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What's the best place to incorporate an online business?

 

by @octave 8yr  | 63 comments

I have an commerce website. We get around 1000 orders per month and this is going to get quite a bit bigger in next few years.

I am British. I live in Thailand.
Im not allowed to majority own a Thai business and small foreign entrepreneurs are not really welcome. So i need an offshore company.

I need PayPal and an ecommerce internet merchant account. Also looking at alternatives like worldpay. 2checkout etc

Does PayPal need me to be a resident to the country i register my account to? Are there complications being a non resident to get other payment solutions?

Apparently in Hong Kong you need 2 years trading history to get an Internet Mechant Account and they generally turn their noses up at those with less than $1m(us) a year turn over. Singapore seems a bit easier.

I really want to avoid paperwork and book keeping. I hate it.

So i was looking at Seychelles, Panama, BVI, Belize.

Does anyone have experience with payment providers in these countries?

Most nomads i see donโ€™t really have a high volume of small monthly transactions which i do. Im going around in circles and donโ€™t know where to start.

Ill also need a bank account for business and a personal bank account to pay my salary into

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@manyluv0 5yr

Just a tip guys: to avoid dividend withholding taxes where you want to pay yourself a share of a profit, donโ€™t pay them as dividends. Give yourself royalties and interests, instead, they are tax-free or at the lowest bracket almost in every jurisdiction. Basically you should lend money to your company as a loan and the company would refund the loan paying interests (the profit you want to pay yourself). And/or instead of selling your product, license it, so the royalites would be not taxed as dividends but almost tax-free. Talk with your accountant for details explaining this scheme. Tons of companies legally reduce their tax burden (Apple, Amazon, but also smaller businesses) this way. You donโ€™t have to sell software, a design, or a plugin (this only is doable with IP products, digital or media) but you licens it to your company and your company license it to customers. When you buy tunes on Itunes they are not yours, in fact: legally youโ€™re renting them. Your son wonโ€™t be able to inherit them, as they are owned (still) by Apple.

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@nouk 8yr

USA, if Trump is the new US president

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@karenchen 8yr

I would stronly recommend Hong Kong due to its simple and low tax system. Maximum corporate profit tax rate of 16.5% (in some cases, can be as low as zero). No VAT; no sales tax. Very simple and flexible business environment. No need to hire staff or rent office here as all back office works of your HK company can be supported by local service providers. Many foreign businesses (small or large) find it extremely beneficial (both from a financial and operational perspective) to use their own HK company as a hub to conduct its international business.

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@busdriver 8yr

@international_man / why set up a LLP in UK instead of LLC in USA:

  • itโ€™s a 1-2 day process
  • I am in the UK
  • a service provider would only charge $100

At least 3 good reasons to check details regards a UK LLP

Just sad it would not work for Octave1 as he is British. So for him it would be a LLC in the US than.
(Or a LTD in HK, I just made one last year with not any problems.)

For LLC in USA: I can hardly imagine that the US tax authorities would give one no hard time. Itโ€™s one of the worse countries. I hear in HK you can get away with things I would never dream of. I never hear that about the USโ€ฆ

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I think you need to be thinking longer term and looking for a structure that best suits your needs and your lifestyle. Quick and cheap shouldnโ€™t really factor into the equation.

In Hong Kong you need to file audited financials yearly. The so called 0% tax setup that a few people parrot in these parts still requires you jumping through hoops every year with the IRD. Additional cost and headache and not worth it.

Iโ€™ve never seen any real issues dealing with the IRS - thatโ€™s not to say that it doesnโ€™t happen - but you structure things so that should anything occur youโ€™re insulated. The main reason why I like the US setup, is access to merchant facilities. The LLC just acts as a payment processor and the bulk of the funds are wired offshore every couple of weeks. The US can be a very tax-efficient structure for foreigners.

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@busdriver 8yr

Yes, I am looking at the LLC too. I have made good experience with HK LTD in terms of โ€œtax freeโ€ but we do have local connections there, which does make it easier.
I mean Delaware LLC has been an instrument for ages, sureโ€ฆ
Just there is the need of a PayPal account for that company. So the US LLC would have to have a US bank account and an EIN for that matter. That seems to be a bit of a problem. The big players in company formation do not offer US bank accounts. They rather offer HK or UK.

