Whether you have ambitions to start an international company or you just want to open up a small business in Mexico it is important that you go about things in the right way. As you might imagine every country has their own rules and guidelines for starting a company there and Mexico is certainly no exception. However, the good news is that Mexico has the 15th largest economy on the planet, so there has to be plenty of opportunity for business development and growth.
Consider What You Want Your Business To Be
Whatever country you are running a business in, you want to make sure that you have a solid business plan in place. This doesn’t just mean thinking about what you might like to do for work and arranging a business around this, but it means making sure your idea is one that is likely to work. If you have a business idea then it is essential that you research competitors, look for gaps in the market, consider how you will fit in with other similar brands and realistically whether people are going to buy your product and service. Having a good idea is exciting but you will be wasting your time trying to get your business off the ground if you haven’t done your groundwork first.
Research Finance and Banking Options
Knowing how your business finances are likely to work, what sort of bank account you need and even have you are going to transfer money if needed. It is important to know how to send the money you need in Mexico or how to deposit your initial investment to register a company in Mexico, so the most important thing is to find the best way to send money to Mexico and take advantage of low rates, a secure platform and record times. It’s essential that you have a good knowledge of all of this before you start running a business so you can feel confident that you aren’t going to run into money troubles later down the line.
Register Your Business Correctly
Mexico has some pretty strict laws when it comes to registering and starting a business, so you need to make sure that you do this correctly – and often these are needed before you open. Make sure that you do plenty of research into registering and opening a business in the industry you are going to be operating in, so that you know you are getting things right from the off. For example, you will likely need to put in a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including registering the legal entity that the business will fall under. You should also register with the Tax Administration Service in advance of your business opening.
You also need to register with the Public Registry of Property and Commerce so that you appear publicly on their list – this will include information such as business type and where you will be based. Registering with the Mexican Institute of Social Security even if you are such as sole trader is also essential, so that you can keep up with your personal contributions to social security accounts.
Tax, Insurance and Other Things To Consider
One thing you definitely need to take into account when running a business in Mexico is that corporation tax is 30%. This is a big expense for your business to consider & it can be worth getting some solid financial advice to see if there is a way around this. Depending on the nature of your business things like import taxes and duties also need to be considered especially when you consider that the tax can be as much as 13.5% depending on where you are importing goods from.
It is a requirement by law that you have company insurance if you run any sort of business in Mexico, so this is something else that you will likely want to research in advance and make sure that you are prepared for. If you have company vehicles or rent vehicles for business use then these need to be fully covered for company use too.
The Day To Day Running of Your Business
Once you have sorted out the background of your business and you are ready to get going it is time to start thinking about the day to day running of your business. An average Mexican working week is 48 hours and this is often split over 5 or 6 days (fewer hours if you are doing night shifts) so working out what workforce you need and getting these into place is essential. It is worth bearing in mind that you don’t have to give notice to remove someone from employment in your business, but that on the flip side of this they also do not need to give you notice if they no longer want to work for you. If you work within the northern border then the minimum daily wage is 176.7 pesos. The rest of the country has a minimum wage threshold of 102.68 pesos per day.
The truth is that opening up a brand new business anywhere in the world is going to take some research to make sure you get it right, alongside a heap of long working hours and plenty of effort and Mexico is certainly no exception. However, Mexico is a country that has plenty of regulations in place with regards to registering the company in the right way so it is essential that you get all of this right so you don’t run into problems later down the line.
Of course, we all know that the world economy, in general, has been having a tricky time over the last couple of years but Mexico is currently booming, making it the ideal place to start a new business. Just make sure that you get everything right with regards to money transfers, registrations, tax and insurance; in fact to get you off on the right foot hiring a financial legal advisor is recommended.
