A Step-By-Step Guide: Opening a Consulting Firm with an Offshore Tax-free Company

1. Type of Offshore Company Services 

First, you need to decide the type of consulting services that your business will offer. It is important to understand the nature of your services. For example, many consulting firms provide services in:

• Business Management Consulting: Advising businesses on strategies to improve their performance.
• Financial Consulting: Offering advice on financial planning, investment, and taxes.
• IT Consulting: Providing technology solutions and systems.
• Marketing Consulting: Helping businesses grow through marketing strategies such as SEO, Google Ads, and Social Media campaigns.

Additionally, to attract clients and create a solid business plan in the next step, you will establish your business model and decide whether you will be working with B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer). Understanding your niche and target market is key to building a successful consulting firm. Generally, a new offshore business should have the same line of business as the existing business in your home country. Setting up the business in an offshore jurisdiction to take advantage of its offshore tax benefits.

2. Building a Business Plan

Once you fully set up the consulting business, the next step is to develop a business plan. This is where you map out the strategy to operate your business. Below are a few things to consider:

• Legal Partnership: Establishing a strong connection with a reputable lawyer can significantly enhance the reputation of your consulting firm.
• Marketing Strategy: A solid marketing plan is essential to attract clients. This includes defining the unique selling proposition (USP) and identifying your marketing channels, such as social media, SEO, paid ads, etc
• Website Development: Creating a professional website highlighting your services, expertise, and client experience is a must to bring your consulting business offshore. The website must reflect your specialized services and make it easy for potential clients to approach as well as for the offshore banks to review your online presence and decide if your business is on their risk appetite to onboard.

3. Choosing the Right Incorporation Country

Selecting a country to incorporate your business is also an important factor to consider. Some countries that are well-known for offshore jurisdiction are Hong Kong, Seychelles, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the Marshall Islands,… The benefits of incorporating in these jurisdictions include:

• Low to no corporate taxes, allowing you to maximize your earnings
• Confidentiality and privacy for owners, directors, and shareholders
• Simplified and convenient company formation process that can be done remotely
• Have a good reputation with banks to open business bank accounts.

The most common company structure for offshore companies is Business Company (BC). It typically includes at least 1 Director, 1 Shareholder, and 1 Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO), who can all be the same person. 

If you are unsure about where to set up your business, you can seek advice from G.O.C, an expert in offshore company formation.

4. Opening a Company Bank Account

Once your company is incorporated, the next step is setting up a company bank account to do transactions. Some suggested banks for offshore accounts include:

• OCBC in Singapore
• ABC Banking Corporation in Mauritius
• CB International Bank in Puerto Rico, US
• Airwallex, Payoneer, Currenxie (neo banks)

Each of the above has its onboarding requirements, depending on your revenue and target customers, you should understand their requirements clearly and choose the most suitable bank to apply for the company account. Or, they may reject the application in case you don’t meet their requirements. 

So if you need assistance with opening a banking account, please don’t hesitate to contact G.O.C., our expertise and experience will help to ensure a higher success rate. We work closely with reputable offshore banks as strategic partners to help clients open offshore business bank accounts. GOC also assists with account maintenance so business accounts can stay compliant with the bank’s regulations.

5. Company Operating

After setting up your company, you need to focus on running your operations smoothly. Offshore companies need to do the renewal and submit accounting documents annually to meet the compliance requirements according to their offshore jurisdiction. 

In general, offshore companies are not required to do the accounting for audit, except in Hong Kong. However, to ensure the operations and manage the company's cash flow, you should keep a record of accounting documents such as contracts, invoices, receipts, and brochures,… for internal purposes and for tracking the growth of your business.

If you are busy with money-generating activities and don’t have time to do the bookkeeping, our highly-trained bookkeepers can help you with that. Please contact G.O.C for more information. 

Conclusion

Setting up an offshore consulting firm is straightforward. By following this step-by-step guide, you will be well on your way to successfully opening and operating a consulting firm with offshore tax benefits. If you want to open an offshore consulting firm or need any further details, please don't hesitate to seek expert advice from Global Offshore Company to ensure the best outcome for your business.