Cheapest way to start a one-person business
Get GST, MSME and Shop & Establishment licenses to operate as a proprietor.
Overview
Sole Proprietorship is the simplest and cheapest legal structure in India — the owner and the business are legally the same person. There's no separate registration with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (because there's no separate company), no audit obligation under ₹1 crore turnover, no annual ROC filing, and no nominee paperwork. About 80% of India's unregistered MSMEs operate as sole proprietorships, making it the default starting point for freelancers, kirana stores, single-clinic doctors, tutors, salons, food kiosks, e-commerce side hustles and home-based businesses.
Although MCA registration isn't required, a sole proprietorship still needs to obtain identity through registrations like GST (if turnover > ₹40 lakh for goods / ₹20 lakh for services), MSME / Udyam (free, recommended for everyone), Shops & Establishment Act licence (state-specific, mandatory in most states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu), professional tax (in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka), and a current bank account in the firm's trade name. Without these, you can't issue formal invoices, raise GST invoices, or open a current account in the business's name.
RegisterEase packages all of this into one fast onboarding. Our ₹1,999 Starter includes MSME / Udyam registration + GST registration + current-account-opening assistance with HDFC / ICICI / Axis. Our ₹2,999 Pro adds the Shops & Establishment Act licence (state-specific), basic profession-tax registration, GST e-invoicing setup, and a free trade-name search to ensure no trademark conflict. Average end-to-end onboarding: 5–7 days.
Tax treatment is the biggest tradeoff vs Pvt Ltd / LLP. As a proprietor, your business income is your personal income taxed at slabs up to 30% (+4% cess +10–37% surcharge for high earners). A Pvt Ltd pays only 22% corporate tax (25% if turnover < ₹400 cr). For a freelance designer earning ₹15 lakh/year, sole proprietorship works fine; for a SaaS founder approaching ₹50 lakh+ revenue, converting to Pvt Ltd or LLP saves ₹3–4 lakh in taxes annually. Our compliance team flags the right time to upgrade.
Sole Proprietorship suits you if: you're testing a side hustle, your annual income will stay under ₹15 lakh for 1–2 years, you don't plan to raise external capital, you're a solo professional (consultant / freelancer / coach), you sell online through Amazon / Flipkart / Etsy / Instagram, or you want zero monthly compliance overhead. It doesn't suit you if: you'll have co-founders (use LLP / Pvt Ltd), you want VC funding, you need limited-liability protection, or you'll deal with high-value B2B contracts where Pvt Ltd has more credibility.
Know exactly where your money goes. We charge zero markup on government fees.
Indicative split of Basic plan — govt fees are at actuals and included transparently.
You pay government fees at actuals — zero markup.
Benefits
Start operating in 3–5 days.
No ROC filings; just income tax.
100% ownership and profits.
Taxed as individual income — up to 30% slab.
Trust, in plain English
RegisterEase follows Google's helpful, people-first content guidance — transparent authorship, transparent process, transparent purpose.
This sole proprietorship registration page is written and reviewed by practising Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries and Advocates on the RegisterEase editorial panel. Every guide is fact-checked against MCA, GSTN, CBDT and IPO primary sources before publishing, and re-verified after each Ministry notification or Union Budget update.
You submit documents once. A verified expert is assigned inside 24 hours, drafts every form, files with the concerned authority (Start Business), and posts progress into your 9-stage tracker. Government fees are pass-through at actuals — you can see line-item receipts in your dashboard.
Indian founders lose 40+ hours a year chasing consultants, portal errors and missing acknowledgements. RegisterEase exists to compress that into a single transparent workflow — one dashboard, one invoice, verified experts, and a money-back guarantee if we miss the committed timeline. No hidden charges, no lock-ins, no reselling.
Why RegisterEase
12,000+ founders trust us. Here's what makes the difference for Sole Proprietorship Registration:
Ready to start?
Free expert call · Govt fees pass-through · Money-back guarantee.
How it works
Approximate days per step (parallelized execution). Timeline breakdown is shown below.
Identify licenses needed for your business.
