professional liability insurance makes sense, as do daily sickness benefit and occupational disability insurance for your loss of earnings, and legal expenses insurance. For some professions, professional liability insurance is required by law, for example for lawyers (Sec. 51 BRAO) and insurance intermediaries (Sec. 34d (5) GewO).

Employers' liability insurance association: Businesses register with the competent association within one week of starting; a timely trade registration counts as notification (Sec. 192 (1) SGB VII). For employees, you also need a company number from the Federal Employment Agency.

Chamber: Traders automatically become members of the IHK, craft businesses of the chamber of crafts. Anyone starting as a natural person without a commercial register entry is, subject to further conditions, wholly or partly exempt from IHK contributions in the first years, as long as profit does not exceed €25,000 (Sec. 3 (3) IHKG).

Transparency register: UGs, GmbHs and other companies subject to notification report their beneficial owners. Since 1 August 2021, entry in the commercial register no longer replaces this notification.

Contracts: If you are starting with others, the partnership agreement governs entry and exit, profit, decisions and succession. For customers, your own contract templates or terms and conditions help; for managing directors, a managing director's contract. Contracts copied from another business rarely fit yours.

Legal texts: As soon as you run a website, you need a legal notice (Impressum) and a privacy policy. If you sell online, a cancellation policy and usually terms and conditions are added. At Recht 24/7, individual terms and conditions cost €499 including VAT, and all legal texts for online shops are available on subscription for €19.90 a month including VAT.

Trade mark: A company name in the commercial register is not a trade mark. Before launch, check whether your name and logo infringe third-party trade marks, and protect them yourself if needed: trade mark application at Recht 24/7 from €239 net plus official fees.

What does starting a business cost?

What does it cost to start a business online? That depends mainly on the legal form. Notary and register costs only apply to registered forms.

Legal form	Recht 24/7 fixed price	Notary and register	Trade registration
Sole proprietorship	€259 net	not applicable, as e.K. approx. €270	depends on the municipality
GbR	€259 net	not applicable	depends on the municipality, e.g. Berlin €26 per partner in person, €15 online; NRW €26 online for natural persons (as of 10 Nov 2026)
eGbR	€369 net	approx. €360 to €390 (two to three partners)	depends on the municipality, e.g. Berlin €26 per partner in person, €15 online; NRW €26 online for natural persons (as of 10 Nov 2026)
UG	€259 net	notary approx. €160 to €240 (model protocol) or approx. €350 to €750 (articles of association), register approx. €300	depends on the municipality
GmbH	€319 net	notary approx. €350 to €750, register approx. €300	depends on the municipality

All fixed prices plus VAT. The notary and register costs are guide values calculated under the GNotKG and HRegGebV, with notary costs including expenses and VAT; for the model protocol they apply up to €7,000 share capital, and for articles of association they depend on the number of founders and the drafting. You can see what is included in the fixed prices on the page Start a business.

Common mistakes when starting a business

1. Permit requirement checked too late. The shop is rented, the trade is registered, but the permit is missing.
2. Legal form chosen on gut feeling. Anyone starting as a sole proprietor with a high liability risk is liable with their private assets.
3. No agreement between co-founders. For a GbR, the statutory rules apply otherwise, often to everyone's disadvantage in a dispute.
4. Large contracts concluded before registration. For a UG and GmbH, whoever acts for the company is liable until registration.
5. Follow-up obligations overlooked. The transparency register, employers' liability insurance association and chamber often only get in touch with a letter that already mentions deadlines or fines.
6. Website without legal texts. A missing or incorrect legal notice is a common reason for cease-and-desist letters.
7. Name not checked. If the name infringes an older trade mark, a cease-and-desist letter is likely, and signs, domain and printed matter have to be changed.