SCHNEIDER PROPOSES TO BUY SOFIA-BASED SHELLY On 24 September Schneider Electric announced an intended takeover offer for SDAX-listed Shelly Group: €70 per share, about €1.2bn equity value, conditional, with closing targeted for Q1 2027. Our blog analysis separates what stayed Bulgarian on the way via Frankfurt from what remains open.
Understand Bulgaria before you decide.
Independent research, not a sales pitch.
Start in BG researches what it actually takes to start a business, move to, live in or invest in Bulgaria — and publishes the findings, the comparisons and the sources. We sell no company formation, refer no providers, and earn nothing from any decision you make.
Want the whole thing at once? The book →
What is here:
- 38
- providers compared, with sources and check dates
- 8
- published scoring criteria
- €0
- for everything on this site
What are you here for?
Four journeys, one country. Start wherever your question is.
Business & company
Legal forms, the process, costs, tax, accounting, banking, registered address — and how much of it genuinely works remotely.
Read the formation guide →Moving & living
Registration, the bureaucracy, health insurance, cost of living, and the everyday practicalities nobody explains in advance.
Read the moving guide →Property
Buying, renting, purchase costs, running costs, and the mistakes that cost the most when buying property in Bulgaria.
See property topics →Compare providers
Formation providers compared, eight published criteria, every row with its sources and check date. Rankings are not for sale.
Open the comparison →Provider comparison
Formation providers, scored in the open
Eight criteria with published weights, every row carrying its sources and its check date. The Transparency and evidence score measures what a provider publishes and how verifiable it is — it does not assess legal quality, it is not a quality judgment, and it does not guarantee an outcome. Positions cannot be bought.
| Provider | Transparency score | Advertised price | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABG Advice | 65/100 | Not publicly disclosed | 17 July 2026 |
| ACC.bg | 63/100 | €300 + VAT service fee; about €100 state fees and €50 notary/bank/translation; VAT registration €250 + VAT | 17 July 2026 |
| Aidos | 57/100 | Not publicly disclosed | 17 July 2026 |
| B&K Law Firm | 62/100 | Packages starting from €400 | 17 July 2026 |
| BezGishe.bg | 41/100 | €420 foreign-founder package; standard EOOD package €129 | 17 July 2026 |
Dataset: 38 providers, last verified 15 September 2026. Sorted alphabetically, not by score. Prices and services change — confirm anything critical directly with the provider.
What changed in Bulgaria this week
Short, source-backed updates on company formation, accounting, banking and market entry.
BULGARIA'S EMPLOYMENT SERVICES OUTPUT IS UP 12.3% In June, the inflation-adjusted production index for employment activities was 12.3% above a year earlier and 5.8% above May. Founders hiring in Bulgaria should compare direct recruitment, local agencies and temporary staffing by role, fee and time to fill. StartinBG adds the sourcing route to workforce planning.
Source: National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria (NSI), 8 September 2026 →
BULGARIA'S ONLINE RETAIL TURNOVER IS 22.5% HIGHER In July, inflation-adjusted mail-order and online retail turnover was 22.5% above a year earlier. Total retail turnover rose 5.6%. Founders selling into Bulgaria should test local payment methods, delivery costs and returns before launch. StartinBG includes these factors in operational market planning.
Source: National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria (NSI), 8 September 2026 →
Get these on WhatsApp
Join the Start in BG Business Community and get updates like these as they're published, not only when you happen to check back.
Free to join. Leave whenever you want.
By Dr. Dennis Kwiatkowski & Svilen Petkov
The practical guide
The practical guide to starting in Bulgaria
Before opening a company, it is worth understanding what running a Bulgarian one actually involves. That is what we wrote the book for: over 140 pages of practice rather than promises — including for the readers who finish it and conclude that Bulgaria is not for them.
What you will work out
- Is Bulgaria actually suitable for my business?
- What company structures are commonly used?
- How does company formation really work?
- What should you know about taxes and accounting?
- How do banking and payments work?
- What does operating a Bulgarian company involve?
- What mistakes do international founders make?
- What changes if you actually relocate to Bulgaria?
How we research — and how we make money
The short version, so you can weigh the rankings above. The long version is on the methodology page.
- 1
Primary sources first
The Commercial Register, the National Revenue Agency, the statistics institute, ministries, EU institutions, and providers' own published pages. Every provider row names its sources and its check date.
- 2
Missing data stays missing
“Not publicly disclosed” is its own value and is never rounded down to a “no”. Prices are not estimated. What we could not check is shown as unchecked.
- 3
Rankings are not for sale
No provider pays for inclusion, position or points. If advertising is introduced later it will sit outside the table, under its own heading, labelled as advertising.
- 4
How we make money
The book, sold through Amazon, and voluntary reader support through PayPal. Payments buy neither access nor a service and have no influence on content, provider inclusion, scores, or rankings. We receive no commission or referral fee from any provider we compare.
What we are not
Start in BG is not a law firm, a tax practice, an authority, a formation agent or an estate agent. We research, explain and compare — that is all. Accounting, legal advice, notarial acts, residence matters and banking decisions sit with the relevant professionals and institutions; who you engage for them is your decision.
Every important statement is labelled
Rather than claiming everything on this website is correct, we tell you for each important statement where it comes from and how far it has been checked.
- Official requirement
Follows from Bulgarian or EU law, official guidance, or a register kept by an authority.
- Practical experience
An observation from the formations Start in BG supported up to 2026 - not a rule.
- Situation-dependent
Decided case by case by the responsible body - a bank, a notary, an office, or a tax authority abroad.
- About Start in BG
A statement about what Start in BG does and does not do.
10% corporate tax
Simple and low by EU standards
A single rate for companies of every size, with no tiered surcharges. What actually reaches you depends on your distribution policy and your personal situation.
Important before you go further with the numbers: where your company and where you personally pay tax is not decided by the registration, but by residence, place of effective management and real substance on the ground. Someone living in Germany and managing from there generally stays taxable there. This is not small print — it is the point most plans stand or fall on.
What that means in your case →Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna or Burgas? Compare locations in Bulgaria →
The two people behind Start in BG
A German business perspective and Bulgarian entrepreneurial experience. We are authors and researchers, not advisers.
Dr. Dennis Kwiatkowski
Analysis, strategy, business development
A biochemistry PhD with a background in boutique consulting and commercial roles at international companies — now an entrepreneur between Berlin and Sofia.
Svilen Petkov
Entrepreneur and investor in Bulgaria
Built several startups in Bulgaria, including the exit of a leading SaaS company, and now invests as an angel in local founding teams.
Founder stories from the book
“Bulgaria is a wonderful country and it is a great opportunity to run a business here. It is not particularly hard to set up and, depending on where you are from or your status, not particularly expensive either.”
This quote comes from the founder interviews for the book. It describes one entrepreneur's path in Bulgaria — it is not an account of a project we delivered.
Not ready to start yet? Start with the book.