Setting up a Consultancy Business

Guidance on Setting up a Chinese Consultancy Business

  • Special Requirements: none
  • Corporate Structure: flexible
  • Market Access: openness
  • Industries: consultancies, services
  • Minimum Capital: 20,000 USD
  • Company Types: LLC, WFOE, LLP
  • Process: 20 working days
  • Published by: SMEsChina.com
OTHER INDUSTRIAL GUIDANCE
Foreign Corporate Services
HOW STARTING A BUSINESS

A consultancy business or firm ( known as a company ) is a legal corporate entity of one or more consultants ( specialists or experts ) that provides professional advice to other corporations and individuals for a consultancy fee. Through setting up Chinese consultancy businesses to target local existed organizations and oversea enterprises ( registered in other countries ), also can provide relevant consulting services to Chinese individuals and non residents with their industry-specific specialists and matter experts.

As the simplest structure of business and an encouraged industry, a consultative company can obtain approval of business registration easily and quickly. If you have already decided starting to operate business consultancies in mainland China, you have to satisfy 2 basic conditions ( other information can be collected by online communications ).

Set up a key corporate structure, must include

1). One shareholder at least ( owner, investor ), can be an individual or existed corporation around the world.
2). Executive director ( known as legal representative ), can be a Chinese citizen or foreigner ( non resident ).
3). Supervisor, can be a Chinese citizen or foreigner ( non resident ).

Executive director and supervisor are appointed by shareholder(s), both positions can not be the same person.

Wherever are you from, you have to provide required documents and related legal files to certify their ( herein before ) authenticity and legitimacy. Then can obtain an approval from local market and supervision department ( know as industrial and commercial administration bureau ). Once you have these decisions and details you can prepare documents required to register a company.

Procedure of setting up a Chinese business

SMEsChina has listed 3 parts for your better understanding. If you have already confirmed and collected relevant documents and requirements, you can start the process of company setting up anytime. Through SMEsChina’s assistance, you do not need to visit to China in person.

Process 1. Industrial and Commercial Registration

1). Corporate name pre approval
2). Sign legal files and official register forms
3). Business license approval
4). Obtain company seals
5). Obtain certificate of registration

Process 2. Corporate Account

1). Submit documents to bank
2). Obtain an account of corporation
3). Apply for internet banking ( keys )

Process 3. Start up Businesses

1). Taxpayer registration
2). Publish VAT invoices
3). Other operations depend on your decision

What commercial activities can be approved

Chinese consulting services related to your actual situations and corporate operations, including consultant consulting, business information, enterprise management consulting services, which may be different depending on professional fields, for instance technical consultants, marketing consultants, MBA advisers, training advisers.

About the written rules of selecting business activities, you have to select main categories in terms of 2019 China foreign investment industrial guidance catalogue. Just like MBA advisory and marketing consultants mentioned by herein-before, you should write corporate management and consulting, and marketing plannings.

Here, SMEsChina listed some popular and available activities for your reference.

Standard description: commercial information advisers, corporate management and consulting, marketing plannings, brands consulting, corporate image plannings.

Other selection reference: conference services, exhibition services, translation services, talent consulting, graphic design, etiquette services, etc.

Cross-industry selections: internet technology consulting, advertising design, production, publishing, agent, information technology consulting, etc.

If your did not find your business activities from this guidance, you can refer to this link: selecting business scope to get more accepted business scope and commercial activities.

How to get started step by step

If you have everything of China consultative businesses you need to set up, whole procedure completed simply within 20 working days through SMEsChina’s assistance step by step. In the future, you can run and operate a small consulting company in mainland China with different consultancy services depending on your corporate decisions.

OK, 7 steps to start up a business:

Step 1. Select a company type
Step 2. Choose a company name
Step 3. Decide corporate structure
Step 4. Selecting business activities
Step 5. Confirm registered capital
Step 6. Prepare required documents

Recommended guidance: How to Obtain a Business Incorporation Certificate

Extended Learning and studies

Naming rules, like SMEsChina Consulting Ltd, or Shanghai SMEsChina Consultants Limited, SMEsChina Consultancy ( Shanghai ) Co.,Ltd, SMEs ( China ) MANAGEMENT CONSULTING LTD, etc. A available corporate name must include brand name ( logo ), selection of industry, registered region, and the end with LLC, LLP, Limited, ltd, Co.,Ltd, and so on.

Registered address, you have to find an office as registered office then can be approved to obtain a certificate of registration, do not worry about that, you may contact SMEsChina placing an order to us and get a virtual commercial address. Meanwhile, SMEsChina offers relevant secretary and accounting services.

Standard corporate structure, your consultancy business can be as, WFOE ( wholly foreign owned enterprise ), FICE ( foreign invested commercial enterprise ), JV ( joint venture business ), LLP ( limited liability partnership ) or other structure of company if you want registering business in mainland China.

