Thai wife wants to open a shop

[longstebe]

This will be a business set up by herself and more than likely the sole employee.

I'm trying to find out for myself what she would need to start up a business and how the tax and vat work.

Who does she need to notify before she even thinks about purchasing stock and kitting out a rented unit?

Any advice would be welcomed.

[Chao Lao Beach]

Some Helpfull VAT links, no VAT under 1.8mill turn over (of receipts)

U don't need a company, just Sole Trader, there are some good treads around, search this sub forum.

http://bic.thaiembassy.sg/node/88

http://www.thailandlawonline.com/revenue-code/value-added-tax-vat-law

http://www.phuket-accounting.com/vat.html

[longstebe]

^^^^ Cheers mate.

I'll check them out.

[Chao Lao Beach]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/771170-real-cost-of-a-thai-company/?p=8597525

[Nomad97]

Basically, it costs nothing for your wife to become a trader. You do not need solicitors or the like to draw-up any fancy company documentation. All she needs to do is to go along to the appropriate council offices for the area in which she wishes to trade. Once there, she will fill-in some forms and get herself registered as a sole trader. I am sure your wife will know where to go. The council office will provide her with a certificate that she should display in her shop to say that she is an authorised trader. Before she goes she needs to decide what name to give her shop. She would need to maintain some form of book-keeping to record purchases and sales. Provided her total sales are less than 1.8 million ฿ per year she will not be eligible to pay VAT. (That's a turnover of more than a 150,000 ฿ per month.) She may also employ one or more staff members to help run the business. The registration process is really very easy and can be accomplished within an hour or so of finding the right council offices.

There are good Thai Government websites, available in both Thai and English, that will allow you to read all about VAT, personal tax and the like. Just Google and I am sure you will find them. I did just that when my wife started her own business about a year ago. The information provided above is first-hand knowledge gained from practical experience one year ago. As to personal taxation, she has not paid any to date. Her monthly sales figure are somewhat less that 150,00 ฿ per month and I would guess that her liability for taxation is below her personal tax allowance.

Good luck to your wife and may her business prosper.

[ezzra]

Be on a look out for a family members not making the shop to be a gathering place for idle chat

and free a/c and probably what ever they can mooch of the stuff the missus will be selling,

[meatboy]

Be on a look out for a family members not making the shop to be a gathering place for idle chat

and free a/c and probably what ever they can mooch of the stuff the missus will be selling,

you beat me to it,if if in your wife's home village and family members live near by forget it.

you get the message?

[cooked]

In the next village in the space of one year three nicely built and about three shabbily built shops have been set up, all apparently selling the same things. They all want to open a shop or a 'restaurant' because that's the only thing they can do to earn money. Apart from going to Pattaya.

Good luck anyway

Sent from my GT-S7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[shirtless]

I think you need to monitor this business closely , if you are funding,it now is probably the worse time to start.

[akampa]

Good luck and live long and prosper

[longstebe]

I think you need to monitor this business closely , if you are funding,it now is probably the worse time to start.

Why would it be the worse time to start?

[longstebe]

Be on a look out for a family members not making the shop to be a gathering place for idle chat

and free a/c and probably what ever they can mooch of the stuff the missus will be selling,

Fair comment mate.

I'm sure that we've heard all the horror stories regarding helping the missus out with a small business, I just hope ours/hers doesn't fall into that category.

Any signs of failure the plug will be getting pulled.

[choochoo]

no worry about taxes...............lol. Doesnt look like your wifes venture will make much.

One person shopgirl operation is just a waste of time IF your obj is to make money. Only good to kill time .. Or maybe launder bad money.............lol.

[choochoo]

I think you need to monitor this business closely , if you are funding,it now is probably the worse time to start.

Why would it be the worse time to start?

you really need to research this if you dont want to lose money..............lol.

I cant tell you how many times eating at nana foodland i hear girls say they have shops when a sex tourist asks them what their job is. When its obvious they also moonlight as bargirls.

Edited October 29, 2014 by choochoo

[ldnguy]

In the next village in the space of one year three nicely built and about three shabbily built shops have been set up, all apparently selling the same things. They all want to open a shop or a 'restaurant' because that's the only thing they can do to earn money. Apart from going to Pattaya.

