New Archiving Feature in DigibalanceApp 📲📂

We are excited to inform you about a new feature added to the DigibalanceApp! 🎉 The app now includes an image recognition function for receipts and purchase invoices that are either photographed or transferred to the archive. This feature automatically reads the information on the receipt or invoice, making the archiving process even easier. 🧾 

However, we would like to remind you that it is important to check that the information read by the app is correct. For purchase invoices, the date should correspond to the day the invoice was paid, and for card and cash purchases, the date when the purchase was made. Additionally, please make sure to specify the method of payment for the purchase. You can easily choose the payment method from the drop-down menu within the app. 💳💼 

 To help you get started with the new archiving feature, we encourage you to watch the available instructional videos. 🎥📖 

 We also want to kindly remind you of the importance of archiving bookkeeping material. 💡 Legally, the company itself is responsible for handling matters related to archiving. Receipts generated during the financial year—such as sales invoices issued to customers, sales reports, payment summaries, paid invoices, and any receipts related to purchases made with bank or credit cards—must be kept for at least six years after the end of the calendar year in which the financial year ended. 🗂️📅 

 Please note that the invoice and receipt documentation from the previous month, as well as monthly sales data, should be available to our accounting team within 7 days after the month-end. This ensures that our team can meet the deadlines set for submitting data to the tax authorities. If any material is missing from the archives during bookkeeping and our team has to spend time resolving it, we will charge €61 per hour for the time spent on this work, according to our price list. 💶 

 Thank you for choosing AutoAccount service and DigibalanceApp. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact us. 🙌

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Is the accounting software company trying to run your business

accounting softwareThe relationship between software providers and clients has changed radically in recent years, at least in the accounting industry. As a matter of fact, I believe that this change is not just in our industry, but that software companies are crossing borders more broadly. The clients that entrepreneurs have worked so hard to acquire, are suddenly becoming joint clients and you start getting advice on how to run and price your own business. This reality really hit me when the CEO of Digibalance companies, who runs our operations, said that most of the accounting software updates are negative, trying to steer us in a direction we don’t want to go.

Cloud services (SaaS) have been a major, and in many ways positive, game changer for the software industry. For example, the current operations of online accountants firm AutoAccount are completely dependent on cloud based applications, and we have no longing for server software or even more ancient local installations. However, the active interference of a software company in our own business is strongly disapproved by the entrepreneur. The most equivalent memory that comes to my mind is that of an exchange student from decades ago. The endearingly jealous host family brother legendarily uttered “how about making some own friends” when he noticed I was constantly hanging out with his old buddies 😊. However, it’s an equally sensitive issue with the entrepreneurial mind. When a software salesperson, after one Teams meeting, starts calling your long-term customers “our customers”, a mental war is easily waged.

The set up has become quite awkward for the entrepreneur as a client and is starting to resemble a dating market. Software providers are inviting you to constant non-productive meetings and calling the entrepreneur a partner, which he or she may not want to be. The tricky part comes when the accounting software company changes their pricing to reflect how they feel the client’s industry should operate. In our own accounting process, we run over 2000 client books a month and even small changes in pricing can be critical. For years we were effectively reliant on one accounting software, but in the current climate this dependency had to be broken. It is now a question of which provider’s software, pricing and attitude best supports our own processes. In Sweden, for example, after a little initial fidgeting, we have been understood where we are going with our own business. Then we can talk about partnership.

An entrepreneur should never become arrogant and turn a deaf ear to comments from outside. A person unfamiliar with your field, may occasionally make comments that hit on a surprising point that you hadn’t thought of. I would still encourage every entrepreneur to protect their customers. If you are not vigilant, someone is always ready to co-opt your customers mainly to support their own business.

Author Mikko Ilves the Chairman of the Board of Digibalance Group

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The problem of negative equity

company bookkeeping

A few years ago, I wrote in my blog that the registration of a limited company without share capital is possible in several countries. The aim is to lower the threshold for entrepreneurship and it has certainly done so. Now that we look at it from a practical point of view, the flip side of the ease of incorporation has been highlighted by the difficulty of closing the company. In other words, if a limited liability company has been set up without a clear plan for its future, or if circumstances have changed irreversibly as a result of covid-19, the idea of dissolving the company may have arisen. The associated liquidation process, with its costs and the time it takes, has come as a surprise to many entrepreneurs. The country-specific corporate law usually states that if the Board of directors finds that the company’s equity capital is negative, they shall without delay take action. For example, in Finland you must make a notification to the Trade Register of the loss of share capital. There is more time in some countries to correct the balance, for example by the next annual closing of the company bookkeeping.