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Hey @international_man could you please tell what offshore company/location are using to wire funds form US LLC ?

Thanks!

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Iโ€™m using a Marshall Islands company with Banking in Singapore.

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@busdriver 8yr

I think than you can only go for Labuan and opt to pay 20ooo MYR per year (around US$5000) in taxes. Set up is probably US$ 3000 plus travel costs.
See Does anybody have experience with setting up an offshore company and bank account in Labuan (Malaysia) for details.
An LLC would be the less pricy option. You would never spend $5000 for bookkeeping per year if you outsource that to India, as long as you donโ€™t have too many transactions.

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@busdriver 8yr

@octave1 / bank account opening: I would not mind too much about that. I opened private accounts in the US, the UK, HK a couple of years ago and they did not ask anything about my past. Same for business bank accounts in HK 1 or 2 years ago. Just look presentable :wink:
Usually you have to expect that you have to travel to the country where you want to open a bank account. But you could check with HSBC, they offer remote bank account opening in some way (I donโ€™t know details). Where are you? Is there an HSBC branch?

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@busdriver 8yr

UAE: I am not sure how quick it is. I feel there will be reasons for delays. Itโ€™s not an offshore entity what you need, you would need one with trade license in a free zone (because of PayPal). I am not sure about the total costs (but > 10000 USD because of licensing) and if there would be no auditing/bookkeeping required.
I think they do need a bank reference and background info about you. But I think they are not too fussy. I remember they allowed a designer to open a business in Dubai who was a convicted criminal in the USA (check fraud with jail time).
I think you should first check if UAE gives you what you want.
I decided against it, mainly because many set-up agents did not tell me about the special requirements PayPal has (they should know). I think I donโ€™t like that attitude, same with โ€œno taxโ€ but in fact they have many fees and requirements (like renting an office).
It just does not feel right.
Setting up a company in UK or HK is easy and straight forward (but requires bookkeeping if you want to keep it legally ok).
I currently have a good feeling about Labuan (MY). And it seems to be a less pricy option too.

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Why not - like @StewartPatton has suggested - setup an onshore US LLC, owned by an offshore company? Yes, there are annual accounts to prepare (for the US side), but the hassle involved isnโ€™t a great deal (no where near as bad as HK) and you get access to all the great merchant facilities in the US (Stripe, Paypal etc)โ€ฆ

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@octave 8yr

Is that $10000 once off? What about yearly fees?

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Iโ€™ve setup such a structure in the past for about $2000. Annual renewal was about $1000 all up. Canโ€™t remember what the accounting cost me (US side), but it wasnโ€™t much at all.

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@octave 8yr

You had to travel to USA to do that?

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@busdriver 8yr

@international_man: $2000 set up costs would be a LLC in the USA?
I think same applies for a LLP in UK, just the setup costs should be lower. UK is roughly the most easy place to open a LTD (I remember service providers from less than ยฃ100), so I guess same applies for an LLP.
And an LLP needs two partners (can be companies).
But both require bookkeeping to keep it legal.
Otherwise the company will only exist for 1-2 years, maybe 3 โ€ฆ

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Correct (total, for the onshore + offshore component). Similar structure to what @StewartPatton recommended. Sure, you could setup in UK, but I donโ€™t really know why youโ€™d want to.

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No. All remote. The only time (from my experience) youโ€™ll have to travel there is to setup the first wire payment (that canโ€™t be done remotely I believe).

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@octave 8yr

So basically there would be no sales tax. No corporation tax and no salary or dividend taxis to me. This is all OK proving I am not a USA citizen and I donโ€™t live in the USA. All this available with a regular USA llc company? Any preference to what state I should set up in? And can anyone recommend an accountant or agent in usa to help me incorporate or give paid impartial adevice?

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I think you need to speak with either @StewartPatton or @FlagTheory โ€“ theyโ€™re the experts and can advise accordingly.

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@busdriver 8yr

Did you think of like a budget for set up and also annually? UAE could work but at set up costs of more than 10,000 USD.
There seems to be an option in Labuan at either 3% tax and auditing or 20000 MYR (around 5000 USD) per year but without auditing (both option seems work with PayPal).
Hong Kong would need auditing but would cost less than USD 2000 I guess (including some outsourced bookkeeping).
I totally get you if you say you donโ€™t want to do any bookkeeping, but it might be the cheaper option.

