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Set Up Your Business

Comply captures business information on two distinct surfaces, depending on where you are in the lifecycle:

  • During registration — Step 3 of the 4-step registration wizard is where most users capture their business details. It's a rich form covering industry, turnover, and (where applicable) the food-store qualification block.
  • Recovering when no business is associated — if your account is somehow left without a business context (rare — usually only after an invitation chain breaks), Comply routes you to a thin recovery page at /account/business-setup that captures the minimum needed to get you back to a working dashboard.

This page covers both surfaces and the three account types you can choose between.

The three account types​

When you register, you pick one of three account types. Your choice determines what fields are captured next and where you land after verification.

Account typeWho picks thisWhat gets created
New BusinessA single business owner registering their own businessA Business row with you as Owner via UserBusinessAccess
Join ExistingA user joining an existing business via an invitation codeA UserBusinessAccess row connecting you to the existing Business — no new business is created
Accounting FirmA firm administrator registering a new accounting firmA firm self-business (the house account that represents the firm itself), plus the FirmOwner Identity role on your account, plus UserBusinessAccess to the firm self-business

The three flows route through BusinessFirstRegistrationService in code, with the AccountingFirm path additionally calling CreateAccountingFirmAsync to provision the firm self-business and assign the FirmOwner role.

During registration (Step 3)​

This is the canonical place to capture business details. The fields you see depend on your account type:

New Business or Accounting Firm​

  • Business Name — required; appears as your business name across the app
  • TIN — required; 9 digits, no V prefix, no dashes. MOD-11 validated server-side
  • VAT Number — optional during registration; can be added later from Settings > Business
  • Industry — required, 15 categories. Drives some categorisation defaults later
  • Estimated Annual Turnover — required, 5 ranges. Auto-computes your filing frequency (Monthly for $5M+ annual turnover, Quarterly otherwise)

If your industry is food-related, an additional food-store qualification block appears:

  • Do you sell unprepared food?
  • Do you hold a pharmacy licence?
  • What percentage of your turnover is food-related?

These answers determine whether your business qualifies for the 5% Reduced rate on hygiene / medical / breadbasket items at licensed food stores, and whether the rate-fallback rules apply (see VAT Rates Reference for the engine behaviour).

Accounting Firm — additional fields​

For the AccountingFirm account type, two firm-level fields are also captured:

  • Billing Contact Email — where invoices will be sent once billing begins (after open beta)
  • Expected Client Count — used to scope the appropriate subscription tier

The firm self-business uses the same Business Name + TIN + VAT Number as your firm's own registration.

Join Existing — single field​

For the JoinExisting account type, the only field is:

  • Invitation Code — generated by the existing business owner or firm administrator when they sent the invitation. Valid for 7 days from issue.

If the code is valid, your account links to that business when verification completes. See the Client Invitation Lifecycle on the firm side for how invitations are issued.

Recovery — when no business is associated​

If you log in and your account does not have a current business context, Comply routes you to /account/business-setup. This happens rarely — usually when:

  • An invitation you accepted later got revoked
  • A business you were Owner of was deleted while you were not signed in
  • You signed up in a way that bypassed Step 3 of registration

The recovery page is intentionally thin compared to Step 3 of registration. You choose between:

  • Create New Business — captures only Business Name, TIN, and VAT Number (optional). Industry, turnover, and food-store qualifications can be filled in later under Settings > Business.
  • Join Existing — captures only the Invitation Code.

After submission, you arrive at the appropriate dashboard for the resolved business.

Optional settings (fill in later)​

Whether you set up during registration or via recovery, additional business details can always be filled in later from Settings > Business:

  • Trading Name — display name if different from registered business name
  • Business Address — Bahamian island + address lines + PO Box
  • Logo — upload for branded VAT invoices and reports
  • Filing Frequency — Monthly or Quarterly (auto-set from turnover during registration; editable here)
  • Large Taxpayer designation — for businesses meeting the threshold, see VAT Rates Reference and Filing and Payment Deadlines
  • Food Store Licence number and expiry — required for the 5% Reduced rate fallback rules

TIN format​

Your TIN is entered as 9 digits without dashes or prefixes. The system formats it as ###-###-### for display.

VAT registration threshold

Businesses with taxable supplies over $100,000 BSD annually must register for VAT with the Department of Inland Revenue. See Registration Obligation and Threshold for the statutory reference.

If you are not yet registered, you can still create a Comply account and use the platform to track transactions. When your VAT number is issued, add it under Settings > Business.

VAT registration​

If you do not yet have a VAT number:

  1. Apply at the Department of Inland Revenue.
  2. Receive your VAT number.
  3. Enter it in CoralLedger Comply at Settings > Business.

By Statute References​

Next steps​