GST, MSME, S&E as applicable.
Open bank current account.
Total turnaround
3–5 working days
A dedicated expert handles every step — you just share documents and track progress.
Compare
| Feature | Proprietorship | LLP | Pvt Ltd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Min owners | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Limited liability | No (unlimited) | Yes | Yes |
| MCA registration | No | Yes | Yes |
| Annual compliance | Just ITR + GST | Form 8 + 11 + ITR | MGT-7 + AOC-4 + audit |
| Compliance cost / yr | ₹2K–₹5K | ₹8K–₹12K | ₹15K–₹25K |
| Tax rate | Personal slabs (up to 30%) | 30% flat | 22% corporate |
| VC-fundable | No | Limited | Yes |
| Audit threshold | ₹1 crore turnover | ₹40 lakh contribution / ₹40L turnover | Always (statutory) |
Cost of non-compliance
Skipping Sole Proprietorship Registration or filing late triggers automatic penalties. Many founders learn this only when MCA blocks their next venture.
Pricing
Transparent pricing. No hidden fees. Govt fee included.
Pay only 30% today to lock in your plan. We draft everything; you review and pay the balance before final filing.
GST Registration — perfect for solo founders going live.
Pay only 30% today, balance after draft
Pay 30% today (₹390), balance after draft
Proprietorship + GST — the complete business kick-off.
Pay only 30% today, balance after draft
Pay 30% today (₹1,500), balance after draft
Complete proprietorship setup with compliance starter kit.
Pay only 30% today, balance after draft
Pay 30% today (₹2,400), balance after draft
We prepare every document for your proprietorship registration. You review each draft, request changes, and only after your approval do you pay the remaining 70% — right before final submission.
Note: Government registration fees and any add-on charges (if applicable) will be communicated before processing. No hidden charges.
Customer Reviews
Real reviews from 18+ verified founders who registered their Private Limited Company with RegisterEase. From Mumbai to Guwahati, Kolkata to Kochi.
I was honestly tired of agents asking ₹15-20k upfront with no clarity. Paid only ₹2,499 on RegisterEase, my draft MoA and AoA were ready on day 4, and they explained every clause before submitting SPICe+. Incorporation certificate landed on day 16. The transparent state-wise stamp duty calculator was the deciding factor for me.
My co-founder is in Singapore so we needed help with the Apostille for his director documents. The relationship manager handled the entire foreign-director workflow without us chasing. DIN, DSC and PAN/TAN all came together. Will recommend to every founder I meet.
Other portals quoted me ₹9,500 'all-inclusive' and then asked extra for AoA stamp duty. Here the calculator showed me Tamil Nadu stamp duty (₹520) upfront. Final cost matched the quote to the rupee. That's rare in this industry.
Whole process was clean — got name approval in 5 days, MoA review email arrived as promised. The eMudhra DSC was slightly delayed because of the video KYC re-attempt, but support called and resolved it the same evening. 4 stars only because of that one delay, otherwise easily 5.
Stamp duty in Gujarat is on the higher side because of the AoA percentage rule. Their team explained it patiently and even suggested keeping authorised capital at ₹1 lakh to save ~₹2,500. Tiny advice that mattered. Got my COI within 19 days end-to-end.
What sold me was that I paid ₹1,499 upfront and reviewed all the drafts before paying the balance. I made 2 changes to the MoA object clause and they redid it without complaining. This is how every legal service should work.
We are a D2C apparel brand and needed a watertight object clause covering both manufacturing and marketplace sales. The CA spent a full 25 minute call with me drafting it. Two MCA queries were resolved by their team without me even knowing. Incorporation certificate landed in 18 days.
Pro plan was worth the extra ₹1,000. They verified all my docs the same evening I uploaded. Telangana stamp duty was correctly calculated (we have the 0.15% AoA rule). MSME certificate also done as part of the package. Highly professional outfit.
I had zero idea about MCA, SPICe+, INC-32 — all of it. Their executive walked me through every form on a screen-share call. Even helped me pick the right NIC code for my consultancy business. Got the COI in 22 days. Thank you team!
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