
Ask HN: How do you take money for side project without forming a company - winkv
Non US developers how do you charge money for your side project (saas&#x2F;app&#x2F;web) without creating a company.
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mattmanser
UK you can be a sole trader, basically a person acting as a business. I
believe there are some rules about how you legally present yourself (like in
your contracts your name has to be "Bob Smith trading as Acme Widgets").

[https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader](https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader)

However, as the page says, you're personally liable if something went
seriously wrong.

The alternative is to pay £50 to register as a ltd company, though there are
costs in running one (£12.50 per year + doing your own accounts vs paying an
accountant £200-£300).

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erik998
In the US you can use a fictitious name dba "doing business as" name. You can
also open up a bank account using a dba name. You may need to file taxes as a
sole proprietor.

[https://www.sba.gov/starting-business/choose-register-
your-b...](https://www.sba.gov/starting-business/choose-register-your-
business/register-your-business-name)

I think this is called a "trade name" in other countries. Wikipedia has some
examples for other countries.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_name)

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LeonPals
In the Netherlands, there is a threshold, and you do not have to incorporate
if you stay under that, and you'll still have to report it. But this obviously
depends on the country you're in.

Paypal could be a good way to take money from people privately, and it's
probably entirely legal, up to a certain point.

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aartur
> In the Netherlands, there is a threshold, and you do not have to incorporate

But you still have to register some form of sole-proprietorship company?

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LeonPals
Nope, you take it as a private person, and when you submit your income taxes
you state it as extra income.

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aartur
Even when you are selling SaaS (so it's a "service")?

I think you can have problems with payment processing companies as they might
not want to make business with a private person.

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LeonPals
True, but if you're going to SaaS, why would you not incorporate?

Of course there are downsides, you will look a lot less professional without a
KvK or Chambers of Commerce number.

But if you want to look professional, you need to incorporate

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aartur
Not sure how general this is, but in Poland if you have SaaS you need to have
a company (because it's a "service"). But when you are selling just source
code to someone else, it can be counted as personal income (no company
needed).

