Business premises

What it means

A business premises, or establishment, is a place where an entrepreneur carries on a licensed trade, such as a shop, workshop, restaurant, hairdresser’s or warehouse with goods collection. A company may have several establishments, and they need not be at the same address as the registered office.

The Trade Licensing Act requires an establishment to display the business name, identification number and the name of the person in charge. Shops and consumer-facing premises must also show opening hours. The entrepreneur notifies the trade licensing office when an establishment is opened or closed.

The term does not coincide with a permanent establishment in tax law, which determines when a foreign company is liable to income tax in another country. A trade establishment is a practical place of business; a permanent establishment is a tax concept.

How it works in practice

When a client opens new premises, we prepare a checklist: notification to the trade office, a lease with a suitable permitted use, building authority approval for that use, and where relevant hygiene and fire safety. For cash sales, the eKasa till must also be registered for that location.

In the books we recommend treating each establishment as a separate cost centre. The client then sees revenue, costs and results by branch and can decide which ones pay their way. In eKasa each till is also tied to a specific address.

When premises close we remember to notify the office, deregister the till, end the lease and count the stock. Unsold stock and equipment must be sold, moved or written off so that the books do not show assets that no longer exist.

What to watch out for

Unmarked premises, or premises not notified to the office, are grounds for a fine in an inspection. Checks are carried out by trade offices, the inspectorate and tax offices, often jointly, particularly in hospitality and retail.

If a business operates in premises not approved for that use, such as a café in a space approved as an office, the activity may be prohibited. We therefore check the permitted use before the lease is signed.