In practice, negative equity usually appears when the “total equity” line in the company bookkeeping balance sheet shows a figure under zero. Many small company has been set up without share capital, has no other equity invested and might be making a loss. In such a case, a loss of even one euro results in negative equity, which could lead to problems. It is quite easy to make a loss and the issue of negative equity can sometimes come as a surprise to the entrepreneur. The traditional situation is that of a start-up company with a short first financial period, financed with a loan. There may be liquidity for payroll and other expenses, but sales invoicing has not really started yet. The outcome for the period is a loss = negative equity. I encountered a slightly more peculiar situation recently in the connection of a car finance. A small company that employs its sole owner well and is able to pay a normal salary. In addition to the cash salary, a car benefit was utilized by buying a car on the company’s balance sheet with 100% financing. Some EBITDA margin is generated and there is enough cash to cover the repayments, but the annual depreciation of the car will bring the result down so badly that the equity is strongly negative.

There are a number of situations, as described above, where a small business can run into a negative equity problem. There are also accounting means that can be used to improve the situation without stepping into the grey area. For example, expense entries should not be aggressive and the overall periodization of costs can make a difference; whether it is actually an expense for next year or an investment for future years. The periodization of income and expenses for companies receiving various project grants is an art in itself, and expertise in this area is important in avoiding negative equity. However, the easiest action point is to invest sufficient equity in the company as early as possible. This does not have to be in the form of share capital since there are more flexible ways to be utilized. Alternatives can be sought, for example, by bookings a meeting with Digibalance Consultancy Service, where the issue can be examined directly on the basis of the client company bookkeeping.

Why should a negative equity be avoided? It is difficult to give an exhaustive answer to this question, but first of all it creates the situation mentioned at the beginning, where further action is required. If the notification to Trade Register is needed, there is also a need for further action to remove the entry in the register at a later date. This will entail accounting work and costs, i.e. it will also be an administrative burden. The notification in itself may also create complications to run the business. Purchasing goods or services on invoice may become more difficult. If you go to the bank to apply for a loan, this entry in the trade register may put an end to all discussions. The same result is faced if you show a balance sheet showing negative equity, even if there is no registration requirement for that. There might also be the risk that board members will be personally liable for damages or other problems the company may have.

The conclusion is very clear: even a small company should avoid negative equity because of the effort and risks involved. However, it does not automatically remove all the conditions for doing business.

Author Mikko Ilves the Chairman of the Board of Digibalance Group

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AutoAccount is compliant with Wise

AutoAccount - Wise

A well functioning payment system is an absolute cornerstone of business operations. Since cash is not a modern option, a bank account has always been a self-evident and crucial tool and also a basis for bookkeeping. In recent years, however, entrepreneurs have increasingly come across a new problem: the bank refuses to open a bank account or closes an account that has been in operation. New solution: AutoAccount is compliant with Wise.

There are several types of problem situations. For example, a startup entrepreneur goes to open an account at a bank branch or an online bank, where he gets to fill out a questionnaire including questions about political activity to difficult details about how many and what types of transactions the bank account will have. The result may be that the entrepreneur is not a welcome customer and the account is not opened. More and more common is the situation where an operating company receives a questionnaire related to the background of beneficial owners. If the form is not returned, the bank will close the account completely after a few warnings. Or despite returning the form, the bank decides to close the account.

The reason why we have drifted into this kind of environment is due to banking regulation, and a considerable share of the banks’ resources goes to various bureaucracies. The biggest reason for an individual company’s problems is probably the KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements, i.e. the bank must show how it assesses the money laundering risks related to its customers, how it identifies its customers and how it knows and monitors its customers’ account transactions. From entrepreneur’s point of view, the effect is clear in many cases: if there is even the slightest uncertainty, the account will not be opened or maintained. Having a foreign background always seems to increase the risk.

If a solution cannot be found in the traditional banking field, there are several fintech companies who’s services can replace a bank account. Among AutoAccount’s wide international client base, we have come across a particularly large number of Wise accounts (formerly Transferwise). There’s already a lot of experience of Wise accounts and basic payments work well. Payments and direct debits have worked in both domestic and international situations. There is also a free Visa debit card available, which of course conveniently connects to the company’s account statement.

