GmbH Formation Checklist
Overview
This document provides the complete checklist for founding Membership One GmbH as a German Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung (limited liability company). The Musterprotokoll (standard protocol) is used for simplified single-shareholder formation.
Reference: Chapter 16 (Startup Operations), MASTERPLAN Step 12.1.
6-Week Formation Timeline
| Week | Step | Action | Responsible | Cost (EUR) | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Draft Gesellschaftsvertrag using Musterprotokoll | CEO + Notary | 0 | Articles of Association (template) |
| 1 | 2 | Notarize Gesellschaftsvertrag at Notar | CEO | 300-500 | Notarized founding document |
| 1 | 3 | Register domain(s) and set up corporate email | CEO | 30/yr | membership-one.com active |
| 1 | 4 | Set up GitLab organization and CI/CD | Dev Lead | 0 | Repository and pipeline |
| 1-2 | 5 | Open Geschaeftskonto (business bank account) at Qonto or FYRST | CEO | 0 | Business bank account |
| 1-2 | 6 | Provision Hetzner Cloud infrastructure | Dev Lead | 100/mo | Production environment |
| 2 | 7 | Deposit Stammkapital (EUR 25,000 share capital) | CEO | 25,000 | Bank confirmation of deposit |
| 2 | 8 | Notar files Handelsregister application (Amtsgericht) | Notary | 150 | Filed HRB application |
| 2-3 | 9 | Engage Steuerberater (tax advisor) with DATEV access | CEO | 300/mo | Retainer contract signed |
| 2-6 | 10 | Receive Handelsregister entry (HRB number) | Amtsgericht | (incl.) | HRB number assigned |
| 3 | 11 | Gewerbeanmeldung (trade registration) at Gewerbeamt | CEO | 20-60 | Gewerbeschein |
| 3-4 | 12 | Register at Finanzamt for Steuernummer (tax ID) | CEO | 0 | Steuernummer |
| 3-4 | 13 | Apply for USt-IdNr. (VAT ID) at BZSt | CEO | 0 | USt-IdNr. (DE...) |
| 3-4 | 14 | Obtain Betriebshaftpflichtversicherung (liability insurance) | CEO | 300/yr | Insurance policy |
| 3-4 | 15 | Obtain Cyber-Versicherung (cyber liability insurance) | CEO | 500/yr | Insurance policy |
| 4 | 16 | Obtain D&O-Versicherung (directors and officers insurance) | CEO | 400/yr | Insurance policy |
| 4-5 | 17 | Set up DATEV Unternehmen Online for digital bookkeeping | Steuerberater | (incl.) | DATEV access configured |
| 2-4 | 18 | Create company website (Hugo/Astro on Cloudflare Pages) | CEO | 0 | membership-one.com live |
| 4-6 | 19 | DSGVO documentation (Verarbeitungsverzeichnis, Datenschutzerklaerung) | CEO | 0 | GDPR documents |
| auto | 20 | IHK membership (automatic upon Gewerbeanmeldung) | IHK | 150/yr | IHK membership confirmation |
Timeline: 4-6 weeks from notarization to full operational readiness.