Good luck anyway

Sent from my GT-S7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I suppose this is the sort of comment you can expect from people that don't get to meet a wide variety of Thai people. I can assure you that there are millions of Thais doing jobs other than those you mentioned. Just because you don't know them doesn't mean they don't exists. I suggest you get out a little more often and a little further away from your village.

Maybe you could also let us know what these shops sell. But it sounds like you don't even know, as they are only "apparently" selling the same things. So really, it's just idle gossip that you're passing on.

Edited October 29, 2014 by ldnguy

[choochoo]

A good exercise would be for op to give us the numbers....................................lol. The only proof i think they are money losers is that i never see these one girl type businesses doing much in commerece.

Some street food cart seem to do alright.. Always room for good food.

[RolandRat]

OP, no disrespect, but its probably just a good intention, a toy to show off to others,One man band, you are funding it, when reality bites, day in day out,no big profits, its all about show, hope i am wrong and you/she makes a success of it and it doesnt go the way of so many others, usually hairdressers and beauty shops.

[longstebe]

OP, no disrespect, but its probably just a good intention, a toy to show off to others,One man band, you are funding it, when reality bites, day in day out,no big profits, its all about show, hope i am wrong and you/she makes a success of it and it doesnt go the way of so many others, usually hairdressers and beauty shops.

Cheers mate.

The problem with most expats is they tend to hear about the failures rather than the success stories.

[Travelman868]

^^^^ Cheers mate.

I'll check them out.

Just take care. Too many Thai's think that all the money in the till is profit and forget that bills have to be paid.

Guess who would pick up the bills???

[trigger1966]

My wife has a village shop as long ad its clean turns over stock regularly if will earn her a reasonable living once set up properly negatives don't give credit under any circumstances be careful of attracting the local lo cal (whiskey) heads sitting outside it actually puts of nice Thai customers good luck in your new venture any advice or help I can give you pls ask

[RigPig]

What you have to be careful of IMO, is that they don't seem to comprehend how much it has cost to take that 100B over the counter, they seem to think it is all profit or at least they made their 20B. They don't seem to be able to factor in rent, power etc, then at the end of the month they can't understand why they are short. Not all of course there are some VERY rich Thais but on average unless they own the property and are living there it doesn't seem to last long...

Good luck all the same

[choochoo]

OP, no disrespect, but its probably just a good intention, a toy to show off to others,One man band, you are funding it, when reality bites, day in day out,no big profits, its all about show, hope i am wrong and you/she makes a success of it and it doesnt go the way of so many others, usually hairdressers and beauty shops.

Cheers mate.

The problem with most expats is they tend to hear about the failures rather than the success stories.

The problem is many a farang is hard-headed when it come to thai girls................lol. Theres is always different.

If a guy is confidant and knows what he is doing he wouldnt ask here about opening a one thai girl shop.................lol.

Again op- budget for losses not PROfits................lol.

[elliottm]

My wife opened a sole trader business this year in a rented town house, just lick of paint inside & out, ditto new, moveable shelves & a very good clean!

Taxes:

Start up: Register at amphur to start trading, fixed sign required tax & small tax to use the communal bin (these were all token amounts, 100b+). That was it.

Income tax: rates kick in over 150k PROFIT for calendar year (after 30k personal allowance AND business expenses; a non-working husband or elderly parents can also be added), register at Revenue Dep't retrospectively if profits not known, pay by March of following year:

f. Income derived from business, commerce

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html

VAT: over 1.8m bt TURNOVER, presumably N/A:

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6043.0.html

If you will be with her then can't help as work permit not suitable for this business (Ltd company, 4 Thai employees, minimum taxable salary, allowable trade etc).

[Norrad]

OMG choochoo, yru use lol evry sentenz? Ru hiena?

It makes you sound like a child posting annoying trash.

To the OP, go for it. If it works then great, if not then at least your lady will learn from it. Just be prepared to pull the plug if needed.

Sent from my ASUS_T00I using Tapatalk 2

[choochoo]

yes im HieNa..............lol.

