The practice of working "white" with foreign customers
So, there has already been a series of articles about how to open an IP, how to do business with foreigners, and so on.
I want to systematize everything and share real practice.
To begin with, we introduce the definitions and limitations:
1. you must already be registered as an IP and you have read the articles: habrahabr.ru/blogs/freelance/132232 , habrahabr.ru/blogs/freelance/132360 , habrahabr.ru/blogs/Dura_Lex/ 114069
2. we want to conduct business honestly, pay tax on this and do it in Russia;
3. everything that is written below in the article is applicable only to IP, maybe something applies to LLC, but I’m talking about IP;
4. An individual entrepreneur is considered on a simplified taxation system (STS) with a tax payment scheme of 6% of income and without employees - that is, you are on your own;
5. you provide services in the field of IT (programming, design, consultations, etc.).
Do not forget about these points!
What do we need for our business:
- certificate of registration of individual entrepreneurs - with this I think everything is clear and so
- bank accounts
- contract with the customer
I recommend that you study which banks are represented in your region, what tariffs they have for settlement and cash services (RKO), and what percentage they charge for performing currency control functions.
It should be borne in mind that some banks take some fixed amount when opening an account, but then they do not charge anything for a monthly service. And if you plan to work long and fruitfully, then this is the best option that minimizes costs. Next, you need to pay attention to the cost of such operations as intra-bank transfer (usually generally free of charge), the cost of issuing a transaction passport, the cost of currency control services. Based on these parameters, you need to choose a bank.
Also, it is important to have a good Internet bank and the ability to submit all documents remotely - this will completely save you from visiting the bank.
The bank will give you two accounts. The first is a current account in foreign currency for individual entrepreneurs and the second is a transit currency account. In your invoices, you will indicate precisely the transit one, that is, primarily the money will go to it.
And in the same bank you need to open an account, but already as an individual, in the same currency as the contract currency. But you can not do this if you want to receive rubles (again, the bank may have an unfavorable exchange rate).
All this is ultimately necessary in order to make a profit, and for this we need a contract with the customer. He came from you somewhere and you want to formalize your relationship, and it’s normal to use the profit you receive in Russia, not being afraid that you will do something wrong or that theywill take you for an ass to be fined.
The contract is best done in two languages at once (of course, if your customer understands Russian, then you can simply in Russian), otherwise you will have to translate and notarize the contract. This is done by simply dividing the page in half: on the left in Russian, on the right - English. We sign, scan, take to the bank. They won’t ask for any “live signatures”, seals and other nonsense, and if they do, demand a reason.
Now one trick. In order not to make acceptance and transfer acts every time, to sign and scan them, you can specify in the contract a clause that payment by the customer of the invoice (invoice) entails acceptance of the services provided.
That's it, the design is over. It may take about a week to open bank accounts, a working day to complete paperwork under the contract and transaction passport. Perhaps the bank will ask some questions and ask for something to be added or corrected in the contract - I recommend that you listen to the advice of the bank, since they act in your own interests (of course they act primarily in their own interests, but if you are fined Fin. violation, then them too).
There is still an important point (thanks DIHALTthat he reminded) - it is necessary to specify in the contract who incurs the costs of banking operations, and sometimes it happens (this was especially clear in 2009) that banks can charge fees for the passage of money, usually it is 10-15 cu and even if the sender sends and the commission for sending is written off from him, it is not a fact that exactly the amount that has left the sender will come to you. Accordingly, there will be a discrepancy. And the bank will pull you on this subject. So this must be taken into account too.
And then you render the service, invoice the customer, in the same way in two languages (for example, I write each field in English, and I indicate the Russian translation in brackets and there are no problems) and wait for its payment.
When you find out that the customer has paid your bill, then after about 3-5 days (and sometimes every other day) the money falls into the transit account and you will receive a notification about it. You can arrange to get a call from the currency control, you can check every day “if the money came” through the Internet bank, or you can ask the currency control specialist just to send you an email saying that the money has come - this is not a big deal.
After you have the money in your transit account, you need to provide the bank (all this is sent via the Internet bank) with two pieces of paper and it is written in detail here . When certificates are sent, you make an application for transfer from a transit account to a regular one (payment is being processed). And immediately make an application for a transfer from a regular IP account to an account of a physical person. persons (which we prudently opened in the same bank).
This is all if you want to get exactly the money in the currency. If you want to sell currency and receive rubles - you can sell directly from transit. In any case, there is enough space for maneuver and freedom of choice.
After the money reaches the account of physical. persons - they can be immediately removed either at the cash desk or through an ATM (if you have a card and the ATM can issue the desired currency), as you like. That is, it is completely your money, white, clean and absolutely legal.
Taxes are taken into account at the Central Bank rate on the day of receipt in the account. Received, recorded, forgot. Once a quarter they paid 6% of the total amount and that’s it.
It may seem that this is some kind of terrible procedure that requires a lot of time or some special skills - nothing like that, everything is quite simple. And if you really want to do business, then there is nothing terrible in figuring out how and what works and then dealing with a calm mind.
PS
I myself am a programmer and all these banking and accounting things are not particularly interesting to me, like many here, but still I forced myself to figure it out and do not regret it at all, since the seeming horror in fact turns out to be all nonsense.
And if someone thinks that offshore is much better and easier and less tax, then let the flag in his hands and let him show which offshore gives legal money in Russia at a rate of less than 6%.
If everything scares you very much, then you can just as in the case of offshore companies turn to an accounting office where you will be given all the documents for a small fee, consult, etc., and then your head will not hurt anything. Although I still recommend doing everything myself.