Accounting professionals know that getting bank account transactions into accounting is critical. In AutoAccount, we avoid manual recording of transactions as far as possible. Currently, banks produce very functional account data in XML format (CAMT). However, this is not available from international fintechs like Wise. At AutoAccount, we have solved the issue with our subsidiary Digibalance Oy’s own software development, which makes it possible to import account data into bookkeeping. When there are large masses of customers in the care, the efficiency of the process is everything. AutoAccount bookkeeping is now compliant with Wise!

Author Mikko Ilves the Chairman of the Board of Digibalance Group. 

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The silence of Digibalance AutoAccount has ended

Online service for accounting

COVID-19 has not disappeared anywhere in the world, but its effects on working life have gradually diluted. For Digibalance companies, the period of a few years has been very revolutionary and it actually normalized what we had already built years before the corona: an online service for accounting clients, remote meetings, location-independent working. The impact of the pandemic on the visibility of our operations was clear: the rush in the customer process and development projects rose to such a level that our active social media presence withered to almost non-existence. At the same time, especially micro-entrepreneurs, in their own cost pressure, found us more and more often.

As the demand exceeded the delivery capacity, we have had to evaluate our operations from new perspectives. At the beginning of this year, we made a decision that differed from the preparations that had been made for a longer time: we will not bond with venture capitalists. The decision was based on many choices related to values, meaningfulness of work and entrepreneurship in general, but as with all choices, this has both positive and negative sides.

As a long-term entrepreneur, I always see it healthier to run a business where losses do not rise to a significant level. Without large financial buffers, this is also a situation dictated by necessity, and it is clear that it has the effect of slowing down development. The management’s time and energy is spent on ensuring various practical matters, while in a hypothetical position of “never-ending cash”, this energy could be allocated to doing the so-called right things.

The above-mentioned setup can be seen now as an emphasis on profitability alongside a focus on growth. When there is no need to impress the financiers, i.e. to grow at any cost, we have been able to analyze customer profitability and invest in personnel. In practice, for the first time in my entrepreneurial career, I have been driving almost as much customers away than acting as a salesperson. The experience has been partly heart-wrenching for the entrepreneur, but on the other hand, it has also opened my eyes in a new way to the well-being of employees.

The problems of customer profitability in our operations seem to rise mainly from two subjects: 1. a low solvency of client entrepreneurs compared to the need for services 2. additional stress for personnel caused by customer behavior problems.

Solvency problems are easier to understand from these two. When the entrepreneur’s own business has experienced difficulties due to the pandemic, he/she has started looking for more efficient and more affordable solutions. At the same time, however, it is easy to forget that the purchased service model differs from the previous one. Regular coffee breaks, stacks of papers and calls to your own  accountant are not part of the basic service of an online accounting office. Instead the service models are made for a different world. There is certainly still a place for old-fashioned services, but Digibalance companies do not produce such services. We have consistently built affordable digital online bookkeeping services for micro and small entrepreneurs. We combine needed expertise and the ease of use of DigibalanceApp application or online browser service. Almost without exception, a new client for us gradually adapts the new operating model, even if they have been working with their accountant in a different way for years. Effortless and affordable. That’s our unbeatable AutoAccount service combination, but I also feel that it is important to distinguish from “doing bookkeeping is now easy for you” type campaigns that unnecessarily raise the threshold of entrepreneurship. The majority of entrepreneurs would not like to participate in bookkeeping at all, and we emphasize that the applications are only part of our effortless service process for the customer. In AutoAccount sales, the most challenging thing is often to get the entrepreneur to understand how small is the required customer contribution for us to collect the necessary data to produce the books. And the accounting is done by AutoAccount on behalf of the customer.

When analyzing customer profitability, the most surprising thing to me was the fundamental behavior problems in a large customer base, which stress our employees. The phenomenon is the same as what you could read about in the media during the pandemic, for example in supermarkets: various very outrageous insults directed at employees increased when the shouters were able to hide behind a mask. Psychologically, it’s a very interesting topic, which is certainly related to many reasons from difficult times to upbringing and inequality. In practice, remote and online service create the same illusion as a face mask: the feeling that I, as a customer, can communicate however inappropriately. The same phenomenon is well known from social media discussions. On a practical level, it has been quite surprising to have to intervene in individual situations where the customer’s communication to accounting or even to an individual accountant is constantly rude and disrespectful. In some cases, it has been a question of the customer’s inherently aggressive way of communicating. In other cases, there is a misunderstanding where the accountant is seen as an enemy who always does things wrong, whether there was a factual reason for it or not. The customer may have been quite surprised when I brought up such a problem, and often the cooperation has continued in a more positive spirit after that. However, there are individual cases where we have not wanted to continue the service ourselves. It’s good to remember that behind all automation there are important people who make our effortless services possible!

