Everyone to their own trade
If you run a car repair garage, you know about mechanics, repairing vehicles and dealing with your customers. But there is no reason you should know how to prepare a payslip, which employment contract suits you, how to deregister a vehicle with the DGT (the Spanish traffic authority) or how to reply to a letter from the town hall or from Hacienda (the Spanish tax office) asking you for documents.
Every professional has their speciality, and the sensible thing is to leave legal matters to someone who knows the subject. My job is to support you from the moment you set up your business through to everyday matters, with a personal service and full availability.
How this differs from a gestoría
A gestoría, or tax and employment adviser, usually handles bookkeeping, taxes and payroll. It is a necessary service, but when a legal problem arises (a contract, a customer who will not pay, a dismissal, a penalty) it will normally refer you to a lawyer and you start from scratch.
With my comprehensive advice service, the legal side is included. For a price very similar to that of a tax and employment adviser, you also get a quick answer to any legal question, and I include claiming and managing unpaid invoices in the fee. That is my added value: a lawyer who already knows your business when the problem appears and who, often, manages to stop it appearing at all.
Deadlines a business cannot afford to miss
Many problems do not come from a bad decision, but from a deadline that passed without anyone noticing. Some examples:
- Electronic notifications. Companies are required to deal with the authorities electronically (Article 14.2 of Ley 39/2015, the Spanish administrative procedure act). If you do not open a notification within ten calendar days, it is treated as rejected and the procedure goes ahead without you.
- Appeals against penalties and tax assessments. The deadlines to appeal are short, in many cases one month. If they pass, the decision becomes final even if it was unfair.
- Dismissals. The employee has a short period to challenge a dismissal, but you need the dismissal letter and the procedure to be correct from the start. A badly handled dismissal can end up being declared unfair (improcedente), with the compensation or reinstatement that entails.
- Unpaid invoices. The sooner you claim, the easier it is to get paid. A debt left to sleep can end up time-barred or in the hands of a debtor who no longer has any assets.
How the fee works
I work for a fixed monthly price, agreed according to each client’s real needs: nothing missing and nothing you do not need. Before we start, I give you in writing what is included and what is not, so there are no surprises. If a matter ends up in court, I explain in advance how it will be billed and what external costs there may be, such as those of the court representative (procurador).
If your matter is a one-off and you do not need ongoing support, you can start with a written online consultation. And if your concern is a specific debt, I explain how I handle debt claims.
