This is orientation, not legal advice. Procedures and forms change. For the filing itself, use the National Business Registration Portal and, if you need it, a lawyer or formation service.
Invoi is built for limited liability companies (công ty TNHH) and joint stock companies (công ty cổ phần) that issue VAT invoices (Hóa đơn GTGT) with Tax Authority codes. It does not issue sales invoices (Hóa đơn bán hàng) for business households (hộ kinh doanh) yet. If you are still choosing a form, that difference matters.
#What “a company” has to be able to do
To get paid by other companies in Vietnam you usually need:
- An enterprise registered on the national business registration system
- A tax code (MST) on that record
- A company bank account
- Registration to use e-invoices with the tax authority
- A digital signature so you can sign invoices, submit them, and receive a CQT code before the invoice is fully issued
Starting a company is the first items. Issuing a real VAT e-invoice is the last ones. Invoi helps after you exist as a company — see eSignature & DK01 and Create Invoice.
#Pick a form that matches how you will sell
- Công ty TNHH — common for a small founding team. Liability sits with the company, not your house, in the usual case.
- Công ty cổ phần — if you already know you want a share structure and more room to add owners later.
- Hộ kinh doanh — simpler for some small traders, but the invoice type is typically sales invoices, which Invoi does not support yet.
If your first customers are companies that need input VAT, you want a form that issues Hóa đơn GTGT.
#Sequence most founders actually follow
- Choose a company name and head office address you can prove
- File enterprise registration (yourself or through a service) and wait for the Enterprise Registration Certificate
- Open a company bank account
- Get a chữ ký số and register to use e-invoices with the tax authority
- Issue the first VAT invoice when the work is done — not weeks later
Charter capital, licenses, and foreign-owner rules depend on the business line. Conditional sectors need extra permits. Do not copy a friend’s charter capital and assume it applies.
#After the certificate
The painful gap is not the stamp. It is the weeks when the company exists on paper but cannot bill. That is when work ships, cash sits with the customer, and the founder still cannot send a VAT invoice.
Fill company profile in Invoi, complete eSignature and tax-authority e-invoice registration, then invite the accountant so you are not the only person holding PDFs in Zalo. See Hire an accountant and Invite Accountant.
#Next
- Pick a legal form — TNHH, cổ phần, or household
- eSignature & DK01 — sign and register to issue e-invoices
- Quick Start — first invoice in Invoi