Formation Cost Summary
| Category | Item | One-Time (EUR) | Annual (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | Stammkapital (share capital) | 25,000 | -- |
| Legal | Notary (Gesellschaftsvertrag) | 300-500 | -- |
| Legal | Handelsregister court fee | 150 | -- |
| Legal | Gewerbeanmeldung | 20-60 | -- |
| Insurance | Betriebshaftpflicht | -- | 300 |
| Insurance | Cyber-Versicherung | -- | 500 |
| Insurance | D&O-Versicherung | -- | 400 |
| Membership | IHK Beitrag | -- | 150 |
| Domain | membership-one.com + membership.app | -- | 30 |
| Total formation (one-time) | ~26,500 | ||
| Total recurring (annual) | ~1,380 |
Ongoing Compliance Obligations
| Obligation | Frequency | Deadline | Responsible | Platform Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USt-Voranmeldung (VAT advance return) | Quarterly (monthly if > EUR 7,500/quarter) | 10th of following month | Steuerberater | DATEV export from membership-accounting |
| Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung (payroll tax) | Monthly (when employees exist) | 10th of following month | Steuerberater | DATEV export |
| Zusammenfassende Meldung (EC Sales List) | Quarterly (if EU B2B sales) | 25th of following month | Steuerberater | Invoice data export |
| Jahresabschluss (annual financial statements) | Annually | 12 months after fiscal year end | Steuerberater | DATEV export |
| Koerperschaftsteuererklaerung (corporate tax) | Annually | July 31 (ext: Feb 28) | Steuerberater | DATEV export |
| Gewerbesteuererklaerung (trade tax) | Annually | Same as corporate tax | Steuerberater | DATEV export |
| Bundesanzeiger Offenlegung (financial publication) | Annually | 12 months after fiscal year end | Steuerberater / CEO | PDF generation |
| Handelsregister updates | On change (address, GF, capital) | Without undue delay | CEO + Notary | N/A |
| IHK Beitrag (chamber fee) | Annually | Upon invoice | CEO | Auto-payment |
| DSGVO Verarbeitungsverzeichnis update | Annually or on change | Ongoing | CEO | Document management |
| Software license compliance audit | Annually | Q1 | Dev Lead | Dependency scan in CI/CD |
Key automation: The membership-accounting module with DATEV export handles the majority of recurring tax obligations by providing the Steuerberater with structured, machine-readable financial data.
Insurance Requirements
| Insurance | Coverage | Annual Cost (EUR) | Monthly Amortized (EUR) | Provider Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Betriebshaftpflicht (business liability) | Property damage, personal injury, financial loss from business operations | ~300 | ~25 | Standard commercial insurer |
| Cyber-Versicherung (cyber liability) | Data breach, ransomware, business interruption, regulatory fines, forensics | ~500 | ~42 | Specialized cyber insurer (e.g., Hiscox, CyberDirekt) |
| D&O-Versicherung (directors and officers) | Personal liability of Geschaeftsfuehrer for management decisions | ~400 | ~33 | D&O specialist |
| Total | ~1,200 | ~100 |
Monthly Fixed Costs Summary
| Category | Item | Monthly Cost (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Hetzner Cloud (all resources) | 97.41 |
| Infrastructure | Cloudflare (free plan) | 0.00 |
| Infrastructure | Domains (amortized) | 2.50 |
| Communication | SMTP (Mailgun Flex) | 10.00 |
| Legal/Tax | Steuerberater (tax advisor) | 300.00 |
| Legal/Tax | Betriebshaftpflicht (amortized) | 25.00 |
| Legal/Tax | Cyber-Versicherung (amortized) | 41.67 |
| Legal/Tax | D&O-Versicherung (amortized) | 33.33 |
| Legal/Tax | IHK Beitrag (amortized) | 12.50 |
| Marketing | Content creation (freelance) | 50.00 |
| Marketing | LinkedIn Ads | 150.00 |
| Office | Virtual office / Geschaeftsadresse | 30.00 |
| Misc | Contingency buffer | 50.00 |
| Total Fixed Costs | ~802 | |
| Personnel | Team of 5 (Phase A) | 30,000 |
| Total Burn Rate (Phase A) | ~30,802 |
Pre-Launch Checklist
Before going live, verify all items are completed:
- Gesellschaftsvertrag notarized
- Stammkapital (EUR 25,000) deposited
- HRB number received from Handelsregister
- Steuernummer assigned by Finanzamt
- USt-IdNr. received from BZSt
- Gewerbeschein obtained
- Business bank account active (Qonto or FYRST)
- Steuerberater engaged, DATEV Unternehmen Online configured
- All three insurance policies active (Betriebshaftpflicht, Cyber, D&O)
- IHK membership confirmed
- Domains registered and DNS configured
- Corporate email functional
- Hetzner Cloud infrastructure provisioned
- GitLab repository and CI/CD pipeline operational
- Website live at membership-one.com
- Impressum page published with correct legal details
- Datenschutzerklaerung published
- Verarbeitungsverzeichnis documented
- AGB (Terms of Service) finalized
- AVV/DPA template prepared