Set Up Operations

• Research incorporation options, corporate structures, and corporate responsibilities
• Understand requirements for being allowed to employ locally
• Figure out what documents you need to sign, and what documents you need to provide
• Find a trusted, experienced local legal advisor
• Source accountants and payroll partners
• You may need a reliable notary service
• Work with benefit providers to develop benefit packages
• Will you need to have a local bank account or whether an online payments platform would be sufficient?
• Are you required to maintain a minimum balance on your bank account?
• What restrictions are there on moving money into / out of the country?
• What is the Anti Money Laundering process for opening a bank account?
• Figure out if the director needs to be a local resident
• Figure out if the company secretary needs to be a local resident
• Figure out if employer pension contributions are mandatory
• Figure out if workers' compensation insurance is mandatory
• Figure out if you need a physical office

• Register an entity
• Register as an employer
• Sign up for employer insurance
• Register for employer taxes
• Register with all appropriate tax authorities
• Come across and navigate much more red tape when setting up operations than you suspected
• Come across and navigate a few extra stumbling blocks due to Covid-19
• Find a virtual office
• Find a local director when you need one
• Print, sign, notarise, apostle and ship all necessary documents
• Repeat all that if there is a mistake in any of the documents (there will be)
• Provide all documentation for Anti Money Laundering records
• Secure approval to move forward with opening a bank account following Anti Money Laundering review
• Submit Anti Money Laundering docs to bank
• Make a bank holidays calendar
• Keep updated with all legislative changes

Run Payroll

• Figure out local pay periods and pay dates
• Collect employee bank account, address, tax codes
• Collect every change that has an impact on the monthly payroll - absences, extra payments, benefits in kind, termination, etc.
• Ensure all mandatory monthly and annual declarations are filed to the authorities
• Process payroll to every employee on time and correct
• Answer every single query coming from any employee

Extend Benefits

• Find local benefit providers
• Tell vendors when you have a new employee enrolling in the benefit scheme
• Communicate changes of benefit benefactors to payroll partners
• Pay benefit vendor
• Reconcile payment against payroll deductions if benefit is paid through a salary sacrifice
• Reconcile payment against payroll deductions if benefit is paid through employer contribution or offset

File Taxes

• Figure out any existing tax exemptions
• Figure out if you need to register for sales tax
• Figure out if you need to register for VAT
• Figure out the setup process for online handling of submissions to the tax authorities
• Figure out all Work from Home tax allowances and breaks

• File taxes monthly and annually with the help of your accountant
• Pay the accountant
• Submit Year End declarations

Employ People

• Ask lawyers to send you a sample local agreement
• Understand local employee rights
• Understand statutory benefits
• Understand employer obligations
• Figure out what the local identification number is that you need to be asking for
• Study closely what the local rules around terminations are
• Figure out local regulations for gathering, managing and storing employee personal data
• Figure out the definition of a safe workplace
• Understand what your obligations are in providing a safe workplace
• Find out all Work from Home regulations
• Figure out how to verify identity and right to work
• Find out if eye-testing is statutory
• Find multilingual support for bilingual contracts
• Figure out your legal obligations

• Create compliant employment contracts
• Get legal council on your employment contracts to make sure you are not breaching any laws
• Set up contracts up in digital tool
• Send contracts out for signing
• Answer contract-related queries from employees
• Make contract-related amendments
• Gather all necessary employee data
• Check all data for accuracy
• Create a locally compliant termination policy and share it with employees
• Follow the local termination procedure to avoid any unfair dismissal claims
• Pay out any severance in case of termination
• Communicate terminations to local authorities and benefits providers
• Ensure people have an ergonomic set up
• Cover the cost for glasses if employees need them
• Produce a handbook

Pay Authorities and Service Providers

• Evaluate whether you should have a retainer with your lawyer
• Get legal counsel on how to approach sending funds to your entity
• Get pricing agreements for sending funds
• Find a decent platform to exchange your currency at the best rate
• Find out what the deadlines for each authority in each country is

• Send money from your HQ to the local entity
• Pay your accountant
• Pay your lawyer
• Pay the fees of your virtual office
• Pay sales tax
• Pay all governmental authorities
• Ensure international transfers are sent well in advance in order to arrive on time
• Ensure all authorities are paid on time
• Ensure 3rd parties are paid on time