If your team is just 1–2 people, your monthly budget is within 5 ten-thousand yuan, and you're only on 1–2 platforms, a sole proprietorship will most likely work. But if you're launching a Shopify independent site, Amazon FBA, and TikTok Shop simultaneously, you must register a limited company—a sole proprietorship cannot pass Stripe/Adyen's business-entity verification, nor can it onboard to FBA as an individual. Pick the wrong entity and every subsequent step—platform onboarding, payments, customs clearance—starts over. Below is a single operational workflow, broken down end to end.
First, lock in your entity type: sole proprietorship or limited company—one wrong step and everything downstream restarts.
Don't judge by what "sounds professional." Judge by three hard criteria: ① Whether you run an independent site (requires a corporate bank account + business-entity payment gateway); ② Whether projected annual revenue exceeds 100万 (sole proprietorships hit a tax-bracket jump past that threshold); ③ Whether you use FBA or overseas-warehouse customs clearance (customs filing requires a business entity). If any one applies, go straight to a limited company. If your channels aren't locked in yet, first checkCross-Border E-Commerce Platform Selection Logic, lock in 1–2 starting channels first, then work backward to the entity type.
Document Checklist: check off each item by entity type—fix whatever's missing the same day.
Sole Proprietorship (5 items):Both sides of the operator's ID card, proof of business premises (property ownership certificate or lease agreement + landlord's ID card), operator's commitment letter (template available at the service counter), business scope (must include "import and export of goods"; add customs supervision code 124901 for comprehensive pilot zones), and reserved seal for bank account opening.
Limited company (8 items):ID cards of all shareholders, ID card of the prospective legal representative, proof of registered address (lease agreement of ≥1 year + copy of property ownership certificate + landlord's ID card), company articles of association (industrial and commercial template, signed by shareholders), business scope (same requirements as sole proprietors), bank account details for all shareholders and the legal representative, tax registration association receipt, and cross-border e-commerce customs filing form (mandatory for comprehensive pilot zones).
Approval Cycle: From Submission to License Issuance – Don't Just Trust "3 Working Days"
Actual Timeline: Business name verification 0.5 working day → Document intake 1 day → Substantive review 3–7 days (general retail) or 5–10 days (including cross-border e-commerce customs filing) → License pickup day. Pilot zones can use the expedited channel; after paying the expedited fee, review is compressed to 1–2 days, but the customs filing step does not qualify for expedited processing. Electronic licenses and paper licenses carry the same legal effect—uploading the electronic version is sufficient for platform onboarding; however, customs filing and bank corporate account opening still require paper originals, so it is recommended to collect both at once. For the complete five-step store-opening path, refer toA Practical Breakdown: From Entity Registration to First-Order Warehouse Dispatch.
High-Frequency Rejection Reasons and Same-Day Fix Actions
Corrections at local business registration offices are concentrated in four categories (proportions are indicative relative indicators, not actual statistics):
① Missing cross-border code in the business scope (highest proportion): It only lists "retail sale of daily necessities" without mentioning "import and export of goods" or 124901. Fix: Add "Import and export of goods; cross-border e-commerce retail import (customs supervision code 124901)" to the business scope field on the application form, re-print, and resubmit at the service window the same day.
② Mismatch between the registered address and the tax registration: The lease agreement states "Room 301, No. XX, XX Road," while the tax registration lists "Floor 3, No. XX, XX Road." Fix: Log in to the Electronic Tax Bureau and update the registered address to match the lease agreement exactly (including floor and unit number), print a screenshot, and attach it to the correction materials. This can be completed the same day.
③ Legal representative / shareholder identity failed online verification: Expired ID card, name containing uncommon characters, or police database information not yet synchronized. Fix: Bring the original ID card to the window the same day for facial recognition; for uncommon characters, also bring the household registration booklet so the window staff can enter "standard character + annotation."
④ Names containing "cross-border" require an additional explanation: In cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, a business description is required when the name includes "cross-border" or "e-commerce." Fix: Prepare one A4 page stating the primary cross-border e-commerce retail business, target platforms, and expected annual transaction volume. The legal representative should sign and apply a seal across the pages, then attach it to the name approval application and resubmit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What amount is appropriate to declare as the registered capital?
Under the current registered capital subscription system for limited companies, stating 10 wan–50 wan is sufficient. Platform onboarding and bank account opening do not audit the amount; they only check the entity type. Individual businesses have no registered capital concept—just enter "fund amount: 1 wan yuan" in the form to proceed with the process.
Can an individual business convert to a limited company?
Yes, but you will need to re-verify the business name, resubmit the full set of documents, and redo the tax registration linkage. The process takes approximately 2–3 weeks. If your individual business has already validated product selection and logistics, converting in the second phase saves 1–2 months in compliance costs compared to incorporating from the start.
Can I use a virtual registered address if I do not have a fixed office?
Comprehensive pilot zones (Shenzhen Qianhai, Hangzhou Binjiang, Guangzhou Nansha) allow the use of incubator or cross-border e-commerce park cluster registered addresses, with an annual fee of approximately 2,000–5,000 yuan. Most non-pilot zones require an actual business address; call 12315 first to confirm your local jurisdiction's policy.
What is the difference between "goods import and export" and "technology import and export"?
Goods import and export covers cross-border trading of physical products and is an essential item for e-commerce; technology import and export covers software licensing and patent rights, which e-commerce sellers generally do not need. Listing only technology import and export will prevent banks from opening a cross-border payment settlement account.