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@octave 8yr

10000 use for uae works. Can I just go there and set it all up quickly I have no trading history and have been on the road for many years and have no real references or resume

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@busdriver 8yr

@octave1: if you want to avoid paperwork (meaning no auditing) but still have PayPal there are not many options (not UK, not HK).
I found UAE (RAK offshore company), but than you would not have PayPal, because PayPal would require your company to have a trade license (meaning set up costs more than $10,000). At that point I did not double-check on the auditingโ€ฆ

Does anyone know an offshore option without auditing but with PayPal?

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@octave 8yr

Exactly I want no auditing but with paypal

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you could check Gibraltar for this purposes.

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You could organize a US LLC and then open an account at a US bank. As long as you donโ€™t have employees or dependent agents on the ground in the US who operate your business, you wonโ€™t be subject to US tax.

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@nouk 8yr

Hi @StewartPatton
But every single US companies that have income from US residents is liable to US corporate tax, isnโ€™t it?

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Hi @nouk. No, thatโ€™s not how it works. Instead, it works pretty much like in the UK (as mentioned above).

An LLC with a single member is simply treated as not existing at all for US tax purposes. Its assets and activities are treated as those of the member.

A non-US person is only subject to US tax on business income if theyโ€™re โ€œengaged in a trade or business in the US,โ€ which requires them to have at least one employee or dependent agent on the ground in the US running the business.

So, if a non-US person does an Amazon FBA business (for example) through a single-member LLC, and theyโ€™re the only one working in the business, thereโ€™s no US tax payable.

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Hi @StewartPatton! Thanks for details, but what is considered as โ€œdependent agent on the ground in the US running the business ?โ€ If you are running Amazon FBA and sell in US basically you are engaged with in trade and you have to pay tax income you earned from sales even if it is single member LLC.

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Hi @Denis_Dovgal.

Hereโ€™s an article with more details on how this works: http://ustax.bz/non-us-entrepreneurs/

A dependent agent is basically a person who works mainly for you (whether as an employee or independent contractor).

Your second sentence is a common misconceptionโ€“itโ€™s simply not true. The article above goes into detail to explain how this all really works.

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@StewartPatton thanks for the link. Now that make sense.

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@octave 8yr

How easy is it to do that from overseas? Opening the company and bank account. What kind of ID and documents do I need. Iโ€™ve essentially had no fixed abode or regular income for 10 years

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@nouk 8yr

The kaspar_korjus response cannot be taken into account as he was the head of Estonian E-residency programme. His opinion is biased. I would not recommend Estonia as its tax on distributed profit is 20%. So if you have an online business, you donโ€™t have many expenses and when you want to pay yourself through dividends, you have to pay 20% of tax.

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@kfk 8yr

Have you checked

?

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@kaspar 8yr

fyi Estonian e-Residency was done just for that purpose. You should check that out e-resident.gov.ee.

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@octave 8yr

Does anyone have experience with using a paypal account registered in Belize? Im not talking about a US paypal account linked to Belize. Just a paypal account where you go and sign up putting your address in Belize and link to Belize business business bank account. Can it be used to send and receive money? Or perhaps send only? Lots of conflicting information about it mostly seems to be by Americans trying to link their US PayPal account. I donโ€™t have a paypal account i might want to set one up directly in Belize. Just exploring all avenues. I found this company http://www.belizecompanies.com which is owned by Belize Bank I think and they offer Internet Merchant Accounts too which is smoothing i also need for direct payments

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@nomadtax 8yr

Probably not what you were expecting but Iโ€™d recommend the UK. A properly structured UK LLP can allow you to run pretty much tax-free but with the convenience and reputation that comes with a UK entity. Itโ€™s also quite cheap to setup and you can use Stripe to process payments (or other low-cost UK processors). You can bank with Barclays, Metrobank etc, get a business credit card etc.

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Iโ€™d love to learn more about what you mean by tax-free and based in the UK. Cheers

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@nomadtax 8yr

A UK LLP is a pass-through entity. This means that the tax burden of the company is pass on to its owners. In the event where it doesnโ€™t conduct business in the UK and its members arenโ€™t UK residents, no taxes will be owed in the UK.

