Seasonal business thrives especially in the summer. This is a great opportunity to earn really good money in just a few weeks, which will last for many months out of season. Of course, such seasonal business also requires meeting certain requirements and completing formalities. Good preparation is half the battle and it is worth remembering.
Even seasonal activities must be registered and run in accordance with the laws that regulate self employment and business activities. It is therefore necessary to submit an appropriate application to the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity. After registering your business, you should also report to ZUS with your insurance. If it is planned to hire an accountant, she may also submit an appropriate application.
You should also remember to obtain the appropriate permits and licenses. In the case of running a souvenir stall on the street, you must apply to the city office for a permit to conduct such activity. You will probably have to sign a lease for municipal space. If alcohol is to be sold, a license must be obtained, and in the case of food sales – a permit from the Department of Health and Safety. It is also very important to unravel the issue of having or not a cash register. This is an obligation for some professions, so it should not be neglected.
It is also very important to follow your tax obligations. Don’t forget to consider your VAT declaration. Some entities are objectively or subjectively exempt from it, but some are obliged to discharge it. You must check it carefully and, if necessary, report to the tax office as a taxpayer.
After completing the formalities, you can start planning and organizing your business.
The mere running of a seasonal activity is no different from running an all-year activity. All costs, expenses and receipts should be well planned so that the final balance sheet turns out to be a plus, including taxes, insurance and business investments.
If everything is really well planned and designed, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Of course, apart from the activity itself, you also need to keep books and settlements correctly. Nothing can be missed. Taxes and insurance must be paid or serious problems may arise.
What to do in the off-season
The real problem for people with seasonal activities only appears after the season is over. Stalls, beer gardens or other holiday-related business ideas no longer exist. How to deal with your company at this point, how to minimize costs and formalities?
One solution is to suspend your business. It may last from thirty days to 2 years. If the entrepreneur does nothing with his business, it automatically closes down after two years. However, it can be resumed and operated again before this period.
Of course, it should be remembered here that only activities in which no employees other than the entrepreneur are employed may be suspended. If the entrepreneur employs workers, he must first legally terminate the contracts under which they were hired.
The suspension of the activity means that you do not have to pay insurance premiums or submit VAT declarations to the tax office. However, you can still book installments of repaid loans that have been taken out for the benefit of the business. However, it is not possible to issue invoices and perform activities related to business.
Of course, when the season starts again, it is possible to resume operations, re-hire employees and generate new income. The downside here is the fact that in the case of the entrepreneur’s first activity, the period of suspension expires when it is possible to pay reduced contributions to ZUS. Thus, after two seasons, the trader will be required to pay full insurance, which normally happens after two years. However, the savings from suspension are much greater than keeping your business.