Many relocation companies are noticing a boom in the number of individuals who are looking to set up shop abroad. More and more people are looking for fresh opportunities and it seems that they are doing it overseas. Spain is a popular choice for many. When you consider the wealth of people the country attracts year on year it is not hard to see why many tourist types of businesses would flourish. However, that’s not all there is to the country either. It is definitely a place with a lot to offer. Therefore, if you are considering starting a business in Spain, use the following tips to help you along the way…
Taxes
Of course, just like any other country, there are taxes you will need to bear in mind. In Spain, you have the following; Corporate Income Tax (known locally as Impuesto de Socidades). This is typically set at 35 per cent. However, if your turnover is less than eight million per annum then you may benefit from certain tax incentives. You can learn more about how to fund your new venture here, and there is advice online on how to pay your members of staff if setting up a business abroad or if you have companies around the globe.
Of course, there is also VAT or IVA as it is known in Spain. This is a turnover tax and there’re two IVA tariffs that were increased recently. You have the small IVA tariff =- This is set at ten per cent. You also have the higher IVA tariff – this is set at 18 per cent. There is actually a super low IVA tariff for certain products and this is set at four per cent. An example of a product which may be found in this tariff would be a book.
Employment law
The rules and regulations regarding employment are extremely strict in Spain when it comes to somebody getting fired. You need to protect yourself from the offset by being knowledgeable on all aspects of employment. You must be aware of the two main contracts; the indefinite contract and the temporary contract. Social security is expected as well. Furthermore, you must bear in mind the fact that salaries in Spain are generally lower than in the UK. When you make a salary offer you must make it a gross annual salary.
Business hours and holidays
In Spain, there tends to be longer lunch hours and so a longer day as a whole – this is the case for most hot counties. You will find that a two-hour lunch break is the norm yet business tend to stay open until 7.30 pm – sometimes even later. Nevertheless, there are businesses who are taking more flexible working hours nowadays, such as 8.00 am until 3.30 pm. The country is working towards making their working hours the same as other EU countries.
When it comes to national holidays there are 14 in Spain. These differ based on location. Every town has two local feast days. These days are celebrations of patron Saints. Business will be shut on both of these feast days. Furthermore, businesses tend to close for August or at least a period of it.
Setting up a website in Spain
Now that you know a bit more about business in Spain, the next step is to set up a winning website. So, here are some tips on this…
Lack of trust is one of the most significant factors when it comes to a high bounce rate. Your business website has to be secure and you need to show that this is the case. Your online checkout must be safe and you have to display the badges on your website to show this. Nevertheless, making your customers trust you involves a lot more than this. You also need to have information on everything from returns to warranties readily available. All of these features are going to make the customer feel comfortable when buying from you. In addition to this, trust is generated through contact options. Supply an e-mail address and a local contact number to Spain. You should also aim to reply to every e-mail within a 24 hour period. Your customer will feel confident if they know they can easily get in touch with you whenever they have an issue or a query. No contact number is one of the main reasons why people do not purchase from a particular ecommerce website.
Every single ecommerce website needs to have a clear logo. This is an essential no matter whether you run an automobile accessories company, a fashion store or a website selling cleaning products. This all stems down to your branding. You need to give off a clear image regarding who you are and what you are all about. In addition to this other key features you have to include are; a login box, a search box, and a shopping cart. These are usually all placed together – this is the recommended route to go down, the last thing you want to do is make the customer go searching. Don’t try and go for anything too different when going down this route. Stick to the icons everyone is familiar with, such as a simple basket for your shopping cart icon.
In the modern day, there is one necessity which a lot of people are still overlooking and this is the incorporation of social media links. For many years companies were unsure about social media and whether it truly had as much of an impact on their business as was made out. However, the facts are there for all to see. All successful companies are making excellent use of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media websites. In fact, it is believed that almost one in five people make their online purchases after browsing on their social media accounts. This presents you with an excellent method of self-promotion for your company. By integrating your social media accounts with your ecommerce website you can build up loyal customer bases, increase retention rate and find new customers as well. The most obvious example of this would be including social media buttons on your website. People can then ‘like’ your Facebook page or ‘follow’ your Twitter account with the mere click of their mouse. They then know they will be up to date with all of your products, deals and alike. From then on they will then be driven back to your website when they see your updates on these accounts.