Essentially, if all members (shareholders) reside in tax havens or territorial taxation countries (Hong Kong, Singapore, Panama etc), it is possible for the company to operate with a 0% effective tax rate.

Thatโ€™s pretty damn good considering that it can still benefit from UK banking, payment processing, reputation etc.

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@mjholmes 8yr

Interesting! What if you donโ€™t reside in a tax haven? Iโ€™m from UK but have been in Thailand / Malaysia for 3 years now.

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@nomadtax 8yr

Malaysia is a tax haven, Thailand isnโ€™t however. To answer your question, the company would still be tax exempt in the UK but you would likely be taxed on your share of its profits in your country of residency.

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@busdriver 8yr

@nomadtax: with Malaysia, you refer to Labuan (for company set-up)?
Or foreigners can have tax-free income from abroad?

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@busdriver 8yr

The biggest issue was that PayPal does not like the common offshore jurisdictions.
A Hong Kong limited can have PayPal without problems.

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@nomadtax 8yr

Locals and foreigner alike. Malaysia (the whole country) has a territorial taxation system that works in a similar way to that of Singapore.

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Fascinating. I take it that this is not possible for UK residents?

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@nomadtax 8yr

Itโ€™s possible to register a UK LLP as a resident but it wonโ€™t benefit from the tax exemption.

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@octave 8yr

Iโ€™ve seen 2 accountants. All say a uk llp has to pay UK corporation tax and VAT if over 83k turnover. Thereโ€™s no way to avoid it makes.no difference where directors staff or shareholders live. So the information given here is false

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@nomadtax 8yr

Non-resident partners are only liable to tax on:
โ€ข profits that arise in the UK, although a corporate non-resident partner
will be liable on overseas profits which relate to a UK permanent
establishment, and
โ€ข their share of partnership investment income, to the extent that it
arises in the UK, although a corporate non-resident partner should
return its share of overseas investment income which relates to a UK
permanent establishment.

https://www.gov.uk/government/forum/uploads/system/forum/uploads/attachment_data/file/323787/hs380.pdf

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Thanks for sharing this and all the other information.
Iโ€™m actually about to incorporate an LLP. None of the partners is a UK resident.
Iโ€™m looking for an accountant/firm that will ensure the simple (I think) reporting that will be needed.
Do you think you can help? Or you could point me in some direction?

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@nomadtax 8yr

Hi Mario,

You can actually register the LLP yourself. Itโ€™s easy and cheap.
https://www.gov.uk/set-up-and-run-limited-liability-partnership/register-your-llp

As for compliance, you could hire an accountant in the UK on a freelance basis to help you get started. Compliance is easy in the UK for a small business and itโ€™s even easier for an LLP (if there is no UK income you barely have anything to do).

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@octave 8yr

Iโ€™ve been told by two different accountants this is not true and all income is taxable regardless of where customers and partner is located

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@nomadtax 8yr

If I were you, Iโ€™d fire those accountants. You can clearly see here, on the UK Gov website that you only need to pay VAT on UK sales. If you sell to other EU countries, you need to collect the VAT for those countries (and send it to the respective countries using the EU one-stop-shop). Thatโ€™s true regardless of where your business is registered.

In other words. A UK LLP selling to UK customers will pay UK VAT. A UK LLP selling to French customers will pay French VAT. A UK LLP selling to US customers will not pay any VAT.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-exports-dispatches-and-supplying-goods-abroad

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@octave 8yr

You only need to collect vat for those eu countries if you are above their distance selling thresholds per country. If you sell electronic products thereโ€™s no threshold. Non eu businesses selling non electronic products to the UK are not liable to EU vat

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@nomadtax 8yr

Yes that goes without saying. As for non-EU businesses, even those selling VAT-applicable services to consumers rarely, if ever, pay VAT. The EU has just no way to enforce their rules internationally.