Investment Capital, you have to decide a registered capital to take responsibility for corporate limited liabilities. The minimum registered capital of consultancy business is 20,000 USD or Euro. Corporate may transfer capital from shareholder’s account to Chinese company’s account within 30 years.

Source of revenue, a consultancy fee ( or consulting service fee ) can be from oversea customers ( non local clients ) and domestic clients. Customers can be enterprises, companies, organizations, and individuals ( personal accounts ).

VAT qualification, business consultants company can apply for 2 types of qualification for its taxpayer ID, 1st is small scale taxpayer, 2nd is general taxpayer. Which should be registered depending on the invoicing types from your customers.

Operation strategies of business consultants

1). Bank account, this is too simple to complete the process of opening a corporate account in mainland China, SMEsChina has great relationships with local banks, do not need to interview ( face to face ) personally.

2). Hire a staff, SMEsChina HR sector assisting your business entity to register social insurance and house funding accounts, and payroll management services, and our visa department offering your foreign staff to obtain a working visa and residential permit from immigration office.

3). Market opportunities and status of China consulting industry, millions of small and medium enterprises are keep growing from different business ares through MA ( mergers and acquisitions ) and cooperation with global resources. In order to promote the international development strategies of Chinese consulting industry, improvement urgently for low brand concentration, scale disparity, short of core competitiveness and ripeness, quality of employees varies, late development of industry, and other industrial disadvantages, China is expanding openness to more consultancy industries and encouraging industrial development.

Other optional industrial guidance and reference

If you are hesitating that if this industrial guidance is right for your purpose, or you are considering other business plannings, you may use this useful link getting more reference. If you wish, you may place an order to SMEsChina directly. China foreign investment industrial guidance catalogue

Get help deciding how to set up a business in China

SMEsChina offers a wide range of corporations services through the years of practical experience in areas of business setting up, company registration, tax consultation, annual audit, government inspection, virtual office services, human resources, secretarial services, corporate management strategies, residential visa, trademarks, and other solutions of corporate running and maintaining to our customers.

Ready to establish and grow your businesses in mainland China?
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Check if setting up a private company is right for you, how you launch a corporation depends on what business activities your company does. It can also affect the processes of registration and different requirements for your preparation.

SMEsChina focus on the growth of enterprise and providing a variety of business solutions in the area of strategy consultancy, WFOE setting up services, business registration, company formation, incorporation of domestic invested enterprise, finance and audit services, HR and payroll, corporate bank account, resident permit, immigration and visa, trademarks and legal compliance. If you have everything to set up a private business in Mainland China, you can get in touch with our teams to get more useful information and online guidance.

More than 47 million companies and small medium enterprises have registered their business entities in mainland China and over 3.5 million new enterprises are incorporated during each financial year with comfortable process of registering companies due to China government implemented new rules and regulation on business registration laws since Oct. 2014. That’s Why SMEsChina is Here.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are planing to establish a business entity in Mainland China, as a foreign company you have to decide to choose a corporate name ( both languages ), set up registered capital, list business activities, structure of incorporation and prepare related documents of identification, our guidance has listed everything, whatever your industry is. You can get answers from our posted page: Incorporation Requirements For a Foreign Company

Before your learning from this guidance, we suggest you deciding a company type first, depending on different structure of shareholder and corporate types. You can find out a right corporate type for your decision.

If you have everything to start up a business in China, you may contact our teams to obtain a Proposal includes schedule, timeline of government approval and list of requirement to get started through our assistance.

Any person can be the appointed as the legal representative under the LLP structure and other company types, if you are the director, shareholder, or employee, its your decision, legal representative known as executive director and appointed by shareholder(s). But legal representative can not be the supervisor under same group.

That’s it. All required documents have been listed by this web for your Chinese company registration. If you want to hire a foreign staff for your Chinese company, this staff has to prepare other notarized and authenticated documents. Normally include 2 required documents, certificate of education, and certificate of no criminal records.

1). Shareholder(s), can be individuals ( 16 age at least ) or existed enterprises ( legally registered in China or other countries ).
2). Legal representative and supervisor, 16 age at least, can provide a valid and legal identification. No nationality restrictions.
3). Finance manager must be a Chinese who has obtained the certificate of accounting qualification.

Depends on what industry you want to set up, most of general businesses can use a virtual registered address to obtain company licenses and corporate bank account, but some special industries and corporate types must use a physical office to obtain approval, such as representative office, or a coffee shop, a food retail store, as well as special industries like: liquor wholesale, restaurant, laboratory and so on.

No standard answers for this question from our experience. Because each country has different situations, SMEsChina thinks visiting embassy office is the most effective solution for getting files quickly and simply, also you can sign an appointment letter and ask one friend, family to apply for the documents. If need to interview with an official, you may contact a Chinese functionary in advance through embassy’s website. Here SMEsChina suggests you reading this link:  Guidance of Notarization Authentication Documents of China Embassy.