This is just so non-sensical-how can one not laugh......................lol.

[Stray]

Nomad97 and Chao Lao Beach gave you the best information. Much of the rest, as you well know, is just fluff and gripes.

Here in the sticks, I watched a local girl open a shop with the help and support of her farang 'husband'. As in your own situation, they wanted to do everything right and did the research. One of the important starting points I remember is when they were registering the business, they went for the top level (whatever it's called) licence. That's a shop where you can sell food, cigarettes and alcohol. They said that it was only a little more expensive than the 'regular' licence but well worth the added investment.

Hubby purchased the original stock for the shop (less than a thousand dollar's worth) but specified that future restocking had to be done with the money earned from the sales of the stock. Profit was to be used for purchasing additional items and for improving the business.

The original 'shop' was opened in the spare front room of their house. No frills and no airconditioning. Since that time, several additional bamboo structures have been built around the front of the shop which now house eating and drinking areas. These were built from the profits of the shop, not from a hand in anyone's pocket.

Contrary to the idea of chasing away the locals that hang out there, people are encouraged to come, sit, pass the time, chat and basically give the place atmosphere. Even it they're not purchasing anything. You see, a busy shop/bar/restaurant attracts customers who will spend money.

Some of the successful ideas I see in their business are the friendliness of the girl and her family (yes, most of the family do help around the shop). They do not look down on anyone, are always polite and do not act like they are better than anyone. As much as is possible in an open-air shop and in this area, the shop is always clean, the shelves are tidy, well presented and well stocked. I have never known them to run out of anything as they purchase new stock BEFORE the old stock runs out.

The other successful component to this business is their pricing. They are only a few baht cheaper than elsewhere around but they are still making around 10% on each sale. And, due to their slightly lower prices, they attract customers from a wider area who don't realise that they are probably spending the savings in that shop on using more petrol to get there.

Oh, and because they always keep their beer and softdrinks on ice, even overnight, they have the coldest beers around. This is not the few token ice blocks in the bottom of the cooler/esky/chilly bin. These are fully iced up drinks bins. They do not sell the ice from the drink bins (a dirty habit I see in many establishments). They have a separate ice bin and a higher end ice supplier for 'consumable' ice (cheap ice is purchased for the coolers, more expensive ice is used solely for sales).

Due to their cleanliness and organisation, they have also become the local distributors for an ice-cream company and a dairy. The dairy fridges (milk drinks and yoghurt) and ice cream freezers were supplied to them, free of charge and are cleaned, organised and re-stocked daily by the respective companies. All the girl has to do is pay the power bill and sell the stock.

Sure, it's just nickel and dime stuff but, in just over 12 months, they are now laying a concrete foundation for a more permanent shop. They told me that it will probably take around 2 years to build this new shop (purely on profits earned in the existing shop, no loans are being taken) but they're not in any hurry as they are very happy with their business.

Don't think that the shop is all beer and skittles. It's hard work and takes a lot of dedication. The business is a 7 day per week concern. Starting at 4am, when they go to the market to buy the freshest produce and closing at 8 or 9pm when the last customers go home. They do also have people knocking on the door at odd hours (after closing) usually to buy beer, whisky or cigarettes. Rather than chasing them off, one of the family always makes the sale. Again, it's about keeping customers happy and keeping them returning.

As far as I have been told, they were raided once by the local equivalent of the ATF (alcohol, tobacco and firearms) who were accusing them of selling alcohol imported from Cambodia. The girl replied that she was infact selling spirits which were purchased in a Cambodian market. She also produced the receipts for the purchases and showed them her licence stating that she could, in fact, sell imported alcohol. After much posturing and the demanding of bribes, they finally hit her with a fine of 200B for failing to display a copy of the licence in a prominent place. The fine was paid at the local 'council' offices and a receipt was obtained. The licence is now laminated and hung on the wall out the front of the house.

They also get visits from various 'people' offering loans for improving the business. They see a successful business and want to help the proprietors part with some of their wealth under the guise of assistance. The only 'loan' that was ever considered was the initial money that hubby put into the purchase of the first batch of stock. He claims that he still wants it back. She says she'll 'work off the loan' by giving him a free, cold beer, from time-to-time. She'll even open the bottle for him so that he doesn't strain himself.

