What the advisory does during incorporation
The work starts before the deed. The advisory helps you choose the appropriate legal form, checks that the company name is available, drafts the bylaws, and prepares the documentation for the notary.
Then it coordinates the registrations: the company's final NIF (tax ID), registration in the Commercial Registry, and the registrations of shareholders and directors. It also handles the registration of the self-employed partner or the directors' regime for those who will work in the company.
In an SL (limited company), the minimum capital is €3,000, and the full process usually takes between one and three weeks. The advisory ensures each step is done in order and that no document is missing, which is where weeks are lost.
What happens after incorporation
The most underestimated part is what comes after. Every company has periodic obligations: quarterly VAT, corporate income tax instalments, up-to-date accounting, and annual accounts filed with the Commercial Registry.
If the company hires staff, payroll, social security, and withholdings are added. Each obligation has its deadline and penalties for non-compliance, and a firm schedules and files them.
That's why most advisories don't just sell the incorporation: they sell the monthly accounting and tax service that accompanies it. When deciding, compare the full package, not just the price of setting up the company.
Advisory, agency, or lawyer: when each one
The agency (gestoría) focuses on administrative procedures: registering, filing forms, and recording documents. It's the right profile for an established company with simple tax affairs that just needs things filed on time.
The advisory adds judgement: it analyses decisions (which legal form, how you pay taxes, how you structure hiring) and takes responsibility for the advice it gives. That's what you need when setting up the company and during the early years of growth.
The lawyer comes in when there's a dispute or complex contracts: litigation, partners, acquisitions, claims. You don't need one on staff to operate, but you should know when to refer the problem.
When you really need one
You can set up a company without an advisory and do the accounting yourself. That's viable for very small businesses with no employees and simple operations.
The advisory becomes necessary when one of these three factors appears: invoices with international VAT (intra-community operator registration, VIES), hired staff with payroll, or activity in another country with its own tax system. Each one multiplies obligations and the cost of making mistakes.
If your plan is to open a company in another country, the calculation changes: you need a firm that knows local regulations or a service that integrates them, because each country has its deadlines, forms, and procedural language.
How to choose the advisory
First, look at the scope of the service and the price: which forms are included, what the contract says, and whether there's a limit on consultations. Low introductory prices often hide minimal services or surcharges for each extra procedure.
Check that it works with companies of your type and sector, and ask who will handle your file and how they communicate (many digital advisories work by email and have reasonable response times).
Ask for references and check that the firm responds when something goes wrong, because in tax matters mistakes are paid with surcharges and interest. The relationship with your advisory is one of the longest in your company: it's worth choosing wisely.
