How to work with Western companies NOT through the fl-exchange?

Question

Freelance

Good afternoon,
we want to enter the Western market of programming services and 3d graphics. The company is tiny - 2 people. The priority is the UK and Europe, so closer, familiar and you can, as a last resort, fly to the client. I don’t want to work through freelance exchanges for many reasons. One of them is that we plan to contact clients independently and directly, we don’t want to lead the client to the exchange immediately after the order, where there are thousands of similar services.
Therefore, the question is what are the main and convenient options for interaction for both sides?
Options that are seen now:
1) It is not a problem to create an LLC or an individual entrepreneur in the Russian Federation - there is already experience. But you need a foreign currency account at least and taxes are also quite high for legal entities. persons.
2) I had experience of working with a large Russian company under a contract of physical. faces - very comfortable from all points of view. They say there is an opportunity to work according to the same scheme and with European companies you only need a physical account. persons in a European (specifically in the EU) bank. To open it, you need to go there - but this is also, in principle, not a big problem.
3) Opening legal. individuals in the EU. Pluses - the possibility of obtaining a residence permit in some countries and the clarity of the situation for clients. Cons - high (thousands - tens of thousands of euros) expenses for opening and authorized capital and high taxes in the future.
If anyone has experience, please share, thanks in advance!

Answer 1

if you
contact customers
(solvent high-budget customers) -
everything else - it doesn’t matter
, you can start with Pioneer (there is an invoicing service)

Answer 2

I would like to comment on the answer about Slovakia and about accounts in a European country in principle
1. They climb into Europe not to facilitate banking operations or to show themselves with a better face. Those who climb there in order to enter the type of "other" markets in the future are, to put it mildly, stupid. Even opening an account in Slovakia to enter the market specifically Slovak (I hope I put it right) is stupidity. With the same success, a person can go as an individual, open a bank account for himself and, through agreements, accept money for commercial orders.
2. Slovakia as a country is the second category. This means that for a UK company it means like an African country (third world). That is, there will be no difference for the UK between Slovakia and Nigeria, for the sender of additional concern. Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are the countries through which gray money is still being driven and offshore companies are being set up; and they are satisfied for the most part by Russian people.
3. You, as a citizen of Russia, will be obliged in any case to pay taxes (13) and show our tax information on accounts here in Russia. And if you work with countries from the FATF list, then the control will be even worse than our accounting.
Now on to your points.
1. The item is the most suitable for you. A good bank with its own (its own correspondent accounts, its own currency control and transit points. There are not many such banks, for example AB, Raiff) will be much more pleasant for someone who pays from Europe than accounts in many European countries. Secondly, being a resident of Russia and being on a general (not simplified) basis, you can pay taxes to zero, having a good accountant. Own car for rent, tax 18%. You live on the money of the company, as many do - and receive refunds for the entire tax base.
I do not comment on the second point, but the third with joy. By having a white Russian company with a tax history, you can get a residence permit much easier, cheaper and with a greater guarantee. For example, for the USA, this is an L1 category visa (departure to build a branch). And if you want a direct foreign account, then it is better to do it in the USA and UK through a branch. The branch owns the company, no leftist - everything is transparent to everyone.
ADD:
I don't know why everyone is afraid of taxes. I have a company and we have calculated for the year, if I do not live on the money of the company, then from the profit of ~ 20%. That 20 has an accountant's money in it. If we calculate how many more refunds I made, for renting a car, for purchased products like "to the office", for repairing a car. That will be God forbid 10%
ADD:
By the way, for those who are for Europe, just think about the fact that money is sent between European countries using the same SWIFT. Because what's the difference for the Italian customer: Send money to Russia or England. It was not in vain that I put England and Russia on the same line. Russia, so, between us girls - was not and is not included in the list of countries where money is washed. We are not an untrusted financial outlet, which is Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia or Egypt (they generally burned the tax office there) (:

Answer 3

We are now opening a sole proprietorship in Slovakia (still part of the EU). Themselves from Ukraine, the second one has a residence permit there.
It took 4,000 on a personal account to open it (put it, made an IP - took it). The cost comes out to about 600 euros for everything about everything. But there are a couple of snags for non-residents of the country. BUT they are all small things, we did not have any difficulties. One BUT, before the end of the year (LIKELY, regardless of the date of registration of the IP), you need to show an income of 4,000 euros, and, accordingly, taxes paid from them.
Since there are friends there, they said that you can bill yourself, pay, and pay taxes on them. They say taxes have been paid, but the fact that we did something to ourselves - well, these are our cockroaches, no one will say anything.
Regarding work contracts, specifically in the same Slovakia, without an invoice, which can only be provided by an individual entrepreneur, no one can do anything. You can't even sell a laptop there until you make a deal. Because then they ask. Something like this.

Answer 4

But you need a foreign currency account at least and taxes are also quite high for legal entities. persons.

Opening a currency account is no more difficult than a ruble account, and taxes are incredibly high, as much as 6% of income.