In a recent interview Alain Alfonso, Director Ceiba Consulting, spoke about the many services Ceiba Consulting offer local businesses and personal clients.

 What does your company specialise in?

Ceiba Consulting specializes in helping non-Spanish companies and individuals deal with the complexities of the Spanish taxation and legal system.  We therefore cover a wide range of activities such as undertaking quarterly and annual tax returns, helping clients obtain appropriate licence's to legalise their activities, processing applications for aid and grants, dealing with labour and employment requirements, notary representation and helping individuals with their personal taxation.

Basically, Ceiba Consulting exists to remove the burden of red tape from clients to enable them to concentrate on their chosen business or personal activities.

 Does Ceiba Consulting offer a multi-lingual service?

Yes.  Ceiba Consulting has native English speaking experts in addition to native Spanish speakers.  We believe this is crucial to our success as we recognise how difficult it can be for our clients to deal with linguistic barriers in addition to legal and cultural ones.

 Where can people or businesses find you?

Ceiba Consulting has an office in Nerja (C/Jaen, Edif Canario Bajo 3 – opposite Banco Santander) in addition to one in Benalmadena.  The best way to make contact is by telephone on either (0034) 622566344 or (0034) 653820453 so that we can arrange to meet you at our office or at your business or residential address.

 What services would a company benefit from working with Ceiba Consulting?

Companies can benefit from a wide range of services which can be tailored to meet individual business needs.  Ceiba Consulting can work with established and new businesses in areas such as company registration, applying for opening licences or extensions, social security returns, taxation, employment contracts, accountancy, aid and grants, annual management reports and payroll.  In addition, we can help companies develop expertise and knowledge on the Spanish taxation and legal systems so that they can be prepared for different eventualities and avoid any nasty surprises.

 Do you work with many businesses in Nerja?

Ceiba Consulting now has one of the largest client lists with regard to non-Spanish businesses in Nerja.  Our ability to communicate in English and Spanish is continuing to help us to expand in the Nerja area.  Many of our clients are those that have been with us since they established their new business in Spain.

 Do you find a lot of small businesses are not aware of local business laws?

Unfortunately this is often the case and can lead to many problems and fines which could be avoided with a greater understanding of local requirements.  The fines in particular can cause small businesses great difficulties to the extent that they can affect their overall profitability.  In extreme cases the lack of awareness of Spanish laws can even lead to small firms being closed down.

 How do you help with this?

Ceiba Consulting can help businesses to understand local business laws and to respond to appropriate requests for information or paperwork.  In the majority of cases, good communication with the local taxation authorities and the town council can help to avoid minor problems becoming more serious.

 Would you say people pay out for a lot of paperwork they don’t really need?

We try to keep the burden of paperwork for our clients down to a minimum level.  Our philosophy is to try to help clients to concentrate on their business or personal activities.  You can’t avoid paperwork altogether and at times the Spanish systems can appear to be over the top.  However, we have all heard of examples in which people are encouraged to pursue some courses of action which are just not needed.  We want our clients to be with us for a long time so it is in our interests so help them enjoy successful business or personal experiences in Spain without needless distractions.

 Are you available to sit down and discuss business needs and how can you save them money?

We like to sit down with our business clients to help them plan their objectives from the beginning. We can take clients from their initial stage of planning to buy or start a new business through to opening the business and continuing to establish it over many years.
We can help businesses to plan for the future and investigate tax efficient ways of running their organisation.

Ceiba Consulting has found that helping clients to understand the Spanish taxation and legal systems provides a solid foundation for long term success.  We aim to help our clients avoid potentially expensive mistakes which often arise simply through a lack of knowledge.  In addition, when opportunities arise for potential aid support or tax rebates etc, we help to ensure that our clients have the paperwork needed to make successful claims.