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@octave 8yr

But if you are outside of eu the thresholds donโ€™t apply I understand? Iโ€™m selling non electronic goods. Probably best for me.based in usa . Iโ€™m buying from eu suppliers who charge me vat. My customers order the same products from me (Iโ€™m Middle man) The suppliers are local to EU country and deliver products locally. I donโ€™t want to charge then vat abs get caught up in the whole one stop vat stuff. In case you hadnโ€™t guessed Iโ€™m a relay agent for flower bouquet delivery. To complicate things further the people who order flowers are never the recipients (sending gifts) and often the person who orders is in a different countries to recipient. Was a great business before all this country of supply beaded vat stuff in the eu. Thanks for nothing amazon

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@nomadtax 8yr

Itโ€™s not that they donโ€™t apply, itโ€™s that itโ€™s impossible for the EU to enforce them. In your case though youโ€™ll probably have to pay VAT. You are selling physical products, this makes things a lot more complicated.

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Hi @nomadtax,
yes, you are right.
I kept researching and found an accountant. Compliance will take a few hours of work per year. With UK revenue there will be a little more work involved but really simple anyway.
Itโ€™s a really good set up.
Thanks again.

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@nomadtax 8yr

For the VAT, it only applies to UK sales. Sales to non-UK customers do not incur any VAT in the UK.

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@flipchan 5yr

You are still required by law to pay the VAT if you issue invoices from the UK company

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@octave 8yr

UK LLP is exempt from VAT?

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@nomadtax 8yr

The UK LLP is exempt from paying UK VAT if it doesnโ€™t do business in the UK. It isnโ€™t exempt from paying VAT or other relevant taxes in other countries if applicable.

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@bluegod 8yr

Is there anything like a LLP in the UK with just one member? From what I know you need at least 2 for a UK LLPโ€ฆ

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@nomadtax 8yr

You can use another company (that you own) as the partner and that company can be registered in a tax haven.

Otherwise there is the normal Ltd entity but itโ€™s not as convenient tax-wise.

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Read and participate in 14,117 discussions on Nomad List

Suggested topics

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Holร  ! What's the internet / wifi situation in Sayulita ?


in Puerto Escondido , Mexico by @ambroisedebret 3yr 3 years ago  | 0 comments

After being told it's unworkable in Puerto Escondido, looking for alternatives :)

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What's the best thing to do with your phone/ your phone number when travelling?


in Poland by @davda1546 4yr 4 years ago  | 6 comments

Hey, hope everyone is well!

We're leaving in a month to go travelling. Our first destination is still to be confirmed, but will likely be Poland or Slovakia. We will be moving around every month or two to different destinations.

The question we have is: what do people do with phones/ phone numbers when hopping from country to country? Ideally we'd just like one number for the whole trip (even better, the number we already have) wherever we go, rather than getting new SIMs with different numbers.

This is just so it's easier to keep in contact with family/ clients/ etc.

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What is the best online insurance for digital nomads ?


by @berberos 4yr 4 years ago  | 4 comments

Hi guys ! hope you are doing well.

I would love to get your feedback regarding the best insurance for digital nomads. i'm traveling around Asia since 1 year and for next 4 or 5 years. Would love to buy an insurance to cover especially :

- health

- laptop, phone ...

- Flights

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What's the best SIM card you can get for traveling to Spain?


in Spain by @gabygarreau 4yr 4 years ago  | 3 comments

Hi! I want to relocate to Spain and I was wondering if someone can recommend a SIM card with a good data package.

Thanks

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Central America - Where and what's next?


by @as11 4yr 4 years ago  | 11 comments

Currently in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and heading to Santa Teressa, Costa Rica next week.
Then Aruba in the Caribbean Sea for Christmas and New Year.

However I feel I want to head back to Central America to bring living costs down, rather than staying in the Caribbean Sea among the expensive Islands.

This means I have around 2 - 2,5 month of unplanned travelling.
Any digital nomads who have ideas about where to head in that timeframe?

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What's the first step now that I can work remotely?


by @mariaplslourdes 5yr 5 years ago  | 4 comments

Hi everyone and nice to e-meet you!
finally, after so long I found a job that allows me to work remotely.
But now? Do you have any practical advice that I can use to approach this new world?
In particular, I have to put my tax situation in order, do you know a good tax advisor from whom I can ask for advice? (Iโ€™m Italian but I live in Franceโ€ฆI donโ€™t know how long it will beโ€ฆ) )
Beyond that, any advice is welcome.
Thank you!
Maria

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What's the best warm destinations in Europe in the winter?

