Buying a ready-made Slovak s.r.o. completes a share transaction. Operating it safely requires a separate handover of authority, accounts, records and official correspondence. The following plan starts at closing and ends with a tested first transaction. If you are still choosing a company, start with our guide to buying a Slovak ready-made company.
The short answer
When you buy a Slovak ready-made company, the existing company continues. Its registered identity, accounts, messages, books and any liabilities do not reset merely because its shareholder changes. The transfer of the share, any appointment of a new managing director (konateľ), the Commercial Register update and the bank’s approval of new users are distinct steps.
At closing, obtain the signed corporate documents and an inventory of what the company owns and owes. Then confirm who may act for it, take control of its physical mail and Slovensko.sk electronic mailbox, check bank users, VAT status and accounting records, and assign each outstanding filing to a named person.
Treat the first 30 days as an operational plan, not a universal statutory grace period. An official reply or tax filing can be due much sooner. Conversely, the Commercial Register Act §112 sets a separate 30-day period for submitting registrable changes, counted from the event specified by that provision; it is not a promise that the register or bank will complete the change within 30 days.
What exactly changes when you buy the company?
The buyer acquires an interest in an existing legal person. The s.r.o. remains the counterparty to its existing contracts and the owner of its assets; earlier debts and filing obligations remain with that legal person. Its company number (IČO) remains the company’s number. An existing tax identification number (DIČ) and VAT identification number (IČ DPH) also belong to its continuing registrations, but verify their present status, especially if VAT registration has been cancelled or another change occurred.
The new shareholder is not automatically the managing director. The statutory director can sign for the company in accordance with its registered manner of acting; a shareholder who is not appointed to that role cannot assume the same powers. A bank mandate, tax-portal authorisation and mailbox permission are separate again. The Commercial Code §§115, 118 and 133 explains these different legal positions.
Since 17 August 2026, the share-transfer agreement must be a notarial deed or an attorney-authorised agreement. For the transfer’s effect towards the company, the signed agreement is delivered to it, subject to any later contractual effect and any required general-meeting approval. Its entry in the Commercial Register is another step; it is inaccurate to say every buyer becomes a shareholder only when the register is updated. Appointment or removal of a director has its own decision and document formalities: a relevant multi-member general meeting requires notarial minutes, whereas the corresponding sole-shareholder decision may be a notarial deed or an attorney-authorised document. Have the closing professional confirm which instrument fits this company. Commercial Code §§115, 127a, 132 and 133.
Practical rule: Record five dates separately: signature, any required consent, delivery of the transfer agreement to the company, effective director appointment, and register filing/entry. Give the bank and advisers the documents they actually require; never infer their acceptance from the share agreement alone.
Before you call the handover complete
Request a dated handover inventory signed by the seller and buyer. Attach the share-transfer instrument, company consent where needed, director decisions, current founding document and Commercial Register extract; identify who submitted the register change and keep its acknowledgement. Check whether the company’s ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) data and control chain require updating. UBO information is not visible in an ordinary public register extract; obtain the company’s underlying UBO record or filing confirmation. Commercial Register Act §§25, 112 and Ministry of Justice guidance.
The same inventory should list every business authorisation, account, card and bank user; corporate power of attorney; provider of the registered office; physical keys and mail arrangements; all open contracts, loans, receivables and payables; tax registrations and any pending audit or dispute. Obtain full accounting exports, returns, bank statements at closing and copies of recent official correspondence. If a supposedly dormant company has gaps in its books, ask for an explanation and check the seller’s warranties before starting new business.
Evidence matters: A seller can hand over documents, records and a bank statement. Only the bank can grant new bank credentials, and Slovensko.sk access must follow its own legal and technical process. A handover note saying “account included” does not create a bank mandate.
Closing soon?
Review ADVISON's ready-made company buying guide and ask for a dated handover inventory covering the bank, accounting, physical mail, Slovensko.sk and old permissions. If buying an existing VAT payer, review the VAT position first.
Ready-made buying guideClosing day and days 1–3: establish control
Confirm the company number, registered directors and manner of signing in the Commercial Register. Compare that entry with signed director decisions and any pending change filing. Identify the person who can validly act now, and ask a Slovak corporate professional to resolve any uncertainty between a decision’s effective date, the filed register data and third-party reliance on the register.
Secure the company file, a complete list of former representatives and an account of existing electronic permissions. Revoke unnecessary mandates using each provider’s proper procedure. Do not take possession of a former director’s personal eID credentials. If you cannot yet access the mailbox yourself, arrange lawful access through an authorised person and check both unread and recently delivered messages immediately.
Ask the registered-office provider for mail received before closing and check whether tax, court or administrative correspondence carries a live deadline. An unopened message does not prove it has not been delivered. If a deadline may be running, involve the relevant lawyer or tax adviser that day. These are recommended priorities, not statutory “three-day” rules. e-Government Act §32.
Does the bank account transfer to the buyer?
The bank account, if there is one, belongs to the continuing company. Share ownership does not automatically give the buyer, or even a newly appointed director, working internet-banking access. The bank or payment institution controls its identity checks, mandate updates and approval of users. Read ADVISON’s bank-account guide for foreign-owned Slovak companies.
