How to deposit your capital online with Qonto

Today is the big day.

Everything is ready to go. You’ve found your business partners (if you wanted any), you’ve saved for months, you’ve chosen your location(s) and purchased all the necessary equipment. All that’s left is to do is make your business official by formally investing in it, a.k.a. “depositing your capital”.

Behind this rather obscure vocabulary hides a series of administrative steps. Steps that appear to be so complicated that many get discouraged and end up putting their ideas on the back burner.

But you’re different. You belong among the thousands of entrepreneurs who have come before you. **Qonto has made depositing your capital as simple as possible.**

We’ll walk you through each and every step in this article. ⬇️

The problem with capital deposit is the rules vary depending on your chosen legal structure. The challenge for us lies in needing to adapt to all types of businesses (we’re working on it, we promise).

Also, only certain types of activity are accepted. Qonto will deny your request to open an account if you plan on opening a firearms trade company, for example. Water guns are okay, however.

Our advice is simple: before you begin the process of depositing your capital, read this quick article to make sure we’re a good fit for you and that you’re actually able to deposit your capital with Qonto. It only takes a moment but could save you a lot of time down the road.

Start by opening an account so we can begin to get to know each other better.

Once you’ve clicked on “You want to deposit your share capital” and entered your email, we’ll ask for your legal structure, address and name of the company you’re creating. To clarify: be sure to enter the name under which you will be registering your company (which is sometimes different from the one printed on your business cards).

After that, it’s like with any other administrative process: provide us with your name, date of birth, address, and so forth... along with the supporting documents to prove that the information provided is correct.

We perform these thorough checks in order to verify your identity and avoid someone opening an account under a false name (or even your own). By that same token, we’ll need the same information from your business partners, assuming you have partners, of course.

At this stage, you should have already reached an agreement with your partners on the amounts you are each willing to commit to this venture (or at the very least, you’ve discussed it). Now it’s time to share those terms of capital commitment with us.

If you’re investing solo, the sum you’ll indicate is your total share capital.

If others are joining you on this journey, you’ll need to indicate how much each of you has committed to the cause. Be sure to indicate the final numbers because the contributions you enter for yourself and your partners must match those indicated on the documents you’ll submit to the commercial court register in the region where you are requesting to register your company. There’s no going back after this point.

The next step in the process is selecting the right Qonto membership plan for your business needs. Qonto offers three options for capital deposit: Basic, Smart or Essential.

For freelancers, liberal professions and other independent contractors, the Basic plan is ideal. For those embarking on an adventure as a team, the Smart or Essential plan is for you.

As you well know, during the first year of activity, limiting costs is pivotal to the long-term success of your company. This is why we offer a price reduction on an annual subscription to save on your monthly plan. These famous packs include the cost of the capital deposit (€69 for management and notary fees) and the first year’s subscription to your chosen plan.

All that’s left to do is sign the contract to move on to the next phase.

Bylaws are a document that gathers all the legal information regarding your company. This is where you’ll indicate the field in which your business will operate and where you’ll have made your capital deposit.

If you choose to go it alone, you’ll have to make some changes to these statutes- two, to be precise. To make this task easier, we’ve written up a short article that tells you exactly what needs to be updated or replaced.

Once you get the final version of your bylaws ready, simply log in to your Qonto app to submit it. This will also be the moment we ask you for proof of address for your headquarters.

Once we verify both of these documents, you’re ready to deposit your capital.

Once the documents are submitted and verified, each partner will receive an email containing your company’s temporary banking information. You will have to make a transfer from a personal (or joint) account of the amount indicated in your bylaws. Qonto accepts SEPA transfers so you can receive your capital deposit funds instantly, if you so choose. 

Once the funds are received (which could take up to 48 hours, depending on the issuing bank), we’ll send you an email to have you sign the capital deposit request. As the account holder, you are the only one who can sign this request.

Once that request is signed, we send the funds to one of our notaries, who will give all the documents you’ll have sent us a final once-over. We want to be sure that your application will be accepted by the commercial court register.

Then, our notary will send your capital along to the Caisse des Dépôts to be deposited.

You’ll then receive a deposit certificate, initially by email, then through the post. This certificate is the final piece to complete your company file before heading over to the commercial court register to obtain the Kbis for your company.

This step can take time. It all depends on the number of requests submitted to your local commercial court. We recommend requesting your Kbis online, which is much faster!

Once you have received your permanent Kbis, you can submit it via your Qonto app to be verified by our notaries.

In this last step, you’ll receive a request from us to release the funds for you to sign once we'll have validated your permanent Kbis number and processed your registration.

Once you sign the release request, your permanent account details will be created, and we’ll send you a recap email along with all the other relevant documents you need for your files.

Now your capital deposit funds - previously entrusted with the Caisse des Dépôts - are in your current account (which corresponds with your new account details).

You now have a current account, account details, capital that is ready to invest, and... an official business.Congratulations!