Hubby does still work but he is no longer complaining about having to fork money over to a lazy wife and useless family (his words). His wife now has a certain degree of financial independance and, as a successful business operator, a higher standing in the local community.

The one thing that does have the locals wondering is why this girl has bothered to open a shop and work hard at building a business. Afterall, she has a farang husband and should be like all the other farang wives in the area. Living in a new mansion, dripping with gold and driving around in a new SUV.

This, to me, is a success story and I wish you and your family every luck in pursuing your own goals. It's not easy but, if you are doing something for a living that you are enjoying and not answering to a boss, can it really be considered working?

[thailand49]

Am I wrong please tell me so? When the ops speaks of stock my impression he is not talking about financial trading in the stock market etc. he is talking about buying material, supplies and renting out a location for the business? If this is the case first we or I need to know what business she wants to open then I can respond from there?

[choochoo]

Nomad97 and Chao Lao Beach gave you the best information. Much of the rest, as you well know, is just fluff and gripes.

Here in the sticks, I watched a local girl open a shop with the help and support of her farang 'husband'. As in your own situation, they wanted to do everything right and did the research. One of the important starting points I remember is when they were registering the business, they went for the top level (whatever it's called) licence. That's a shop where you can sell food, cigarettes and alcohol. They said that it was only a little more expensive than the 'regular' licence but well worth the added investment.

Hubby purchased the original stock for the shop (less than a thousand dollar's worth) but specified that future restocking had to be done with the money earned from the sales of the stock. Profit was to be used for purchasing additional items and for improving the business.

The original 'shop' was opened in the spare front room of their house. No frills and no airconditioning. Since that time, several additional bamboo structures have been built around the front of the shop which now house eating and drinking areas. These were built from the profits of the shop, not from a hand in anyone's pocket.

Contrary to the idea of chasing away the locals that hang out there, people are encouraged to come, sit, pass the time, chat and basically give the place atmosphere. Even it they're not purchasing anything. You see, a busy shop/bar/restaurant attracts customers who will spend money.

Some of the successful ideas I see in their business are the friendliness of the girl and her family (yes, most of the family do help around the shop). They do not look down on anyone, are always polite and do not act like they are better than anyone. As much as is possible in an open-air shop and in this area, the shop is always clean, the shelves are tidy, well presented and well stocked. I have never known them to run out of anything as they purchase new stock BEFORE the old stock runs out.

The other successful component to this business is their pricing. They are only a few baht cheaper than elsewhere around but they are still making around 10% on each sale. And, due to their slightly lower prices, they attract customers from a wider area who don't realise that they are probably spending the savings in that shop on using more petrol to get there.

Oh, and because they always keep their beer and softdrinks on ice, even overnight, they have the coldest beers around. This is not the few token ice blocks in the bottom of the cooler/esky/chilly bin. These are fully iced up drinks bins. They do not sell the ice from the drink bins (a dirty habit I see in many establishments). They have a separate ice bin and a higher end ice supplier for 'consumable' ice (cheap ice is purchased for the coolers, more expensive ice is used solely for sales).

Due to their cleanliness and organisation, they have also become the local distributors for an ice-cream company and a dairy. The dairy fridges (milk drinks and yoghurt) and ice cream freezers were supplied to them, free of charge and are cleaned, organised and re-stocked daily by the respective companies. All the girl has to do is pay the power bill and sell the stock.

Sure, it's just nickel and dime stuff but, in just over 12 months, they are now laying a concrete foundation for a more permanent shop. They told me that it will probably take around 2 years to build this new shop (purely on profits earned in the existing shop, no loans are being taken) but they're not in any hurry as they are very happy with their business.

Don't think that the shop is all beer and skittles. It's hard work and takes a lot of dedication. The business is a 7 day per week concern. Starting at 4am, when they go to the market to buy the freshest produce and closing at 8 or 9pm when the last customers go home. They do also have people knocking on the door at odd hours (after closing) usually to buy beer, whisky or cigarettes. Rather than chasing them off, one of the family always makes the sale. Again, it's about keeping customers happy and keeping them returning.

