Three ways to create a company
Choosing between a SIREN lookup, a KBIS upload and manual entry — what all three have in common, and why they are not the same amount of work.
Overview
Nothing in a project works without a company. Shareholders are assigned to companies, so the Shareholders page will refuse you until one exists. Processes act on companies. The cap table is a company's.
So creating the companies — the BidCo, then each ManCo, then each add-on as it arrives — is the first substantive thing you do in a new project.
There are three ways in, and they are not the same amount of work.
What you'll learn
Why a company comes before everything else
The three creation routes and how much each asks of you
What all three have in common
Which route to choose, and when
The three routes
Route | Steps | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|
From a SIREN | 2 | The SIREN and a category; then a contact person (French companies only) |
From a KBIS | 2 | The certificate of incorporation and a category; then a contact person (French companies only) |
Manually | 5 | Identification, contact, legal registration details, legal representatives, share information |
All three produce the same kind of record. But manual entry is not "the same thing but typed" — it asks for materially more, including legal representatives and share information that the other two routes never put in front of you.
On the SIREN and KBIS routes the legal details are derived rather than asked for. The KBIS step says as much: uploading the certificate of incorporation extracts the legal details for you.
What is common to all three
A category, always. It organises companies within the platform and determines certain default settings, and it can be changed later. On a build-up, BidCo and ManCo are the ones that matter. Not a decision to agonise over.
A contact person, always — and always skippable. If you do not have those details yet, skip the step and complete it later. Not knowing a name should never stop you creating the company.
Non-French companies are a first-class case on the manual route. Choose the registration country and the SIREN field becomes a registration number, the RCS city becomes a registration city. That is a supported path, not a workaround.
Which route to choose
A French company you can identify → SIREN. Least typing, and the details come from the registry rather than from someone's memory of them.
You have the document but not the number → KBIS. Often how a company arrives from an adviser.
Not French, newly formed, or not yet registered → manual. A newco inserted into a structure usually will not be lookup-able yet.
Whichever you choose, check the legal details before you finish. On a build-up these feed generated documents, so an error here becomes an error on legal paper that someone signs.
Common problems
The SIREN is rejected. It must be exactly nine characters. A SIRET is fourteen — that is the establishment number, not the company.
The company is not French. Choose the registration country; the SIREN field becomes a registration number and the RCS city becomes a registration city.
You do not know who the contact is. Skip the step and come back to it.
You chose the wrong category. It can be changed later from the company's details.
You are about to create a project rather than a company. If it is part of the same LBO, it is a company.
Related
A3.2 — Creating a company from a SIREN · the shortest route, in full
A3.3 — Creating a company from a KBIS · when you have the document
A3.4 — Creating a company manually · non-French companies and newcos
A3.5 — Company details · checking and correcting what was created
