Common Business Papers to Prepare When Starting a Small Business

Planning to start a business of your own?  The tedious part is not the business operations nor is the accounting or even the marketing that makes everything so complicated.  It is actually the compliance of legal documents that will make the business legal, binding and lawful.  This is the hardest and the most difficult part of any start-up business whether big or small. Remember that these documents are the essential things to run the business.  These papers will play a very crucial role to the business and the owners as well.  These papers will protect the entire business jurisdiction before, during and after the company’s existence.

What are these important business papers? These are the needed requirements that you will have to secure and comply first and foremost to keep the business running on the go.  Check out the list below and see for yourself.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Registration

This is the first government agency that you will need if you are a corporation, cooperative or a partnership.  This is exclusively for businesses that are quite big and who are currently expanding.  They may need their constitution and by-laws and board resolutions and meetings.  The help of a lawyer can be asked especially in the making of the constitution and by-laws.

Barangay Permits

This is where you register your business for the first time. There is a need to secure a barangay clearance for recognition in the community especially that the business is planned to set up

around the area.  Take note that a minimal fee is being asked to process barangay clearance.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Registration

This branch of government deals with the registration of your BTR or the business trade name. Once this is available, you will be given the Certificate of Business Name Registration. This is for single proprietorship.  A form is given for the interested individual to fill up. To be sure, prepare in advance other requirements that might be needed.   These are the business owners’ residence certificate, valid identification and identical passport size photos for proper identification.  The DTI registration is one valid document that needs to be taken seriously.  Thus, important information that you withheld will make your DTI application automatically invalid.  So please be careful when filling up the forms and choosing your business name.

Mayor’s Business Permit

This is to get acknowledgment that you are licensed to operate in a certain area around the city.  The Office of the Mayor then requires you to pay for the local business taxes and for compliance with the Bureau of fire, building permits and other applicable permits such as the DENR for environment compliance.

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) registration

This is the office where the Tax Identification Number (TIN) is available both for the individual and corporation which is basic in Philippine business.  The BIR is the most important office that one needs to visit especially start-up businesses.  This is where official receipts, invoices, books of accounts and paying of taxes (income, VAT or percentage or withholding) are being issued and computed.

SSS, Pag-ibig and Philhealth

These are the last agencies to go to after the most important ones mentioned above.  This is where employer-employee transactions are being done.  There is a need to register the business in these three agencies so as to comply with labour laws. Make sure that you pay for your own and your employees receive the appropriate benefits according to the law.

The list above is an assumption that the goods and services that you plan to sell or engage in is of course legal in nature.  This means that according to the Philippines law – they are not illegal.  The requirements mentioned above are still dependent on the company’s set up such as the business structure that you would want to have.  It will either be single proprietorship, partnership or a corporation.  Whatever the choice of the set-up will be, the rule still applies.  Be recognized as a legal business entity and you will never go wrong.