Before opening your business in Turkey, check that it can complete its first real transaction—not only that the company has been registered. Confirm who can sign the contract, how payment will be received, which invoice can be issued, whether the premises and activity permissions are ready, and who handles the tax and employment tasks that apply. A missing approval or operating step can leave a registered company unable to launch as planned.
Use this checklist to turn the chosen business model into a launch-readiness review. If you are still deciding how to enter the market, start with the Turkey market-entry guide. For legal incorporation itself, use the complete company-formation guide. Return here to confirm that the required workstreams are ready for the first contract, sale, hire or shipment.
Before Opening: Eight Checks for the First Transaction
Start with the business model and legal route already selected. For each check below, record ready, action required or not applicable, the supporting evidence and the person responsible. These are practical launch controls, not a universal statutory document list.
| Launch check |
Evidence to review |
Reason to hold the affected activity |
| 1. First contract or order |
Identified customer, offer, price, delivery and acceptance terms |
The team cannot explain what the first transaction requires |
| 2. Contracting entity and signatory |
Current company details and authority for the person signing |
The customer contract names the wrong entity or an unauthorised signer |
| 3. Operating location |
Usable premises, access and any relevant activity permissions |
The planned work cannot be carried out at the selected location |
| 4. Final company records |
Completed registration outputs and consistent identity, address and representation data |
Only draft records exist or counterparties hold conflicting versions |
| 5. Payment route |
Approved account or acquiring arrangement, currency and authorised access |
An application is being treated as an active payment facility |
| 6. Invoice and accounting handoff |
Confirmed invoice route, tax treatment and document-delivery contact |
The business cannot issue or record the intended transaction correctly |
| 7. People and activity permissions |
Required worker, workplace, product and sector checks |
An outstanding permission is necessary before the relevant activity begins |
| 8. Delivery and exceptions |
Named delivery contact and process for refunds, failed payments or complaints |
The first sale can be accepted but cannot be completed or corrected |
Opening rule: A registration certificate proves incorporation, not that the first sale, hire or shipment is ready. Hold the affected activity until its required permissions and operating steps are complete.
Workon coordinates company setup together with the operational steps needed for market entry.
1. Walk Through the First Contract or Order
Choose a realistic first transaction and follow it from customer agreement to delivery and payment. Record which entity contracts, who signs, what is delivered, where the work takes place, how the customer pays and which invoice or other document is required. A service contract, online product sale and import shipment need different launch checks.
Use a sample document or test environment for this review where available; do not begin a regulated activity merely to test whether the setup works. If the business model itself remains undecided, return to the market-entry route guide before treating the company as launch-ready.
2. Confirm the Contracting Entity and Signing Authority
Compare the customer-facing contract, supplier account and payment instructions with the final company records. They should identify the correct legal entity rather than an informal brand or an overseas parent that is not party to the transaction. Confirm who may sign and whether the registered representation requires joint signatures.
Use the signature circular and representation guide for authority evidence. If the legal form is still being selected, use Types of Companies in Turkey or the foreign-company entry structure guide; resolve that decision before finalising launch documents.
3. Check That the Location Is Ready for the Planned Work
Before staff, customers or goods arrive, confirm access to the actual operating location and the right to use it for the intended activity. Keep registered-headquarters documentation separate from any warehouse, shop, clinic or other operating site. Check the status of any relevant premises or sector permission rather than treating a signed workspace agreement as permission to operate.
Record who handles official mail, authority requests, deliveries and access issues from the opening date. If the location or workspace model has not yet been selected, use the workspace comparison guide. For a required premises approval, use the workplace opening licence guide.
4. Hand Over the Final Company Records
Confirm that the registration step is complete and that the operating team is using the final records, not the draft application. Reconcile the legal name, identifiers, address and representation information used by the bank, accountant, suppliers and customer-facing documents.
Keep one controlled set of final company records and name the person responsible for subsequent updates. If incorporation is still in progress, complete the relevant work through the MERSİS and Trade Registry filing guide; an application number should not be treated as a completed registration.
5. Verify the Payment Route Is Active
Separate application, approval and operational access. Before sending payment instructions to a customer, confirm the account holder, currency, receiving details, authorised users and any bank or provider restrictions relevant to the expected transaction. For card sales, confirm the acquiring or Virtual POS setup separately; an ordinary account opening is not proof that card payments are enabled.
Agree how receipts, rejected payments and refunds will be matched to the customer and accounting records. Use the bank’s or payment provider’s supported testing process where available, without sharing personal credentials. If onboarding remains open, the business bank account guide and Virtual POS application guide cover those separate procedures. Neither company registration nor an application guarantees approval.
6. Confirm the First Invoice and Accounting Handoff
Before the first invoice is issued, have the responsible licensed SMMM/CPA confirm the invoice route and tax treatment for the actual supply and customer. Check the company details, authorised operator and how the contract, invoice, payment and delivery evidence will reach the accounting file.
Do not treat buying a financial seal or invoicing package as proof that the required application is active. Use the e-Fatura registration guide and e-Arşiv invoice guide for the relevant route. The CPA/SMMM requirement guide explains the professional arrangement.
Record the document-delivery contact and first reporting tasks even if sales have not started. Workon can coordinate the handoff; regulated accounting and tax work remains with the licensed professional.
