Incorporating a company in Romania is not the end of the process. It is where the real work begins.
Over the years, I have helped foreign entrepreneurs and companies establish themselves in Romania, and I have seen the same situation many times.
The company is incorporated. The documents are signed. The Romanian company number is received. Everyone is happy.
And then comes the question:
“OK… what do we do now?”
That is the moment when reality starts.
Creating a Romanian company is relatively straightforward. Making that company operational, compliant and commercially successful is something completely different.
From my experience, the first 90 days are extremely important. They are the period in which you build the foundations of your Romanian operation: banking, accounting, tax administration, employees, contracts, office infrastructure, suppliers and management.
If these things are organised properly from the beginning, the company can develop quickly. If they are not, small administrative problems can turn into expensive and time-consuming issues later.
So, what should a foreign investor actually do during those first 90 days?
Days 1–30: Get the Basics Right
During the first month, I normally advise investors to concentrate on one thing:
Get the company operational.
Having a company registered at the Trade Registry does not mean that you are ready to do business.
Open the bank account
The first practical step is to make sure the company’s bank account is fully operational.
This sounds simple, but for foreign shareholders it can sometimes take more time than expected. Banks may ask questions about the shareholders, beneficial owners, business activities and source of funds.
My advice is simple:
Do not leave banking until the last minute.
You will need the account to receive capital, pay suppliers, pay salaries and handle your normal business transactions.
Find the right accountant
The next decision I consider essential is choosing the right accountant.
I have seen foreign investors select an accountant purely because the monthly price was low. In my opinion, this is often a false economy.
Your accountant is not simply somebody who enters invoices into a system.
You need somebody who understands your business and can help you navigate Romanian accounting and tax administration.
Depending on your activities, this may include VAT, payroll, tax declarations, e-Factura, ANAF communication, SPV and management reporting.
For a foreign investor, I also consider communication extremely important.
You need to understand what is happening in your Romanian company—not simply receive a message every month telling you what you have to pay.
Set up the digital infrastructure
Romania has become increasingly digital when it comes to interaction with public authorities.
That means that a new company needs the right digital infrastructure from the beginning.
Digital signatures, SPV access, electronic invoicing, accounting software, online banking and document management all need to be organised.
One thing I always recommend is to make sure the company—not just one individual—controls its digital access.
I have seen companies become unnecessarily dependent on an accountant or employee simply because nobody else had access to an important account or digital signature.
That is something you can easily avoid.
Days 30–60: Start Building the Company
Once the basic administration is under control, I would move quickly towards the next stage:
building the actual organisation.
This is where the company starts to become more than a legal entity.
Start recruiting the right people
For many Belgian and Dutch investors, access to qualified people is one of the main reasons for choosing Romania.
Romania has a large pool of professionals in IT, engineering, finance, accounting, customer service, manufacturing, sales and many other sectors.
But recruitment should not start with:
“Let’s put an advertisement online and see who applies.”
Before recruiting, I like to define exactly what the company needs.
What will the person actually do?
Who will they report to?
What level of experience is required?
What languages do they need?
What salary and benefits package is realistic?
And, perhaps most importantly:
Why should a good Romanian professional want to work for this company?
The first employees are extremely important. They often become the people who help build the company culture and eventually train the next generation of employees.
That is why I prefer quality over quantity.
Look beyond the salary
One of the mistakes I see foreign investors make is comparing Romanian salaries with salaries in Belgium or the Netherlands and immediately concluding that Romania is “cheap.”
I don’t look at it that way.
I prefer to look at the total cost of employment versus the value created by the employee.
Salary is only one part of the equation.
You also have payroll costs, benefits, administration, office infrastructure, equipment, recruitment and management.
The real question is:
What will this employee cost my Romanian company, and what value will this person create?
That is a much better basis for making an investment decision.
Days 60–90: Turn the Company Into a Business
By the third month, I want to see the company moving from administration towards business.
This is the stage where you should start asking:
Where are our customers? Where are our revenues? And how are we going to grow?
Put the commercial contracts in place
Depending on the business, you may need contracts with customers, suppliers, consultants, employees, landlords, IT providers and other partners.
If the Romanian company is part of an international group, there may also be agreements between the Romanian company and its Belgian or Dutch parent company.
These relationships need to be properly structured.
For example, the Romanian company may provide services to the parent company, employ staff on behalf of the group, use intellectual property or receive management and administrative support.
These arrangements should be considered carefully from legal, accounting and tax perspectives.
I always prefer to establish these structures at the beginning rather than trying to repair them later.
Decide who is actually running the Romanian company
This is one of the most important questions—and one that is surprisingly often overlooked.
