Founding an OG online

A general partnership (offene Gesellschaft, OG) can be set up quickly and easily. It is a good legal form for getting your own business up and running fast. In this article, we explain how to found an OG.

Partnership agreement

To found an OG, a partnership agreement must be concluded between at least two parties. However, it is not necessary for this partnership agreement to be put in writing. Accordingly, no contract needs to be signed before a notary.

To avoid disputes later on, however, it is advisable to put the partnership agreement in writing when founding an OG. The partnership agreement should set out, for example, how profits and losses are distributed, who manages the OG’s business and what majorities are required for important decisions. Partner notaries on the notarity platform will be happy to advise on drawing up a partnership agreement and can also draft it if needed.

The notary’s role in founding an OG

Although no partnership agreement has to be signed to found an OG, a notary must still be involved in the formation. Two documents must be notarised:

• Specimen signature (Musterfirmenzeichnung): This is a sample signature of all partners, which is filed with the company register (Firmenbuch). When documents are signed on behalf of the OG, the signature can be compared with the one filed with the company register.
• Application to the company register: The OG only comes into existence once it is entered in the company register. The application to the company register must be notarised (Section 106 UGB).

These documents can be notarised online by partner notaries on the notarity platform. This is a quick and easy way to found an OG.

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Business account when founding an OG

A separate business account for the OG is not strictly necessary. However, it is advisable to collect the revenue the OG generates in a separate account. A business account for the OG can be opened online at almost any online bank.

Disadvantages of an OG

The biggest disadvantage of an OG is undoubtedly that the partners are personally liable, without limit and with their private assets, for the OG’s debts. If you do not want this, we recommend founding a GmbH (limited liability company) instead. This can also be done online via the notarity platform – more information here. Compared with a GmbH, however, the OG stands out in particular for its significantly lower administrative costs. The OG can also be advantageous from a tax perspective.