We have had to increase minimally the reimbursements of software suppliers’ increasing customer-specific costs. However, our fight against inflation and price increases continues, and we will not raise our own monthly service charges for the time being!

The silence has ended and you will hear about our activities again through numerous electronic and social media channels in the future. Feel free to comment, share or like our updates😊

Published by Linked on 23/09/2022Digitase Oy - AutoAccount - DigibalanceApp

Author Mikko Ilves is an entrepreneur and the Chairman of the Board of Digibalance companies.

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Job Ad | Accountant Europe

Finnish-owned AutoAccount is expanding its remote organization in Europe. Our micro entrepreneur customers represent a wide range of nationalities running their businesses in several European countries. We produce our unique English AutoAccount services with a strong focus on digital nomads and other international business owners.

We are now looking for an internationally minded accountant to work remotely anywhere in Europe.

Responsibilities:

  • Processing monthly AutoAccount bookkeeping
  • Expert in local reporting regulation in France

Requirements:

  • A suitable education for example in business administration
  • A few years of work experience in accounting
  • Fluent English and French.
  • Basic IT skills
  • Good understanding of international business communication
  • Readiness for occasional travelling within Europe

We offer an exceptional opportunity to work independently in an international environment with the state of art software and mobile applications.

 

Please send your application with a salary request or additional questions to mikko.ilves@digibalance.eu .

 

 

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Accounting service

Entrepreneur’s Money is Wanted | Accounting Service Needed

Accounting service

Entrepreneurship is a fancy kind of sport where one needs to be even more strict regarding money than in his or her personal life. An experienced entrepreneur with accounting service already knows how to deal with different kind of other services which are offered almost as mandatory, although the only certain thing is that they cost money. The rumba begins already when you register your business and at the same time give your contact details. The amount of incoming e-mails, phone calls or even paper mail increases at once. It’s not even guaranteed to be avoided from the bombarding of telemarketers when leaving the phone number box empty since they can carelessly track your current employer’s number given to you. Today there are still companies which take their own privilege to interrupt anyone’s work day and start to sell their products with an endless monolog. However you can’t really give an advise to a start up entrepreneur not to take calls from unknown numbers. Blocking telemarketer’s phone numbers is instead advisable as unnecessary contact attempts start. It’s also recommended to end irrelevant phone calls as quickly as possible and save time for both. However I try to do my best to be polite in these situations since the caller is just doing his or her work and trying to earn a living.

What is Entrepreneur’s Money Desired For? 

First comes to mind insurances, spots for advertisements, phone and telecommunication, electricity contracts, different kind of software and administration services like accounting services. Before I comment on the software and accounting services very familiar to me, I want to pay attention to mystical “business subscriptions”. The only specialty seems to be their higher price compared to consumer subscriptions. Let’s take internet connection subscriptions as examples. It is very hard to get the seller to accept that one wants to buy a similar connection for a company use which is aimed for a private use. ”Well, it is basically our consumer sector’s products which can’t be sold in this case” kind of explanations have become very familiar to me. In the business subscription there are either more services than you will ever need or it might be so that there is no real difference at all when it’s compared to consumer subscription. The only difference is the price which is higher for companies.

An interesting single experience was with an IT application which was aimed for optimizing the electricity usage. The only difference between the company and consumer option was, in addition to higher price, the possibility for monthly payments instead of a single one-off payment. When there was no need for that the next argument was that this consumer subscription can’t be sold to a company. When I didn’t get an answer to ”why not” in the end, I of course made the more cheaper consumer order but under the company’s name as the use was going to be business related. There is also a trap for this topic that one of the requirements for VAT reclaims is that the expense receipt usually has to be under the business name! So when you make purchases for the company you should always try to avoid invoices and receipts with only your own name. And even if it is a tax deductible expense it doesn’t mean it’s free! This kind of misunderstood sale attitude I have also noticed in practice.

Although many offered services like all-inclusive insurances sound reasonable, an entrepreneur has a great risk to drift into a situation where different kinds of fixed administration costs are bigger than the revenues.

