First 30 Days After Registering a SIA: Complete Checklist

You've just received your SIA registration number. The excitement lasts about three days — until you realize the registration was the easy part. The next 30 days involve a series of tasks that, if missed or delayed, can stall your business before it even starts. We've watched dozens of new SIA owners lose weeks because they tackled these steps in the wrong order.

Here's the sequence that works, based on what we see go right (and wrong) at Corvus Accounting & Tax.

Week 1: The Critical Foundation

Open a business bank account

Start this immediately — ideally the same day you get your registration number. Banking is the bottleneck. Latvian banks have tightened their onboarding since 2018, and the process now takes 2–4 weeks even for straightforward cases.

You'll need:

SIA registration certificate and articles of association
Board member ID (passport or residence permit)
Business plan or description of planned activities
Proof of legal address
Information about beneficial owners
Expected transaction volumes and counterparties

Apply to two banks simultaneously. In our experience, roughly one in five first applications gets declined — not because anything is wrong, but because the bank's risk appetite doesn't align with your profile. Having a parallel application saves 2–3 weeks if your first choice says no. (See our detailed bank account guide for bank-specific tips.)

Engage an accountant

Latvian law requires proper bookkeeping from day one. Not from your first revenue. Not from your first tax filing. From day one. The penalty for missing this starts at EUR 150 and scales with the duration and severity of the gap.

An accountant costs EUR 100–300 per month for a typical new SIA with low transaction volume. That's cheaper than a single penalty, and vastly cheaper than reconstructing six months of missing records later.

What to set up with your accountant:

Chart of accounts appropriate for your industry
Document flow (how receipts, invoices, and contracts reach the accountant)
Payroll structure (if hiring)
Tax calendar with all relevant deadlines

Week 2: Tax Registration and Structure

Register with VID (State Revenue Service)

Within 30 days of registration, register your SIA with VID through the EDS electronic system. This step establishes your tax profile and allows you to file returns, declare employees, and manage obligations.

During registration, you'll choose your tax regime:

Standard CIT (corporate income tax): 0% on reinvested profits, 20/80 effective rate on distributions. The default and most common choice.

Micro-enterprise tax (MUN): 25% on revenue (not profit) if you qualify — annual turnover under EUR 40,000, up to 5 employees, sole shareholder who is also the board member. Simpler, but not always cheaper. Run the numbers with your accountant before committing.

Decide on VAT registration

VAT registration is mandatory once your taxable supplies exceed EUR 50,000 in any 12-month period. Voluntary registration is available from day one.

Register voluntarily if your clients are VAT-registered businesses — they can reclaim the VAT you charge, so it doesn't increase their costs, and you can deduct input VAT on your own purchases. Skip voluntary registration if your clients are mostly private individuals (they can't reclaim VAT, so your prices effectively increase by 21%).

Week 3: Operational Setup

Obtain industry-specific licenses

Depending on your business:

Food services: Register with the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD)
Financial services: Apply to Latvijas Banka (formerly FKTK) for licensing
Construction: Obtain certification from the Building Board
Transport: Get permits from the Transport Ministry
Education: Register with the Education Quality Service

License applications can take 2–8 weeks. Start early if your industry requires one — you cannot legally operate without it.

Register as an employer (if hiring)

Before your first employee's start date, register in VID EDS as an employer. You'll need to:

Register the employment contract in VID
Calculate and declare social contributions (VSAOI) — 23.59% employer share + 10.50% employee share (2026 rates)
Set up payroll tax withholding

Late employer registration carries fines, and retroactive social contribution calculations create messy accounting situations.

Set up invoicing and document management

Choose an invoicing system (cloud-based options like Tildes Jumis, Ozols, or international tools like Xero work in Latvia). Ensure your invoices contain all legally required elements: company name, registration number, VAT number (if registered), bank details, sequential invoice numbers, and proper descriptions of goods or services.

Week 4: Review and Future-Proofing

Verify your legal address setup

Confirm that mail delivery works. Test it — send a registered letter to your legal address and verify it reaches you. The Commercial Register and VID send official correspondence to this address. Missing a notice can lead to fines or, in extreme cases, forced liquidation proceedings.

Review insurance needs

Consider professional liability insurance if your services could expose you to claims. General liability insurance for your premises. D&O (Directors & Officers) insurance if your board member faces personal risk in their role.

Plan your first annual report

Your first annual report is due within 4 months after the end of your first financial year. For a SIA registered in April 2026, that means April 30, 2027. Seems far away — but the quality of your first-year bookkeeping determines how painful (or painless) that report will be.

Overwhelmed by the Post-Registration Steps?

The first 30 days set the tone for your entire business. Get it right, and everything flows. Get it wrong, and you spend months untangling penalties and delays. Corvus Accounting & Tax offers a complete post-registration package — from bank account support to VID registration, accounting setup, and license guidance.

Book your free consultation →