7. Clear People and Permission Checks Before Work Starts
Check the requirements triggered by the actual opening plan, not every possible requirement for every business. Keep an outstanding application distinct from an approval that permits the relevant activity.
First employee
Confirm the employment documents, correct workplace record, required pre-start submissions and payroll handoff. The hiring checklist and SGK first-hire guide explain the detailed sequence.
Foreign founder or employee
Confirm the applicable work permission or exemption before the person starts productive work. Share ownership is not work authorisation. A working shareholder should use the company-owner eligibility guide, followed by the application guide.
Regulated activity, premises or product
Confirm which approvals are required for the planned activity and whether their conditions have been met. A pending licence, unsuitable premises or unresolved product requirement can block the relevant launch activity. Use the licence and permit guide to identify the appropriate specialist review.
8. Test Delivery, Exceptions and Recordkeeping
Walk through what happens after the customer says yes. Name the person who accepts the order, delivers the service or goods, confirms completion, checks the payment and sends the supporting records to accounting. Also assign responsibility for a failed payment, rejected delivery, cancellation or complaint.
Illustrative service-business check: review a sample contract and invoice, confirm the authorised payment details, identify the evidence of delivery and agree where those records will be stored. Use samples or supported test environments; do not issue a fictitious tax document or begin an activity that still requires permission.
For goods, test the document handoff between the seller, importer or exporter, logistics provider and customs professional as applicable. The import customs-clearance sequence and exporter-registration guide cover those specialist steps. The purpose here is to check that the people and approved systems are ready to complete the transaction together.
What “Ready to Open” Means for Different Businesses
| Business model |
Minimum launch capability to think about |
| Consulting / software |
Registered company, tax/CPA readiness, invoicing, bank/payment flow, suitable address |
| E-commerce |
Company + invoicing + payment/acquiring + consumer/e-commerce compliance + logistics |
| Import/export |
Company + bank/payment flow + customs/logistics + relevant product/association requirements |
| Retail / hospitality |
Company + premises + municipal/sector licences + employees/payroll where applicable |
| Foreign parent entering Türkiye |
Structure choice + parent documents + local registration + banking + tax + operational handover |
Check Cash Needed Before the First Customer Payment
A launch can be operationally ready but still run short of cash. List the payments due before the first customer receipt: deposits, inventory, essential equipment, approved professional work, payroll and any remaining activation or permission costs. Record the due date and funding source, not just the total budget.
Test what happens if the first sale is delayed or a customer pays late. Keep statutory capital separate from provider fees, and do not treat unapproved bank facilities or expected incentive reimbursements as available cash. For the complete formation and first-year budget, use The True Cost of Setting Up a Company in Turkey.
Record the Opening Decision and Hand Over Ongoing Tasks
For each planned launch activity, record the evidence checked, outstanding actions and the person authorised to release it. Mark the activity ready only when its required permissions and operating steps are complete. Use action required for an unresolved dependency and not applicable only with a reason. These are internal project labels, not official approvals.
Once the business opens, recurring filings, record updates and new activity triggers continue. Transfer those tasks to the post-formation compliance checklist rather than using the one-time opening review as the ongoing compliance calendar.
How Workon Fits Into Market Entry
Workon is an Istanbul-based business setup, workspace and operational coordination platform supporting foreign founders, investors and overseas companies entering Türkiye. Depending on the agreed scope, Workon coordinates company formation, registered address/workspace, foreign-document and PoA workflows, bank-account application preparation, licensed CPA onboarding coordination, work/residence-permit coordination and related operational requirements.
Where the market-entry plan requires legal, tax, accounting, customs or another regulated workstream, Workon can coordinate the appropriately licensed professional and keep that work aligned with the wider setup and operating plan. Banks and public authorities retain their own approval and decision powers.
Review Workon’s company registration and operational coordination service.
Official Reference Points
Last reviewed: 17 September 2026.
Walk through the first intended transaction. Confirm the contracting entity and signatory, usable premises, final company records, active payment route, invoice and accounting handoff, required people and activity permissions, and the delivery or exception process. Record the evidence and unresolved actions before authorising the affected activity.
Not by itself. Registration establishes the legal entity, while the intended sale, hire or shipment may also depend on banking, invoicing, work permission, premises, product or sector requirements. Check the requirements of that transaction rather than assuming that every business needs the same package.
No. Keep application, approval and activation separate. Confirm that the account, payment facility or permission needed for the planned activity is usable and that its conditions are satisfied; submission of a file is not proof of approval.
Review sample contracts and invoice layouts, approved payment details, delivery responsibilities and the accounting handoff. Use supported test environments where available. Do not issue fictitious tax documents or perform an activity that still requires permission simply to test the process.
Hand recurring filings, record updates, payment reconciliations and new activity triggers to the responsible people. The opening checklist is a one-time readiness review, not a substitute for the company's ongoing compliance calendar.
Current-rule note: Market-entry structure, company registration, banking, tax, employment, licensing and premises requirements depend on the business, owners, activity and current rules. Workon can coordinate the relevant licensed professionals and authority-facing workstreams around the company’s actual launch model; each regulated professional, bank and public authority retains responsibility for its own scope and decisions.