Entrepreneur’s Finance – Don’t Underestimate the Common Sense 

AutoAccount is selling accounting services and therefore I am slightly biased to comment on their active sales efforts. I can however say that as long as I can influence on the company we will not do so called cold calling where a number is picked from a list and one calls and tries to sell accounting services. Nowadays the services have to be brought to an entrepreneur’s attention by other means. In addition I recommend you to be very careful about what level of financial management services your size of a company needs. For example if you are a self-employed or you are managing a small company which employs a couple of persons, a basic online accounting service is probably enough. You won’t necessarily need versatile software where the most familiar feature will probably be its fixed monthly payment. It’s recommended to choose a reasonably priced accounting service which however enables to keep your financials available and in your own hands. Often it is also beneficial to brainstorm your own thoughts with someone outside your company but it is dangerous to think that an external consultant knows your specific business better than yourself. Therefore you shouldn’t underestimate yourself as the expert of your own company since no one has spent so much time thinking about your company’s matters.

Micropreneur’s financials can often be controlled by the following information: cash based accounting, bank account balance, the total balance of unpaid expense bills and estimation of the taxable income. This information can be managed and be available very inexpensively with the functions of bank services and online accounting service AutoAccount.

Author Mikko Ilves is an entrepreneur and the Chairman of the Board of Digibalance Group. More blog updates: www.autoaccount.info/blog/

 

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Starting a Finnish limited liability company (Oy) without share capital

Starting a Finnish limited liability company (Oy) without share capital

A fairly inconspicuous change that allows starting a new limited liability company entirely without share capital took effect on July 1st. We establish companies with customers regularly and just last week postponed the registration of one. This wasn’t because the customer was unwilling to invest in their new company, but for the practical reason that online registration would needed to have been processed by the end of the week. From now on, starting a company online will always be done without share capital.

Especially new entrepreneurs have often had misconceptions about the meaning of share capital. A common one is that this so-called restricted shareholders’ equity is similar to expenses, and becomes unavailable. In practice, money invested as share capital will be immediately transferred to the company’s bank account, and can be used for normal expenses. In bookkeeping, the money has been tied and unavailable to be e.g. returned directly to the owner personally. Considering that nearly all business requires some sort of financial investment in the beginning, a share capital requirement of €2,500 has typically not been an issue. However, removing this requirement makes it easier to start a company, as an entrepreneur can complete the registration immediately and only then specify how much financial investment they need. It remains to be seen whether this is a good or a bad thing. Most likely it will be a bit of both.

Small delay can lead to harsh penalties

One aspect of share capital investing is that the small preliminary investment of shares in the company provides more incentive for the mandatory organization of the company’s administration to be taken seriously. Larger penalty payments imposed by tax authorities create a situation where even a small delay in e.g. establishing bookkeeping can lead to costs for the entrepreneur. I have witnessed situations even this year where an entrepreneur has accumulated over €1,000 of mandatory penalty by submitting reports of intra-community sales late and incorrectly written. This is only one example of situations in which a company founded easily and flexibly between friends has quickly gotten into trouble. Similar problems are sure to increase as starting a company is made easier.

The importance of a company’s bank account

An essential viewpoint into the topic is postponing the opening of a bank account. Because of requirements imposed onto banks, entrepreneurs have occasionally found it nearly impossible to open a bank account. However, starting a limited liability company currently requires such an account, and the prerequisites of opening one have been considered before registering the company in the first place. Since share capital investments are not required, a company can go into business before having a bank account. This can easily cause problems, as the company’s pay traffic is managed using e.g. employees’ own accounts or online payment services. In my Finnis blog post from 11.12.2017 I wrote about how essential being a bank’s customer is to a company. The matter can even be justified by direct cost savings by taking into account how e.g. we at AutoAccount can manage bookkeeping using digital information from banks at a much lower price than the rest of the market.

Starting a company is easy – closing one is not

Despite the previously discussed possible issues, I do not mean to decry this entire update. For instance, we ourselves have founded a subsidiary in Estonia entirely without share capital, since the nature of the business did not require new capital. When needed, the means for investing can be found from other sections of bookkeeping besides share capital. In Estonia, the option to distribute dividends is tied with paying share capital, which for Finland’s benefit does not seem to be included in the new changes.

Many business ideas are based on one’s own skills and know-how, and actual material purchases are barely needed. When a society sends a message to remove obstacles to entrepreneurship and self-employment is more common than before, the change is justified. If, for instance, one’s own employment depends on having to invoice customers through one’s own company, the possibility to easily start an LLC/Oy is welcome. However, an Oy is a less risky option than a business name of a self-employed in regards to e.g. responsibility matters, even for a one-man business.

A tip for new entrepreneurs: despite the seeming ease, do not start a limited liability company without a concrete plan for the future. Starting a company is now easy, but it brings with it a managerial burden, and shutting it down is its own expensive and arduous process.

