Opening a internet cafe in spain?

martindow

You would need to get different computers with Spanish and British keyboards (and possibly other European keyboards too) so you could cater for visitors and locals.

briona

trigga wrote: »

... do i just rent the place throw some pcs in there and take in cash ...

The short answer is no.

The book I quoted yesterday gives seven steps to incorporate the company:
1. Pre-registration of the company name
2. Application for the taxpayer's ID number (NIF) – without this, you can't open a bank account in the company's name
3. Deposit – this is where the minimum capital investment comes in. You must deposit €3,003 into the company's bank account for an SL or 25% of the €60,000 minimum for an SA (I assume these are similar to sole traders and limited companies in the UK).
4. Execution of the public deed of incorporation – the deed of incorporation must before a Notary Public.
5. Payment of transfer tax – this is 1% of the current value of the capital contributions made, which is payable within 30 days of having completed the previous step.
6. Registration at the Companies' Registry
7 Obtaining the permanent tax identity number...

...after which, your company will be officially incorporated but not yet licenced to open!

You then have to approach your ayuntamiento (town hall), who will check that your premises fulfil all legal and sanitary conditions. You will NOT be granted licence to open until you have done all the necessary work. Then you will pay a fee (the book states as little as €100 for a small shop, although obviously it could be more). If your premises needs work doing to it, you will need to apply for a works licence and all works will have to be carried out in accordance with existing town planning regulations.

Then there are some fiscal obligations (registration of the company for the purposes of business activities tax; registration of the company at the census of tax payers; and legalisation of official books). You are also obliged to register the company for social security purposes.

Still interested?!

As I'm sure you're aware, many businesses in Spain are unlicenced. However, since you are proposing to open a visible business on a what I would imagine is a fairly busy street, I would wholeheartedly recommend that you go through the correct channels. I would not wish to come unstuck in a country where I didn't fully understand the law...

Briona

paulwf

Sorry to the OP for going off topic but this acts as a good reminder to us all how blessed we are in this country if you want to go self employed. A quick call to HMRC and £25 and 10 minutes online if you want to be Ltd and you are ready to go.

There is plenty of red tape and tax laws can seem arcane but if someone is just starting out we really are lucky

trigga

So if i was to take over another internet cafe, Would i just need to open a new bank account, and take over? or is there other things to do i guess this looks like the easier option?. tried looking on some other sites not very helpfull

motorguy

jfdi wrote: »

Is it just me? We've not used an Internet Cafe for YEARS - & certainly never paid to use one even when we did!

And the last few years when we've gone away have managed with mobiles & lappies & free WiFi - even with a Farmville addicted son!

Surely in europe, at least, there's not a future there?

+1

Ten years ago maybe, but an internet cafe now? in spain?

There are that many holes in this idea you could drive a bus through them.

Apart from anything is the o/p going to live on thin air? 450 euro a month costs is (a) naive and (b) not including any wages.

Most phones these days have internet access and this is only set to increase. Think of phoning home - 20 years ago people queued at night at a payphone - this past 10 years people just tolerate the mobile phone costs. it is / will be the same with internet use.

I would desribe myself as a heavy internet user, but i never spend more than 15 mins once every few days on holidays catching up online.

Bad bad idea.

briona

pgilc1 wrote: »

I would desribe myself as a heavy internet user, but i never spend more than 15 mins once every few days on holidays catching up online.

Whenever I go on holiday, I bring a netbook and use the free WIFI in hotels or in places like Starbucks. Failing that, I am quite happy to pay to use the internet on my phone. I wouldn't ever use an internet cafe.

trigga wrote: »

So if i was to take over another internet cafe, Would i just need to open a new bank account, and take over? or is there other things to do i guess this looks like the easier option?. tried looking on some other sites not very helpfull

I always find the forums I quoted to be quite helpful – most of the posters have the benefit of actually living in Spain, and in some cases, running their own business...

Anyway, to answer your question, it's not necessarily the easier option, not least because most businesses for sale are for sale because they're NOT profitable (despite what their owners say).

If you are serious about this, then you need to do a hell of a lot of research, and having me type snippets from one book is not really going to suffice. I would urge you to do your own research as it's your livelihood on the line. Below is a list of books that might help – many provide links to bodies in Spain who can help you with the legal side of things. I can only really recommend the first two books as I own those. However, if I was serious about starting a business I would look at some of the others.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-Work-Spain/dp/1854584308/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263809908&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Working-Spain-Survival-Handbook/dp/1905303653/ref=pd_sim_b_2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starting-Business-Spain-John-Howell/dp/1860112102/ref=pd_sim_b_15
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starting-Business-Spain-Vacation-Work/dp/1854583077/ref=pd_sim_b_4
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Living-Spain-Survival-Handbooks/dp/1901130835/ref=pd_sim_b_7
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spain-Expat-Survival-Yolanda-Solo/dp/1905430310/ref=pd_sim_b_2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Spain-2009-2010-David-Searl/dp/8489954852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263810319&sr=1-1

Note that the books on starting a business or making a living were all published in 2004/2005 so things may have changed somewhat.

Briona

moneypooh

My children are heavy internet users, especially DD on MSN. On holiday they use free wifi via netbooks, psp, and mobiles. Teenagers use their mobiles for social websites, even when in the same room!!!
Our recent holidays in Spain have seen little or no activity on the hotel pcs or the local cafes that offer cheap/free access.
OP, if your research is sound then go for it, but is this the future? I can't believe how quickly technology and access to the internet is moving. A few years ago it was hard to find good wifi access, but these days not so.

Bruja_2

Try this site http://spainlawyer.com/guialegal/guialegal.cfm?IDCAPITULO=09030000