How to start a web design business?

 

If you are planning to embark on an entrepreneurial adventure as a freelance web designer, you will have to start your business. The process of creating a web design company is characterized by a succession of stages. But, beforehand, several choices have to be made. Then you will need to complete legal formalities. By the way, you may want to make a business plan.

Here is a file which recapitulates the stages of the creation of a web design company :

·         Make creative choices,

·         Carry out a business plan,

·         Register the business.

·         Web design business creation

Before thinking about creating your structure, you must make several decisive choices. They are called creative choices. There are generally three of them, but the most important of them is the choice of legal status.

Choose a legal status for the company

The choice of legal status is the major choice of any business creation. Indeed, the form you choose will have an impact on all the other characteristics of your business, both in terms of creation and management.

Each form of business has advantages and disadvantages, including within the same “family” of legal status. However, certain criteria of your project will allow you to find the status adapted to your situation.

Without going into too much detail, here are the reasons why a creator opts for a particular status:

·         Status   Advantages and grounds for appeal

·         Microbusiness   Allows you to easily test a project

·         Very few administrative constraints

·         Inexpensive creation, management, and closure

·         Individual company  Status not limited by a revenue ceiling (unlike the ME)

·         Reduced accounting, tax, and legal obligations compared to companies

·         Taxation attractive if the creator's marginal IR the tax rate does not exceed 30%

·         EURL or SARL Patrimony of the partner (s) also protected unlike the EI or the ME who have not opted for the EIRL

·         Tax optimization possible in terms of income taxation (income tax or income tax companies)

·         Low cost of social protection for the manager compared to SASU / SAS

·         SASU or SAS       Very flexible legal framework (possibility of adjusting the shareholding structure)

·         Unlike EURL or SARL, dividends not subject to social charges

·         Assets of the partner (s) also protected

You do not know which legal status to choose? We can help you: Tool to help you choose your status

Choose a social status for the manager

The manager of a company enjoys a special social status. He can be an assimilated employee or self-employed. The choice made in this area has an impact on the amount of social security contributions due to his salaries and also on the scope of his social security coverage.

A non-salaried worker is generally less well covered than a salaried manager. However, additional protection can generally be built up at the expense of the company (through “Madelin” contracts). In addition, its mandatory contributions cost less.

Benefit from a self-employed worker status:

·         The EURL manager or the majority manager of SARL,

·         The head of an individual or micro-enterprise.

·         On the contrary, the following are assimilated to employees:

·         The president of SASU or SAS,

·         And the minority manager or also of SARL.

Two tax regimes exist: income tax and corporation tax. Each method of taxing profits has advantages and disadvantages. However, as noted above, the legal status you choose directly affects the tax treatment of your business.

The income tax relates to the individual business ( EI ), the EIRL, microenterprise, and EURL. Only EURL and EURL can opt for corporation tax;

The corporate income tax, meanwhile, applies automatically to all other structures: SARL, SAS, SASU ... These companies can opt for income tax for a period of 5 years. "Family" LLCs can opt for IR on an unlimited basis.

The choice between IR or IS depends on several parameters. It is generally the result of calculations and a tax optimization process.

·         Start a business online

·         Open a pro account

·         Choose your legal status

The business plan to do during the creation process

The web designer does not necessarily have to carry out a business plan. This document is, in general, of little use for this type of activity, free from many risks. The investments to be made are limited to the purchase of computer hardware and software (of insignificant amounts). However, banks may require it to follow up on a request for bank financing or, quite simply, to open a bank account.

However, the business plan can help you see more clearly and clarify your project. It also allows you to quantify it to identify its profitability and therefore your potential income. In the end, it will be able to reassure you in your creative choices, presented above.

The steps of a web designer business plan is generally as follows:

·         Presentation of the demand, the range of services and the strategy deployed,

·         Carrying out a market study and calculating the estimated turnover,

·         Identification of costs and charges of any kind generated by the project,

·         Establishment of an income statement, balance sheet and cash budget.

The registration of the web design company to apply

Once the creation choices have been made and the business plan completed, you can start your business. To do this, you must apply for its registration. The procedure to follow differs depending on the legal status you have chosen.

Register a sole proprietorship

If you choose the sole proprietorship, you will have to accomplish simplified formalities. Indeed, you do not have to write articles of incorporation or publish a legal announcement of creation.

You simply have to complete a form entitled "P0 PL" intended for the liberal professions. Some supporting documents must be attached to the file: photocopy of your identity document, original copy of a declaration of non-conviction, proof of address, etc.

In addition, if you want to protect part of your personal assets, you will have to opt for EIRL and file a declaration of affected assets.

The entire file must be submitted to the formalities center of the companies on which you depend.

Register a commercial company

The process of registering a commercial company turns out to be more complex in practice. To proceed in this way, you must first define the characteristics of your company (company name, registered office, registered capital, duration, corporate purpose, etc.). Then you have to write a draft statute. Depending on the planned contributions, you will have to release the sums of money promised into a bank account opened in the name of the company being formed. Therefore, your statutes will have to be updated, finalized and signed.

All you have to do is write and distribute a legal notice for the creation of a company, complete a registration application form (M0) then submit your file, accompanied by several supporting documents, to the CFE or to the commercial register and companies. In the end, you will receive a Kbis extract that you will have to present to your bank for it to release the funds.

After setting up your business, do not forget to take out professional insurance (at least an RC Pro) and to join an approved management association (AGA) if you are subject to income tax. Also, take stock of how you are going to handle the accounting of your business: are you going to do it yourself? Or delegate it to an accountant? How do you plan to bill your services (software, spreadsheet, etc.)? Etc.