 

Author Mikko Ilves is an entrepreneur and the Chairman of the Board of Digibalance Group. More blog updates: www.autoaccount.info/blog/

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AutoAccount starting strongly in Estonia

location independent bookkeeping

Toomas Schipai (left) is the expert in Estonian accounting and Mikko Ilves in overseas services. There’s a skilled location independent bookkeeping team also in Finland.

AutoAccount Tallinn office started in November 2018 providing effortless location independent bookkeeping services for English-speaking micro entrepreneurs with registered business in Finland, France, Estonia or UK. Service is totally location independent and currently the customers represent dozens of nationalities worldwide. The growing customer group are the e-Resident companies registered in Estonia.

MBA Toomas Schipai started in Tallinn office in the beginning of the year. He works as an accountant and an expert of Estonian bookkeeping and taxation. As a matter of fact Toomas is quite an expert in Estonian accounting and is also giving lectures concerning the subject. He also has a long background working in international Nordic companies.

BREXIT puts many English entrepreneurs in a new unknown position how to go on with businesses within EU. UK registered companies will most likely be left out of AutoAccount scope. However e-residency and EU-company is an excellent solution how to ensure the on-going business in the future. Mikko Ilves at AutoAccount has a long experience in working with English businesses and can assist with the start-up process and the company administration.

AutoAccount location independent bookkeeping services are available online and office services, for example registered company addresses, in the heart of Tallinn at Metro Plaza business centre.

 

Author Mikko Ilves is an entrepreneur and the Chairman of the Board of Digibalance Group. More blog updates: www.autoaccount.info/blog/

 

 

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Digitase is the accountant partner of Business Finland Startup Kit

Business Finland attracts foreign entrepreneurs to Finland with a new Startup Kit | Business world’s baby pack brings together vital services and contacts

The new program supports the access of foreign experts to the Finnish market. Business Finland’s Startup Kit helps entrepreneurs in Finland to survive in the business startup process, so the entrepreneurs have time for business development and integration into the new country. Similar programs are also available in Canada, New Zealand and France.

Business Finland aims to facilitate the access of international top experts to the Finnish business market by launching a new Startup Kit in Slush. Startup Kit complements Startup Permit which was published in April. Startup Permit is a residence permit for teams from outside the EU, but the new service can also be used by entrepreneurs from within the EU.

Marjo Ilmari, Executive Director from Business Finland compares the service to a kind of business ‘baby pack’.

“It takes courage to pursue your career as a startup entrepreneur. Even more courage is required if you establish your startup venture outside your home country. The package is like a starter kit for new parents, containing all the necessary maternity services and equipment for a newborn. We wanted to bring the same idea to the Finnish business world as well.”

Finland Startup Kit provides all the information about the process and services that different public and private stakeholders can offer to make settling down to Finland easier. The Startup Kit brings together partners who can help the entrepreneurs for example in finding board members and providers of banking, insurance, IP protection, health and accommodation services. Startups are also guided by business mentors to help new entrepreneurs start up in Finland. The entrepreneur gets the services provided by the partners when they register the company in Finland.

“By the end of November, more than 100 non-EU companies from over 20 countries have applied for the Startup Permit. It’s a sign that international experts are interested in Finland,” Ilmari says.

“An international competition for talented entrepreneurs is fierce and, for example, Canada, New Zealand and France offer similar programs. However, Finland has one of the best startup environment in the world* and it has a reputation as a startup-friendly venue with strong technological know-how. It is important to support the development and innovation of our business by opening it up to international companies as well.”

The now-released Startup Kit will be constantly developed to match entrepreneurs’ feedback and partners’ services. Currently, the partners are OP, Leitzinger, Forenom, Terveystalo, Elisa, Whim, Boardio and Digitase, and the service package is continuously seeking new partners from companies and organizations operating in Finland.

Business Finland also offers startup companies Tempo funding, which foreign entrepreneurs can apply for after starting their business in Finland.

Digitase is the accountant partner of Business Finland Startup Kit

 

Business Finland:
Business Finland is the Finnish innovation funding, trade, investment, and travel promotion organization, headquartered in Helsinki. Business Finland is fully owned by the Finnish Government employing some 600 experts in 40 offices globally and in 20 regional offices around Finland. Business Finland is part of the Team Finland network.

 

 

 

Author Mikko Ilves is the Chairman of the Board of Digibalance Group, the accountant partner of Business Finland Startup Kit. More blog updates: www.autoaccount.info/blog/

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