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Starting out  ›  Sole proprietorship

One owner · DTI

Sole proprietorship

One person owns the business. In law you and the business are the same person — which makes it the quickest structure to open and the one that puts your own assets on the line.

At a glance

Owners

One, and only one

Personal liability

Unlimited

Income tax

Graduated personal rates, or the 8% option

Typical set-up

2–3 weeks

What you need

Six things, in this order

Skip a step and you will be sent back for a document you needed earlier.

1

DTI business name registration

Choose your territorial scope — barangay, city, regional or national — and the name is yours for five years, renewable. The certificate is what every other agency asks for first.

2

Barangay clearance

Taken out at the barangay holding your business address. Bring the DTI certificate, proof of address and your lease or title.

3

Mayor’s or business permit

The LGU stage, and the one that takes longest: zoning clearance, fire safety inspection, sanitary permit and occupancy, in whatever combination your city requires.

4

BIR registration

Form 1901 at the RDO covering your address, ending in your Certificate of Registration, registered books of accounts and an Authority to Print — plus the VAT or percentage-tax decision that sets your filing calendar.

5

Printed receipts and invoices

An Authority to Print is worth nothing until the receipts physically exist. We have them produced to BIR specification through McLaren Printing Press and delivered to you.

6

Employer registrations

SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG, needed the moment you put anyone on payroll — including yourself if you draw a salary.

The honest trade-off

+

What works in your favour

  • +Cheapest and fastest structure to open — no incorporators, no by-laws, no notarised articles.
  • +Every decision is yours. No board, no partners, no resolutions to pass.
  • +The 8% flat tax option on gross receipts can beat corporate rates while you are small.
  • +Lightest annual compliance of the three — no SEC general information sheet, no audited statements at low thresholds.
  • +Simple to wind up if the idea does not work.
−

What you are taking on

  • −Unlimited liability. A business debt is your debt — creditors can reach your house, car and savings.
  • −Graduated personal rates climb to 35% as profits grow, with no corporate ceiling to shelter under.
  • −The business ends with you. It cannot simply pass to your family as a going concern.
  • −No shares to sell, so bringing in an investor or partner means restructuring entirely.
  • −Banks and large corporate clients often prefer to contract with SEC-registered entities.

Best for

Freelancers and consultants, single-owner retail and service businesses, and anyone testing an idea before committing capital — particularly where contracts are small and the personal-liability risk is low.

We will register your sole proprietorship end to end

DTI through to printed receipts. You sign what needs signing; we handle the queues, the follow-ups and the sequence.

Start the registration