 

by @jammingsloth 5yr 5 years ago  | 33 comments

Planning ahead for the winter. Iโ€™ll be in Spain in the Fall and want to go someplace warm for the winter in or near Europe, but not Schengen. Was first thinking Cape Town, but the internet is slow and it is very far. Was also thinking:
Israel - but airbnb listings are very pricey.
Morocco?
Turkey - maybe a little chilly.

Any other suggestions?

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What's the best bank account for a global nomad?

 

by @barrybjjoubert 5yr 5 years ago  | 25 comments

Dear all
As a wanna be nomad figuring out a way to get free of the rat race, I was wondering what is the best bank account to have while travelling the globe? I need an account where is easy for me to receive payments from all over the world and it also need to be a bank that I can find almost anywhere in the world. I want to avoid carry cash on me if itโ€™s possible.

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What's the best CRM/system for managing remote work opportunities?


by @panoramica 5yr 5 years ago  | 3 comments

Iโ€™m currently doing some work through Upwork, but itโ€™s sporadic and Iโ€™m keen to get more active on other platforms like Freelancer, Toptal, CodeMentor, Fiverr etc

Currently Iโ€™m managing leads in a Google sheet. Basically itโ€™s just a list of projects I pitched for, how much I bid, what I did differently from the last pitch/bid, how much time went by before I got a offered a job etc.

Iโ€™m not actively following up anybody, and Iโ€™ve in fact โ€˜lostโ€™ a few jobs where the client was keen, but then disappeared without a trace. I guess I need to keep in touch with those people to ensure that they remain focussed on our agreementโ€ฆ

Iโ€™m also keen to take on more small projects concurrently, without dropping the ball on any of them.

Iโ€™ve done a quick Google and turned up a few names including Salesforce, Zoho, Nutshell, HighRise, Base, Nimble, etc etc. But testing out all these products isnโ€™t all that appealing, so I thought Iโ€™d ask here first :slight_smile:

Ideally Iโ€™d like something that integrates with remote job boards in some way.

Feature list

Iโ€™ve done some research and currently have this feature list:

Proposal building & tracking

  • Compile proposals from snippets - technologies, past projects
  • Quickly pull together a realistic/client friendly quote
  • Test and measure different approaches
  • Beat proposal deadlines while maintaining quality
  • Fine tune pitch material to bid more quickly and win more work โ€“ templates
  • Store history about past projects involving common needs and technological solutions
  • Learn which proposal content is working, and which is not

Lead generation and client management (CRM)

  • store info about regular clients
  • track remote projects which Iโ€™ve pitched for
  • Remote Job Board integration
  • search multiple job sites for keywords
  • track projects across multiple remote platforms โ€“ API integration / message alert/response

Project Management & Scheduling

  • Break projects down into granular tasks
  • Gantt chart to visualise overlapping jobs
  • Calendar to schedule daily work, deadlines, R&D
  • follow up, plan and schedule future work now, rather than once current work has dried up
  • offline reminders via a dedicated Android app
  • time tracking โ€“ to get an idea of true cost, to flag issues to client
  • BitBucket integration

Billing

  • Integration with Xero
  • tracking status of payments, actual payment date vs expected payment clearance date

Marketing

  • Get repeat business
  • Build Word Of Mouth
  • Proactive lead generation
  • Publish proposals as case studies

Cheers,
Dan

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What's the best mobile-data option in New Zealand for nomads?


in New Zealand by @goldsaj 5yr 5 years ago  | 2 comments

Hi All! Iโ€™ve heard Spark and Vodafone are the best. I plan to move around, so I care mostly about having good coverage, and all Iโ€™ll need is around 1 GB of data or so.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

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Affordable way to incorporate in Singapore?


in Singapore by @pras_k 5yr 5 years ago  | 1 comment

Is there an affordable way to incorporate in Singapore?

I asked an agency and they charge around SG$11000 for the whole package.
Iโ€™d like to find a cheaper option since Iโ€™m just starting out.
Any recommendations?

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Pacific islands with decent internet speed to work online


by @paxai 5yr 5 years ago  | 1 comment

Any digital nomads that have lived for an extended period of time on a pacific island? I am planning on moving with my girlfriend for a 6 month period to a pacific island, and planning to live of copywriting and some other online work.