I want to systematize everything and share real practice.
To begin with, we introduce the definitions and limitations:
1. you must already be registered as an IP and you have read the articles: habrahabr.ru/blogs/freelance/132232 , habrahabr.ru/blogs/freelance/132360 , habrahabr.ru/blogs/Dura_Lex/ 114069
2. we want to conduct business honestly, pay tax on this and do it in Russia;
3. everything that is written below in the article is applicable only to IP, maybe something applies to LLC, but I’m talking about IP;
4. An individual entrepreneur is considered on a simplified taxation system (STS) with a tax payment scheme of 6% of income and without employees - that is, you are on your own;
5. you provide services in the field of IT (programming, design, consultations, etc.).
Do not forget about these points!
What do we need for our business:
- certificate of registration of individual entrepreneurs - with this I think everything is clear and so
- bank accounts
- contract with the customer
Banks
I recommend that you study which banks are represented in your region, what tariffs they have for settlement and cash services (RKO), and what percentage they charge for performing currency control functions.
It should be borne in mind that some banks take some fixed amount when opening an account, but then they do not charge anything for a monthly service. And if you plan to work long and fruitfully, then this is the best option that minimizes costs. Next, you need to pay attention to the cost of such operations as intra-bank transfer (usually generally free of charge), the cost of issuing a transaction passport, the cost of currency control services. Based on these parameters, you need to choose a bank.
Also, it is important to have a good Internet bank and the ability to submit all documents remotely - this will completely save you from visiting the bank.
The bank will give you two accounts. The first is a current account in foreign currency for individual entrepreneurs and the second is a transit currency account. In your invoices, you will indicate precisely the transit one, that is, primarily the money will go to it.
And in the same bank you need to open an account, but already as an individual, in the same currency as the contract currency. But you can not do this if you want to receive rubles (again, the bank may have an unfavorable exchange rate).
the contract
All this is ultimately necessary in order to make a profit, and for this we need a contract with the customer. He came from you somewhere and you want to formalize your relationship, and it’s normal to use the profit you receive in Russia, not being afraid that you will do something wrong or that they
The contract is best done in two languages at once (of course, if your customer understands Russian, then you can simply in Russian), otherwise you will have to translate and notarize the contract. This is done by simply dividing the page in half: on the left in Russian, on the right - English. We sign, scan, take to the bank. They won’t ask for any “live signatures”, seals and other nonsense, and if they do, demand a reason.
Now one trick. In order not to make acceptance and transfer acts every time, to sign and scan them, you can specify in the contract a clause that payment by the customer of the invoice (invoice) entails acceptance of the services provided.
That's it, the design is over. It may take about a week to open bank accounts, a working day to complete paperwork under the contract and transaction passport. Perhaps the bank will ask some questions and ask for something to be added or corrected in the contract - I recommend that you listen to the advice of the bank, since they act in your own interests (of course they act primarily in their own interests, but if you are fined Fin. violation, then them too).
There is still an important point (thanks DIHALTthat he reminded) - it is necessary to specify in the contract who incurs the costs of banking operations, and sometimes it happens (this was especially clear in 2009) that banks can charge fees for the passage of money, usually it is 10-15 cu and even if the sender sends and the commission for sending is written off from him, it is not a fact that exactly the amount that has left the sender will come to you. Accordingly, there will be a discrepancy. And the bank will pull you on this subject. So this must be taken into account too.
What's next?
And then you render the service, invoice the customer, in the same way in two languages (for example, I write each field in English, and I indicate the Russian translation in brackets and there are no problems) and wait for its payment.
When you find out that the customer has paid your bill, then after about 3-5 days (and sometimes every other day) the money falls into the transit account and you will receive a notification about it. You can arrange to get a call from the currency control, you can check every day “if the money came” through the Internet bank, or you can ask the currency control specialist just to send you an email saying that the money has come - this is not a big deal.
Input Output
After you have the money in your transit account, you need to provide the bank (all this is sent via the Internet bank) with two pieces of paper and it is written in detail here . When certificates are sent, you make an application for transfer from a transit account to a regular one (payment is being processed). And immediately make an application for a transfer from a regular IP account to an account of a physical person. persons (which we prudently opened in the same bank).
This is all if you want to get exactly the money in the currency. If you want to sell currency and receive rubles - you can sell directly from transit. In any case, there is enough space for maneuver and freedom of choice.
After the money reaches the account of physical. persons - they can be immediately removed either at the cash desk or through an ATM (if you have a card and the ATM can issue the desired currency), as you like. That is, it is completely your money, white, clean and absolutely legal.
Taxes
Taxes are taken into account at the Central Bank rate on the day of receipt in the account. Received, recorded, forgot. Once a quarter they paid 6% of the total amount and that’s it.
Conclusion
It may seem that this is some kind of terrible procedure that requires a lot of time or some special skills - nothing like that, everything is quite simple. And if you really want to do business, then there is nothing terrible in figuring out how and what works and then dealing with a calm mind.
PS
I myself am a programmer and all these banking and accounting things are not particularly interesting to me, like many here, but still I forced myself to figure it out and do not regret it at all, since the seeming horror in fact turns out to be all nonsense.
And if someone thinks that offshore is much better and easier and less tax, then let the flag in his hands and let him show which offshore gives legal money in Russia at a rate of less than 6%.
If everything scares you very much, then you can just as in the case of offshore companies turn to an accounting office where you will be given all the documents for a small fee, consult, etc., and then your head will not hurt anything. Although I still recommend doing everything myself.