You may own the Romanian company from Belgium.
But who is taking care of Romania?
Who speaks to the employees?
Who deals with suppliers?
Who handles the local administration?
Who follows up with the accountant?
Who makes sure that things actually happen?
Sometimes the answer is a local managing director.
Sometimes it is an operations manager.
Sometimes it is an HR or finance professional.
And sometimes, particularly during the first months, an external local partner can provide the necessary support.
There is no single correct model.
But there must be someone responsible.
A Romanian company cannot be managed successfully from abroad simply by assuming that everything will take care of itself.
Don’t Forget HR
When the first employees arrive, the company also needs proper HR administration.
Employment contracts, employee records, working hours, holidays, absences, payroll, onboarding and internal procedures all need to be organised.
This may seem like a lot when you have only three or four employees.
But I have learned that it is much easier to establish good procedures when a company is small than to try to introduce them when you have 30, 50 or 100 employees.
Good HR is not only about administration.
It is about creating a structure in which people know what is expected of them and management knows what is happening inside the organisation.
Check the Permits and Authorisations
Another area I always tell investors to check carefully is licensing.
Not every company needs the same permits.
A software company working from an office is obviously very different from a factory, restaurant, agricultural business, logistics operation or construction company.
Your actual business activity must therefore be checked against the applicable Romanian requirements.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking:
“The company is registered, therefore I can start operating.”
Company registration and operational authorisation are not necessarily the same thing.
This is particularly important when your business involves physical premises, employees, production, food, environmental issues, fire safety or other regulated activities.
Build the First-Year Budget
After about 90 days, I expect the investor to have a much clearer picture of the Romanian operation.
At this stage, I recommend preparing a realistic 12-month budget.
I want to know:
- How many people will we employ?
- What will our total payroll cost be?
- How much will the office or premises cost?
- What equipment do we need?
- What are our accounting and administrative costs?
- When will we generate our first revenue?
- How much working capital do we need?
- When will we need additional investment?
This is where the difference between incorporating a company and building a business becomes very clear.
A company can be profitable in theory and still have cash-flow problems.
Planning the cash flow from the beginning is therefore essential.
My 90-Day Checklist
If I were helping a foreign investor establish a Romanian company today, this is the checklist I would want to see after the first three months:
Corporate
✓ Company incorporated
✓ Bank account operational
✓ Shareholder and management structure established
✓ Corporate documents properly organised
Finance & Tax
✓ Accountant appointed
✓ Accounting system operational
✓ ANAF/SPV access organised
✓ Invoicing and e-Factura processes established where applicable
✓ Tax calendar in place
HR
✓ Recruitment plan established
✓ Employment contracts prepared
✓ Payroll operational
✓ Employee administration organised
✓ HR procedures established
Operations
✓ Office or premises organised
✓ IT infrastructure operational
✓ Suppliers identified
✓ Customer and supplier contracts prepared
✓ Necessary permits and authorisations checked
Management
✓ Local responsibilities clearly defined
✓ Reporting structure established
✓ 12-month budget prepared
✓ Business development plan established
The Company Number Is Only the Beginning
This is probably the most important message I give to foreign investors.
Don’t confuse incorporation with establishment.
When you receive your Romanian company registration documents, you have created a legal entity.
You have not yet created a business.
The business comes afterwards.
You need people.
You need customers.
You need processes.
You need accounting.
You need management.
You need a working environment.
And you need somebody locally who understands how all these pieces fit together.
That is why I always look at the first 90 days as an operationalisation phase.
The objective is not simply to have a Romanian company.
The objective is to have a Romanian company that can actually do business.
From a Romanian Company to a Romanian Operation
For Belgian and Dutch SMEs, Romania can offer significant opportunities.
But successful investment is not about finding the cheapest salary or incorporating the company as quickly as possible.
It is about creating the right structure from the beginning.
In my experience, investors who prepare properly before incorporation—and then manage the first three months carefully—can avoid many of the frustrations that foreign entrepreneurs sometimes encounter.
That is also why I believe that company formation should never be treated as a stand-alone service.
Creating the company is only step one.
The real value comes from helping the investor make that company operational.
Whether that means finding the first employees, setting up HR, arranging office infrastructure, coordinating accountants, supporting management or helping establish the Romanian operation, the objective should always be the same:
Take the investor from “I have a Romanian company” to “I have a Romanian business.”
And for me, that is the real meaning of the first 90 days.
SOME INTERESTING LINKS:
My Vlog on Romania Website on investment in Romania
Vlog for entrepreneurs in Romania – subscribe please YOUTUBE CHANNEL of Freddy Jacobs
Romania’s Fiscal Changes for 2026