As far as I have been told, they were raided once by the local equivalent of the ATF (alcohol, tobacco and firearms) who were accusing them of selling alcohol imported from Cambodia. The girl replied that she was infact selling spirits which were purchased in a Cambodian market. She also produced the receipts for the purchases and showed them her licence stating that she could, in fact, sell imported alcohol. After much posturing and the demanding of bribes, they finally hit her with a fine of 200B for failing to display a copy of the licence in a prominent place. The fine was paid at the local 'council' offices and a receipt was obtained. The licence is now laminated and hung on the wall out the front of the house.

They also get visits from various 'people' offering loans for improving the business. They see a successful business and want to help the proprietors part with some of their wealth under the guise of assistance. The only 'loan' that was ever considered was the initial money that hubby put into the purchase of the first batch of stock. He claims that he still wants it back. She says she'll 'work off the loan' by giving him a free, cold beer, from time-to-time. She'll even open the bottle for him so that he doesn't strain himself.

Hubby does still work but he is no longer complaining about having to fork money over to a lazy wife and useless family (his words). His wife now has a certain degree of financial independance and, as a successful business operator, a higher standing in the local community.

The one thing that does have the locals wondering is why this girl has bothered to open a shop and work hard at building a business. Afterall, she has a farang husband and should be like all the other farang wives in the area. Living in a new mansion, dripping with gold and driving around in a new SUV.

This, to me, is a success story and I wish you and your family every luck in pursuing your own goals. It's not easy but, if you are doing something for a living that you are enjoying and not answering to a boss, can it really be considered working?

its not fair to compare an operation conducted from a familys home.

you have to judge success as if the business were paying for rent,etc. otherwise its just delusion.

[Stray]

Nomad97 and Chao Lao Beach gave you the best information. Much of the rest, as you well know, is just fluff and gripes.

Here in the sticks, I watched a local girl open a shop with the help and support of her farang 'husband'. As in your own situation, they wanted to do everything right and did the research. One of the important starting points I remember is when they were registering the business, they went for the top level (whatever it's called) licence. That's a shop where you can sell food, cigarettes and alcohol. They said that it was only a little more expensive than the 'regular' licence but well worth the added investment.

Hubby purchased the original stock for the shop (less than a thousand dollar's worth) but specified that future restocking had to be done with the money earned from the sales of the stock. Profit was to be used for purchasing additional items and for improving the business.

The original 'shop' was opened in the spare front room of their house. No frills and no airconditioning. Since that time, several additional bamboo structures have been built around the front of the shop which now house eating and drinking areas. These were built from the profits of the shop, not from a hand in anyone's pocket.

Contrary to the idea of chasing away the locals that hang out there, people are encouraged to come, sit, pass the time, chat and basically give the place atmosphere. Even it they're not purchasing anything. You see, a busy shop/bar/restaurant attracts customers who will spend money.

Some of the successful ideas I see in their business are the friendliness of the girl and her family (yes, most of the family do help around the shop). They do not look down on anyone, are always polite and do not act like they are better than anyone. As much as is possible in an open-air shop and in this area, the shop is always clean, the shelves are tidy, well presented and well stocked. I have never known them to run out of anything as they purchase new stock BEFORE the old stock runs out.

The other successful component to this business is their pricing. They are only a few baht cheaper than elsewhere around but they are still making around 10% on each sale. And, due to their slightly lower prices, they attract customers from a wider area who don't realise that they are probably spending the savings in that shop on using more petrol to get there.

Oh, and because they always keep their beer and softdrinks on ice, even overnight, they have the coldest beers around. This is not the few token ice blocks in the bottom of the cooler/esky/chilly bin. These are fully iced up drinks bins. They do not sell the ice from the drink bins (a dirty habit I see in many establishments). They have a separate ice bin and a higher end ice supplier for 'consumable' ice (cheap ice is purchased for the coolers, more expensive ice is used solely for sales).