Have been looking at islands like Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands ++. Main problem is that many places seem to have expensive/bad internet speeds and access.

I dontยดt need superfast internet, but it has to be good enough for me to surf, send e-mails, download pictures, update webpages and so on. Either good internet cafes or the possibility to rent appartments with internet that doesnt suck or blow our budget.

Any recommendations for the perfect pacific island for working online?

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Best online Bank for Digital Nomads


by @nilanjan 6yr 6 years ago  | 0 comments

Hi All,
Can you suggest a cheap but reliable online Bank for Nomads?
What I meant by " cheap" is decent " service charges".

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What's the best bank for South African digital nomads?


in South Africa by @kirst85 6yr 6 years ago  | 12 comments

Iโ€™m a South African about to become a Nomad next year. I will still be employed by a South African company and receive a salary into my FNB bank account monthly.

I will be mostly based in Serbia but plan on travelling a lot. Does anyone have any advice on the best bank account to have? Is there a way to not get charged a small fortune in ATM charges and avoid getting my account frozen for using it in lots of countries?

Iโ€™m unsure of the best way to handle things. Should I try get another bank account outside of SA (Can I even do that)? I also have a British Passport if that makes a difference.

If any of you have any experienced advice I would be very grateful, Thanks in advance!

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What's better? Puerto Vallarta vs. Playa del Carmen in Mexico?


in Puerto Vallarta , Mexico by @oskar 6yr 6 years ago  | 12 comments

Iโ€™m going to travel to Mexico by the end of february and i would like to know which place do you recommend to stay at for a month or so. Which one would fit better for a digital nomad? Pros and Cons for each place are welcomed :smile:

thanks!

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Internet Speed (Teaching English Online)


by @teacher 6yr 6 years ago  | 0 comments

Hi guys.

Iโ€™ll be travelling to Peru soon to volunteer and thinking to teach online in Cusco. Iโ€™m wondering what the best set-up would be for speeds high enough to teach via video-platform online. Iโ€™m open to getting a SIM Card with a data package, getting a dedicated internet provider for a private apartment or using an ethernet cable to increase speed.

Thank you,
Seda

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What's a good US call and SMS forwarding service?


by @vong 6yr 6 years ago  | 12 comments

Hi all,

What do you guys use for call and sms forwarding?

Currently I have a Skype US number that forwards to my local phone number. However, it canโ€™t receive SMSโ€™es so thatโ€™s a huge dealbreaker.

Thereโ€™s RingCentral - but that starts at $29/month which is rather pricey.

Any suggestions? Iโ€™d just like to be able to call and text like Iโ€™m still in the US (when Iโ€™m not). Thanks in advance!

Sarah

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Best place to incorporate in Hong Kong


in Hong Kong by @sohantanna 6yr 6 years ago  | 1 comment

Anyone have any suggestions for great incorporation companies who have full services?

Iโ€™m looking for a company who can handle accounting, incorporating and book keeping (online) for Hong Kong.

Would appreciate any recommendations.

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What's a good and warm place in April to surf with fast internet?


by @jakegibson 6yr 6 years ago  | 9 comments

I landed a remote job that is fully remote with only one team skype meeting a week. Iโ€™m looking to leave around March 13th and stay 1 - 3 months in each place. The first place I want somewhere that is warm with good surf. For the group video chat I need at least 5/2 down/up reliable internet. Any recommendations for a place that meets that end of March - April?

Iโ€™ve read through the forums / nomads list. Iโ€™ve already done Costa Rica and Indo and would like to try somewhere new. Currently looking at Sayuliata Mexico, Canary Islands, and Morocco though I think Iโ€™ll wait on the second two since they sound like they are better in the fall.

Thanks!

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What's the weirdest thing you travel with?

 

by @gigigriffis 6yr 6 years ago  | 21 comments

I was thinking about packing today and Iโ€™m curious: whatโ€™s the weirdest thing you guys have in your bags? Nomads are, by nature, minimalists, but Iโ€™m sure we all do it differently. I have a friend who travels with BASE jumping gear, another a sequin dress. So, whatโ€™s the most unusual thing in your bag?

Mine is probably that I travel with a dog.

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