Drive ditt eget selskap (ENK eller AS)
Registering a sole proprietorship (enkeltpersonforetak, ENK) is free and can be done online through Altinn in minutes. An ENK gives you full control over your invoicing, expenses, and business decisions. You can deduct business expenses, and your income is taxed as business income.
A limited company (aksjeselskap, AS) requires 30,000 NOK in share capital and involves more formal obligations — annual accounts, board meetings, and corporate tax returns. An AS provides limited liability, which means your personal assets are protected if the business runs into financial trouble.
Fordeler med eget selskap
- Full control over your business and finances
- Ability to deduct business expenses (office, equipment, travel)
- Higher income potential — no service fee on invoices
- Build business equity and credit history
- Professional image with your own organisation number
Ulemper med eget selskap
- Administrative burden — bookkeeping, VAT returns, tax filings
- You are responsible for compliance and deadlines
- May need an accountant (additional cost)
- Personal liability for tax debts (ENK)
- VAT registration required above 50,000 NOK annual revenue
Bruke en lønnstjeneste som Payout Partner
A salary service (lonnstjeneste) lets you invoice clients without having your own company. Payout Partner is the invoicing entity — you create the invoice, the client pays us, and we pay you as salary after deducting taxes and our service fee.
Fordeler med en lønnstjeneste
- Start invoicing immediately — no company registration needed
- No bookkeeping, VAT reporting, or tax filing required
- All payroll, tax, and reporting handled for you
- You get a proper payslip and employee rights
- Income appears automatically in your tax return
- No risk of compliance mistakes
Ulemper med en lønnstjeneste
- Service fee on each invoice (typically a percentage)
- Cannot deduct business expenses
- Less control over the invoicing process
- No business equity or credit building
Når velge hvilket alternativ
A salary service is typically the best choice if you are freelancing occasionally or part-time, if your annual freelance income is relatively modest, or if you simply want to avoid administrative work. It is also ideal for testing whether freelancing suits you before committing to starting a company.
Your own company makes more sense when freelancing is your primary income, when your annual revenue exceeds 200,000-300,000 NOK, or when you have significant business expenses to deduct. Many freelancers start with a salary service and transition to their own company as their business grows.
Bruke begge samtidig
Payout Partner also offers free invoicing software for freelancers who have their own company. This means you can use Payout Partner's invoicing tool for your ENK or AS invoices while also using the salary service for one-off assignments where you do not want the administrative overhead. There is no need to choose one or the other exclusively.