Due to their cleanliness and organisation, they have also become the local distributors for an ice-cream company and a dairy. The dairy fridges (milk drinks and yoghurt) and ice cream freezers were supplied to them, free of charge and are cleaned, organised and re-stocked daily by the respective companies. All the girl has to do is pay the power bill and sell the stock.

Sure, it's just nickel and dime stuff but, in just over 12 months, they are now laying a concrete foundation for a more permanent shop. They told me that it will probably take around 2 years to build this new shop (purely on profits earned in the existing shop, no loans are being taken) but they're not in any hurry as they are very happy with their business.

Don't think that the shop is all beer and skittles. It's hard work and takes a lot of dedication. The business is a 7 day per week concern. Starting at 4am, when they go to the market to buy the freshest produce and closing at 8 or 9pm when the last customers go home. They do also have people knocking on the door at odd hours (after closing) usually to buy beer, whisky or cigarettes. Rather than chasing them off, one of the family always makes the sale. Again, it's about keeping customers happy and keeping them returning.

As far as I have been told, they were raided once by the local equivalent of the ATF (alcohol, tobacco and firearms) who were accusing them of selling alcohol imported from Cambodia. The girl replied that she was infact selling spirits which were purchased in a Cambodian market. She also produced the receipts for the purchases and showed them her licence stating that she could, in fact, sell imported alcohol. After much posturing and the demanding of bribes, they finally hit her with a fine of 200B for failing to display a copy of the licence in a prominent place. The fine was paid at the local 'council' offices and a receipt was obtained. The licence is now laminated and hung on the wall out the front of the house.

They also get visits from various 'people' offering loans for improving the business. They see a successful business and want to help the proprietors part with some of their wealth under the guise of assistance. The only 'loan' that was ever considered was the initial money that hubby put into the purchase of the first batch of stock. He claims that he still wants it back. She says she'll 'work off the loan' by giving him a free, cold beer, from time-to-time. She'll even open the bottle for him so that he doesn't strain himself.

Hubby does still work but he is no longer complaining about having to fork money over to a lazy wife and useless family (his words). His wife now has a certain degree of financial independance and, as a successful business operator, a higher standing in the local community.

The one thing that does have the locals wondering is why this girl has bothered to open a shop and work hard at building a business. Afterall, she has a farang husband and should be like all the other farang wives in the area. Living in a new mansion, dripping with gold and driving around in a new SUV.

This, to me, is a success story and I wish you and your family every luck in pursuing your own goals. It's not easy but, if you are doing something for a living that you are enjoying and not answering to a boss, can it really be considered working?

its not fair to compare an operation conducted from a familys home.

you have to judge success as if the business were paying for rent,etc. otherwise its just delusion.

Why is that so choochoo?

The family have already worked hard (rice, rubber, tapioca and sugar) in order to purchase land and build a house. The fact that they have done that already shows that they can build a successful business, from scratch. They were renting their first property and eventually purchased it. So, in your view, does that count?

But, I still need to know why the only way to judge a successful business is one that is run from a rental property?

Are you saying that all the people who own 'shop-houses' (those rows and rows of buildings that are springing up on the ourskirts of any large village and town) can not be considered as a successful business as some do not rent the premises?

I don't know anything about economics but can someone please ratify what choochoo is saying? I may be a little air-headed but I always thought the way to running a successful business was to get incoming high and outgoing low. A great way to get your outgoing low is to buy, and own, the premises.

Something that kills many businesses? Taking on too many loans when starting up and then trying to expand too quickly while still trying to pay off the principal.

Please don't lead me to believe that you are just bringing in skewed logic to perpetuate the belief system you hold when discussing the success of others.

[smotherb]

What you have to be careful of IMO, is that they don't seem to comprehend how much it has cost to take that 100B over the counter, they seem to think it is all profit or at least they made their 20B. They don't seem to be able to factor in rent, power etc, then at the end of the month they can't understand why they are short. Not all of course there are some VERY rich Thais but on average unless they own the property and are living there it doesn't seem to last long...

Good luck all the same

You, and a few others, seem to be talking about a person who has no business sense. If that were the case with my wife, I would have her take a bookkeeping course at a local university. That way, at least, she would know that expenses are deducted from revenue and be, at least, able to keep the books.