Quarterly, in the first days of January, April, July, and October. In some cases, it may be advisable to file a monthly return if you want to quickly claim a VAT refund.

All those necessary for the activity. Each expense must be carefully analyzed to see whether or not it can be deducted.

For high returns, once you reach around €60,000 you can consider whether it makes sense to set up a company. Keep in mind that a company involves more bureaucracy than a self-employed individual.

If it is done voluntarily before receiving the Tax Agency’s notice, there will be a surcharge of 1% and an additional 1% for each month that has passed since the tax filing deadline. From the second year, the surcharge will be 15% plus late interest. This surcharge will be reduced by 25% if paid voluntarily once the Tax Agency sends us the assessment.

If a return is filed late in response to a request from the Tax Agency, there will be a penalty of between 50% and 150% of the amount not paid, plus late interest. The penalty can be reduced by 30% if payment is made within the deadlines set by the Tax Agency, and by an additional 40% if no appeal is filed. In the end, the whole thing can amount to a minimum penalty of around 35%.

Freelance: They are only required to keep a record of invoices issued, purchases, expenses, and investment assets. To do this, they must provide the invoices they issued and received, as well as proof of other expenses.

Companies: They are required to maintain full accounting; in addition to what self-employed individuals provide, they must also submit bank statements.

Deducting incorrect expenses: It is necessary to analyze each client’s situation and determine which expenses can be deducted for their business activity.

Documentation: You must have documentation properly scanned and linked to each accounting record of sales, purchases, and expenses. The Tax Agency requires it, and the penalties are significant if it’s not managed properly.

Filing returns late: You must be aware of the tax calendar for each type of taxpayer and the obligations that apply to them.

Currently, there are two basic types of contracts: permanent and fixed-term (temporary). A fixed-term contract applies to production circumstances or to replace an employee:

• Production circumstances: any occasional and unforeseeable increase over the company’s normal activity or fluctuations in workload that result in a mismatch.
• Substitution: any circumstance that involves reserving the job of the person being covered.

There are two cases to distinguish, common contingency and occupational contingency:

• Common contingency: the benefit begins on the 4th day.
• Occupational contingency: the benefit begins the day after the sick leave starts.

There are some exceptions: sick leave for menstruation, disability, and organ donation (from the first day), or termination of pregnancy/gestation from the 39th week (from the day after).

They can last for a maximum of 545 days.

There are two types of dismissals, disciplinary and objective, and these can be proper (justified) or improper (the reason cannot be justified, or the cause that motivates it is not sufficiently justified).

• Objective dismissal: There is no concept of employee fault, it must be in writing, and the employee must be offered severance pay of 20 days (except for economic causes) and 15 days’ notice.
• Disciplinary dismissal: Based on a serious, culpable breach by the employee. It requires a written notice detailing the facts and a prior hearing.

• Request the name from the Central Commercial Registry. You must submit requests for five names in order of preference.

• Deposit the share capital with a bank; the minimum is €3,000.

• Draw up the company’s bylaws, which will determine its business activity, legal address, management structure, partners’ relationships, etc.

• Constitute the company before a notary.

• Obtain the company’s tax identification number (NIF).

• Register the company with the regional government (Form 600) and the Commercial Registry.

• Obtain the company administrator’s digital certificate.

• Register the company with Social Security to obtain its contribution account.

• Establish the company administrator’s Social Security contribution regime.

Most of its acts must be formalized before a notary and registered in the Commercial Register; the most significant are:

1. Constitution.
2. Increase or reduction of capital.
3. Change of directors.
4. Change of name.
5. Change of corporate purpose.
6. Transfer of the registered office.

Other acts also require a public deed, but they do not have to be registered in the Commercial Register. The most significant is the sale of shares (limited liability company) or stocks (joint-stock company). Annually, it must file its annual accounts.

Insolvency proceedings: notification to the court of the Mercantile Registry is also required.

The most common situations are:

1. Change of name.
2. Increase or reduction of share capital.
3. Change of address.
4. Change of the board of directors.

It means that the company ceases to exist. This involves a process of dissolution and liquidation, culminating in a point where the entity has no outstanding debts, either owed or payable.

The final step is to go before a notary to formalize the closure, and it must be registered with the Commercial Registry.

First, it is essential to consider the Corporations Act to determine what conflict we are dealing with and what legal options are available.

• It is important for the company’s bylaws to anticipate the various conflict situations that may arise.

• It is also very important to establish a shareholders’ agreement in advance that sets out the conflict resolution mechanisms, buy-sell clauses, division of responsibilities, exit procedures, and so on.

The first step would be to try to resolve the conflict within the Board of Directors. Going to institutions like the Barcelona Arbitration Tribunal to try to resolve the conflict with a mediator.

The final option should be the judicial route, through the commercial courts.

It is necessary to properly identify the parties and their representatives.

Contract subject: whether it’s a service or a product. Clearly define what is included and what is not; the more specific, the better.

The economic conditions:

1. Current price and future conditions.
2. Payment terms and conditions.
3. Penalties for non-compliance.

Contract duration, causes for termination or resolution.

Data protection (if necessary).

Industrial and intellectual property (if necessary).

Establish responsibilities; it is very important to specify insurance coverages.

Indicate applicable legislation and jurisdiction.

Annexes: These will include specifications and details that relieve the contract of unnecessary burden and allow it to be adapted in future updates.

The most common risks are:

1. Contract breaches.
2. Labor risks (improper hiring, mismanaged terminations).
3. Data protection.
4. Trademark and patent disputes (intellectual property).
5. Regulatory compliance.
6. Partnership and shareholder disputes.
7. Commercial risks: unfair competition or deceptive advertising.
8. Technological risks: cyberattacks, data loss.

Well-drafted contracts and proactive legal advice are essential: you should consult legal professionals before a contingency arises.

Establish good internal protocols and training, and have adequate insurance.

Good governance by partners and directors.

We have clients that are subsidiaries of foreign companies. When a client wants to expand internationally, we recommend the agencies they should turn to for better support.

Yes, in small businesses we typically provide the full service, including accounting management. In big companies, we focus more on offering external advisory services.

We can’t identify one sector as more complex than another. They all end up having their own difficulties and special characteristics. You can’t underestimate the complexity of any sector.

In the initial meeting with the client, we define their needs; from there, our proposal is fully customized.

We try to keep our internal processes as standardized as possible, but for the client it must always be personalized, which we ensure right from the start by assigning one professional for their operational side and another for accounting and taxes.

At the fiscal level, VAT is one of the most contentious aspects and varies from one sector to another. This taxation must be analyzed very carefully, as the consequences can be very burdensome.

The deduction regime for corporate tax is also important.

At the labor level, the collective bargaining agreement applicable to each sector must be carefully reviewed.

Yes, more and more the economy is shifting toward the tertiary, or service, sector.

Yes, we accompany them from the beginning.

We train internally to stay up to date on all developments. By assigning each client to a specific professional in the firm, it’s very easy for us to keep them informed of all developments that specifically affect them.

We try to avoid using general informational campaigns as much as possible, as clients tend not to read them.