Business accounts for GmbH & UG

Qonto is currently available for founders and entrepreneurs in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.

With Qonto, you can open a business account for a GmbH in formation or a UG in formation. Unfortunately, we aren't currently able to accept companies with shareholders who are not resident in Germany (holdings). Please also note that Qonto does not accept certain business activities.

Before depositing start-up capital into your Qonto business account, we ask you to submit the following documents digitally:

• The creation certificate/articles of association for your GmbH in formation or UG in formation.
• Your registration with the commercial register
• Your list of shareholders.

After we have verified the information about your company and, if applicable, shareholders, you will be invited by email to pay the capital contribution(s). You will receive a temporary IBAN with which you can simply pay your share capital into your Qonto account via SEPA transfer.

Please note the following information regarding paying in your share capital:

1. The amount of paid-up share capital must correspond to the amount specified in the Articles of Association.
2.  If the capital contribution is made by several shareholders, they must each pay their capital contribution individually, as mentioned in the notarial documents.
3.  The respective capital contribution must be transferred from an account held in the name of the partner concerned.
   
   

You can track the status of your share capital contribution at any time via the Qonto app. As soon as your deposit(s) have been received, we will verify them and issue you with an account statement within 24 hours as a deposit confirmation for the notary. This document can also be sent directly to your notary office if you wish.

Every GmbH and UG must have a separate business account to clearly separate your company's finances from your personal ones. It also simplifies admin tasks like tax declarations or audits. You need to open a business account when establishing your GmbH or UG. You should compare the business accounts on offer before making your choice. 

Account opening happens after you've drafted your articles of association and once they've been notarized. Following which, the share capital of your GmbH must be deposited into a business account. At this point, it's officially referred to as a "GmbH in formation."

After depositing the share capital, you receive a deposit confirmation. You send this to the notary, who then initiates the registration of your GmbH in the commercial register. The entry in the commercial register completes the creation of your GmbH.

You can access your Qonto account as soon as you're registered in the commercial register - simply upload your certificate to your Qonto app.

Have your notarial documents with seal ready. Then enter your information, upload your founding documents and, if available, enter your shareholders. This step only takes a few minutes. We then verify your information, usually within 24 hours. You can then transfer the share capital via a temporary IBAN. 

As soon as the share capital has been fully credited to your Qonto account, we will issue you with a deposit confirmation for submission to the notary within 24 hours. Upload your trade register application to the Qonto app and access your business account right away. You can already use the essential functions of your business account even before your entry in the commercial register has been completed. Simply upload your commercial register application to your Qonto app.

With Qonto you can open your business account easily and 100% digitally. As a rule, your account is ready for the payment of the share capital in just 24 hours, so that you can quickly complete the founding of your company. An online business account makes financial management and bookkeeping easier for you right from the start:

5 star customer service

Our customer support will answer all your questions in less than 15 minutes on average.

No hidden fees

You won’t pay any extra, hidden banking fees. Our prices are 100% flexible and transparent.

Premium Mastercard cards

Pay securely online and in-store anywhere in the world. You can change the PIN codes, spending limits and authorizations of the Qonto cards at any time if necessary.

Smart tools  for efficient  financial management

• Individual account access
• Send transfers via app
• Set up direct debits at the click of a mouse
• Push notifications after each payment
• Automatic categorization of your transactions

Paperless accounting

Simply scan your paper payment receipts with your smartphone. Qonto authenticates your receipts and saves them in your account in accordance with GoBD. The automatic VAT registration also helps you to save time. These and more tools make your bookkeeping much easier.

Discover all the benefits of Qonto's accounting tools.

Transparent & non-binding

All of our Qonto plans are non-binding, our account management fees are transparent and you won’t find any hidden additional costs. You can cancel your subscription at any time.

Compare Qonto to online and traditional bank offers (cost, cards, features) to help you make your choice.

Separate the finances of your different activities

Set up sub-accounts, each with their own IBANs, to separate expenses, manage activities separately and create budgets for your teams.

With Qonto, you save time and energy managing your finances from Day 1 of your new business.

If you want to found a company, you should be well informed about the individual steps involved:

1. Planning a start-up

Define what kind of company you want to start. Many aspiring entrepreneurs seek professional advice on this. You record your business idea including market analysis, industrial property rights, goals and organization in a business plan.

1. Formally set up

In the case of a GmbH or UG being founded, the articles of association need to be drawn up. The legal form, managing directors, shareholders and their share in the company’s share capital will be listed in the agreements in the articles of association. You can have the articles of association notarized during an appointment with the notary.

1. Open a business account

Now pay in the share capital for your GmbH or UG. For a GmbH, this amounts to at least €25,000. When setting up, you have to pay 50 percent of this sum, i.e. €12,500, into the business account as start-up capital. A capital contribution of one euro is sufficient to set up a UG.

1. Entry in the commercial register

With the confirmation of your share capital contribution, your notary can now initiate the entry of your GmbH or UG in the commercial register. The responsible district court then sends a confirmation that it is formally entered in the commercial register. This will also activate your business account. However, you can already use the essential functions of your business account even before your entry in the commercial register has been completed. Simply upload your commercial register application in your Qonto app.

1. Business registration

Your GmbH or UG is officially legally competent and you can start operations. The next formal steps: among other things, you must register the new company as a trade. In order to register with the Trade Licensing Office, you must also be a member of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) responsible for you.

1. Apply for a tax number

You must also register your company for tax purposes. This is also important for you, as you need a tax number from the tax office with which you can issue invoices.

💡  Find out more about the advantages and disadvantages, possibilities, duration and requirements for founding a GmbH or a UG.

Qonto is a payment service provider operating in Germany under the joint supervision of the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

All client deposits are secured in accordance with relevant legal regulations. In other words, funds deposited with Qonto are safe as they are entirely separated from the company's cash flow per applicable regulations.

Qonto ensures deposit safety through these measures:

• A portion of customer deposits may be "ring-fenced," meaning they are held in the records of our partner banks – Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and Natixis.
• Another portion may be invested in shares of a fund specifically created to secure the assets of Qonto customers. To ensure complete protection, the invested portion is covered by a financial guarantee from Crédit Agricole CIB (CACIB), a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole S.A.
• Lastly, a final portion may occasionally be invested in qualified money market funds. If applicable, the fund shares are recorded in the books of Société Générale.

No matter how Qonto secures customer funds, it's crucial to understand that these arrangements must be pre-approved by the ACPR, in accordance with Qonto's regulatory requirements.

A legal representative, or an authorized representative (not for “one-person legal forms”), can open a Qonto business account.

Qonto is available in Germany for companies with the following legal statuses:

- Sole trader (e.K./e.Kfm/e.Kfr)

- Freelancer

- (e)GbR

- Limited liability company

- GmbH i.G.

- gGmbh

- gGmbH i.G.

- UG

- UG i.G.

- gUG

- gUG i.G.

- AG

- AG & Co KG

- GmbH & Co. KG

- UG & Co. KG

- oHG

- GmbH & Co. oHG

- AG & Co oHG

- Limited partnership (KG)

- KGaA

- PartG

Please note that on top of the legal status of a company, certain professional activities cannot be accepted by Qonto. You can view the list of those activities here.