Choosing your legal status

Before starting your own business, you have to choose your business' legal structure. This is an important decision to make. In simplified terms, the decision as to which legal status you should choose depends on:

• the number of investors in the business (whether you are on your own or working with other entrepreneurs),
• the size of the company,
• the way it is financed,
• arrangements regarding liability, etc.

Before you decide whether to set up as an sole proprietor or as a company you should weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of both options. You can take advice on this from a business specialist or from your accountant/tax adviser.

You can also find detailed information about the different legal structures on the

• relevant Federal Federal Minister of Labour and Economy (→ BMAW) webpage and from the
• WKO founder's service (→ WKO)

In order to encourage cooperation across the EU single market, the EU also gives entrepreneurs the option of setting up under EU law as a  → European Company (societas europea), → European Econmic Interest Grouping  or → European Cooperative Society zu organisieren.

Online advice portal and calculator

• Legal structure^{German text}
• Funding companies^{German text}