How to start a small business in Vienna

Two months ago, I was sitting in the waiting room of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, holding my ticket (number 016), patiently waiting to open my photography business. It is true - this step only takes a couple of minutes, after you have prepared yourself and you have the necessary documentation. At 10:18 I was just a random person, but when I left the building at 11:00, I was a member of WKO, a photograph, a business owner. It was surreal.

Preparing for this moment, however, took way, way longer time. And mind you - what I registered for is just the very basic entry level of starting your own business in Austria. This post is directed to other creative people like myself and was inspired by a friend of mine, who is also preparing to enter the scene with his own artistic project. I decided, instead of spamming him with all the leaflets, workshop presentations and insights that I have been sending him, I could just summarise it here for anyone, who might be interested. Also, I will be sharing my personal experience, which is just one of many ways to go about it. But my counsellor said I was prepared better than everyone, so take his on the topic of my credibility.

Preparation Phase

For me, it was building my portfolio, attending online seminars and connecting to people with similar experience, who have already registered themselves. The most important thing to know about the rules of registration in Austria is finding out whether you need special certification in order to practise a profession. For example, since 2023, photography is free trade (freie Gewerbe), but makeup artistry is not (reglamentierte Gewerbe). This leads to the paradox where I am able to register as a photographer, without having an official recognition in the form of a certificate, but I am not able to work as a make-up artist, although I am a certified one, with years of experience (in another EU country). Keep that in mind and check whether your idea falls under the free or the regulated trade rules.

A year before I registered, I started building my portfolio as a photographer. When I got confident enough to think of registering a business, I signed up for the free webinars and seminars, offered by both the Vienna Chamber of Commerce (WKO) and the Vienna Business Agency (Wirtschaftsagentur). I highly recommend you do the same: the online events give you the opportunity to understand what you're up against in detail, which is very important, especially when it comes to taxes, and the events that are offered in person is a good opportunity for networking and meeting other people with interesting ideas.

There are very useful brochures and presentations that will be given to you after the events - I suggest you find the time to read them through and highlight the information, relevant to your case.

To summarise it in fewer words: prepare your product and start educating yourself on the bureaucratic side of the business.

Also, if you know someone in the same boat, ask them for advice. I reached out to a photographer in Vienna I know and she gave me many good ideas. It also serves as a confirmation of the things you've learned so far - I already had an idea about working with VAT and needing a tax advisor, but it was nice to know I understand the rules of the game correctly.

Registering

The Vienna Chamber of Commerce really makes it easy for people to register their own business. Not only do they provide multiple webinars on every topic, but you could also schedule a personal appointment to discuss your unique idea in specifics. The appointment lasts an hour and as far as my experience goes, it was an encouraging and a positive experience.

For the registration itself, you don't need much. If you are an EU citizen and have lived in Vienna for the past five years, an ID is everything you need (I am not able to explain the face of counsellor when I took out my folder with all documents that a living being collects throughout their whole life and asked what he needed - it was a combination of utter shock and amusement at once: gut vorbereitet, once again).

If you, however, have moved to Austria recently, you will need a proof that you are not prosecuted in the country where you have lived in the past five years, prior to moving here, translated in German.

The first question that you will be asked is whether you want to open the business as main or secondary occupation. It is a question that is crucial to your social insurance status.

As a self-employed person, you are generally insured with the SVS and must pay contributions for pension, health, and accident insurance.

If your annual revenue and profit remain below certain legal thresholds, you may apply for an exemption from pension and health insurance. Accident insurance remains mandatory in all cases.

This is something you could discuss in details with your counsellor, but in case you have already attended the webinars on the subjects, you would already have an idea of what the best course of action for you would be.

Something very important to underline here is that the term Kleinunternehmer is used both by the SVS and by the tax office (Finanzamt), but these are two completely different things.

If you are recognised by the SVS as a Kleinunternehmer (only available for sole traders), this concerns the social insurance contributions you pay to the SVS. Under certain income thresholds, you may apply for an exemption from pension and health insurance.

The Kleinunternehmerregelung at the tax office (Finanzamt), on the other hand, relates to VAT. It determines whether you charge VAT on your invoices. If you choose to opt out of the small-business VAT exemption and register for VAT, that decision is legally binding for five years.

Things to consider prior your appointment: if you are registering at your own address and you don't own the property, you need to have a written approval from your landlord. There are also many other details that concern the logistics of bigger businesses, but I cannot provide much information on this topic. The WKO leaflets do go into details, so I recommend you get one and read it carefully (Einfach machen. Leitfaden zur Gründung 2026).

After registration

Five minutes after you provide your information at the registration point, you can go out of the building, already a business owner. It's a bit surreal, but it's a nice feeling.

There are two important things that follow:

First, you need to wait for your SVS letter which is a confirmation that you are now insured by them, but you still need to send them some additional information in a form (basically your name and bank account). You are prompted to install the SVSGo app which gives you freedom to send documents and keep track of your payments. It works well and fast.

And then you receive your letter for payment, which by default is quarterly payment, 180 euro a month. There is an option to schedule monthly payments, but it's not something you can easily adjust yourself online or on the phone with client service - you need to send them another application.

Second, but in a way more important, is that you need to inform Finanzamt that you are a business owner now. They already know it, of course, because a week after you register, you will get the Verf-24 form (or whichever is applicable to you) in your mailbox in Finanzonline. You can fill that in and send it to them or you could also change your information in your profile in Finanzamt. If you are not able to do that, I highly suggest you just send them the form with a copy of your ID, because I personally have nothing nice to say about the in-person reception at their office in Landstraße. After you've achieved that, you get your tax ID number (Steuernummer) and you're ready to go.

Very important thing to decide before you fill in the form: are you willing to work with VAT, or not. Keep in mind that if you do, you are legally obliged to use VAT for five years.

Another letter of importance that you receive almost immediately after registration is your official business confirmation, issued by the municipality where the business is operation in. There you find your GISA Number.

Once you are registered, you are immediately and automatically assigned to you professional guild. In my case - Vienna Guild of Professional Photographers. Keep in mind that you will soon receive a letter with a payment slip for your yearly contributions that are non-negotiable.

Other things you will receive are many marketing materials and letters with offers for business owners (banks, shops, etc.). You start receiving the Wiener Wirtschaft newspaper and if you are a woman, you also receive the Frauen in der Wirtschaft magazine. Those are all physical mail. Your e-mail will also be receiving a lot of newsletters and mails.

I find it nice to spend a bit of time on your WKO profile where you also receive important mail, and you can also have your business page on the WKO website (Businesses from A to Z) connected.

To sum everything all up: registering is easy and fast, then you spend a good amount of time perfecting the communication with institutions and reading through all the information. In the meantime, you have to pay things, so hopefully you also start earning as well. Probably not, though - you need to be prepared for loss during the first few months. Emotionally and financially.

One last tip: if you can, schedule an appointment with a tax advisor so that you can understand the invoices that you have to issue and how invoicing and book keeping works in general.

A lot more goes into this topic, so if you feel curious and have something to ask or share, please feel free to start a discussion in the comments!

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NIB & Ember