Send the bank the current and pending corporate documents, ownership chart and UBO information it requests. Ask it to confirm who may authorise payments during transition, who still holds cards or tokens, and when old and new permissions change. Capture a statement at the agreed closing time, outgoing transfers already scheduled, standing orders, direct debits, payment limits, loans and security interests. Do not distribute payment instructions to customers until the company can receive funds and its invoicing details are verified.
If onboarding is delayed, schedule the first transaction accordingly or arrange a separate compliant company payment account and accounting process. A foreign IBAN or a fintech provider can have different onboarding steps; neither automatically removes Slovak VAT-account reporting or financial-transaction-tax duties. See ADVISON’s guide to foreign IBANs, Revolut and fintech accounts. No bank or provider approval time can be guaranteed.
Slovensko.sk: recover the message history, not only the login
A Slovak company’s Slovensko.sk electronic mailbox is its official government communication channel. Statutory representatives and persons properly authorised to access it have rights under the e-Government Act §13. Delegated mailbox access alone does not authorise somebody to represent the company in every legal matter. The change of director and the status of older delegated permissions must therefore be reviewed separately; do not assume all former access is already gone.
Arrange a lawful sign-in or delegation, inspect users and permissions, and remove unnecessary authorised persons through the portal’s applicable process. Review unread items, recently delivered decisions and delivery confirmations. Set notification contacts and a named person to check the mailbox regularly. Email notifications help operations; official delivery depends on the statutory rules, not on whether an email was received. For foreign-director login options see ADVISON’s Slovensko.sk access guide.
For an official message not delivered to own hands, delivery to a company generally occurs on the day immediately after the message is stored. For delivery to own hands, it occurs when acknowledged or, absent acknowledgement, when the statutory storage period expires; the general period is 15 days starting on the day following storage, unless special legislation prescribes another period. It can be legally delivered without anyone reading it; statutory exceptions and ineffective-delivery decisions must be assessed on the facts. e-Government Act §32(2), (5)–(6). Read the dedicated guide to missed electronic mailbox messages.
VAT, tax numbers and the first invoice
Before the first invoice, check which of three positions the company actually holds: no VAT registration; full VAT-payer registration; or an identification number for selected cross-border transactions under §7 or §7a, which is not the same as full VAT-payer status. A share sale by itself does not automatically create a new company or a new VAT registration. Nor does a sales listing labelled “VAT-ready” guarantee that a registration remains valid or that earlier returns were correct. Verify directly with the Financial Administration’s public information and registers, then reconcile prior VAT returns, control statements, open proceedings and payment arrears. VAT Act §§4, 7, 7a.
For a full VAT payer, VAT Act §6 governs notification of accounts used for the business. A newly used account may need notifying before its first business use; changes to reported account details have their own prompt-notification rule. If the company keeps the same already reported account, the shareholder change alone is not a reason to invent a different account number. Confirm the current published-account position with the accountant and tax authority before instructing customer payments.
Finally, verify the registered trade name and address, IČO, DIČ, actual IČ DPH status, place of supply, VAT treatment, bank details and invoice numbering. Have the accountant approve a sample first invoice, including any cross-border supply. Possessing an IČ DPH is not permission to add Slovak VAT to every invoice. See ADVISON’s VAT-number and tax-ID explanation and VAT risks after a company transfer.
Accounting does not start from zero on closing day
The s.r.o. must continue keeping its records, including transactions before the acquisition. Contractually allocate who prepares missing documents and pays for rectification, but instruct the incoming accountant to receive a full ledger or usable export, underlying invoices, returns, payroll history if any, receivables and payables, cash records, closing bank statements and filing calendar. Outsourcing bookkeeping does not remove the company’s statutory accounting responsibility. Accounting Act §§4–5.
Identify the person who will make the next filing and payment, and ensure access to the Financial Administration portal is arranged separately from Slovensko.sk. Check whether the company is affected by Slovakia’s financial transaction tax, how each provider treats outgoing payments, and who must calculate or declare tax where a foreign provider is used. A foreign account does not by itself remove the tax for a Slovak-resident legal person. Financial Transaction Tax Act §§3–4 and Financial Administration FAQ. For broader context, see taxation of a Slovak s.r.o..
Registered-office mail is not Slovensko.sk
Check the right to use the registered address after the transfer: the owner’s consent or service agreement, term, permitted company name, contact persons and mail-scanning instructions. Obtain any accumulated letters and ask who signs for physical deliveries. Update commercial contacts and invoice headers if the company name or address changes. A registered office is a legal address; it is not evidence that a warehouse or operational office exists.
A virtual-office service may receive and scan physical post under its contract. It does not, without a separately arranged authorisation and service, monitor the company’s Slovensko.sk mailbox. The two channels need separate named owners and escalation rules. A SeatSpace mail workflow likewise should be checked against the service actually purchased.
Employees and licensed activities: check them only when they apply
For a clean shelf company with no employees, there is no reason to invent a payroll handover. If staff already exist, obtain contracts, leave and wage records, registrations, pending claims and the next payroll date before taking over their administration. If the buyer plans regulated work, compare the exact activities with registered trade authorisations and any professional permits or responsible representative. The personal qualification of a seller or former representative does not transfer merely because the shares do. Trade Licensing Act.
Days 4–10: build one operational chain
Obtain written status from the bank, accountant, mailbox monitor and registered-office provider. Name an owner for each pending register or UBO filing, tax portal permission, VAT account check and old user revocation. Record each action and its evidence in one handover tracker: “requested” is not “completed.” If banking approval is pending, defer payment-dependent commitments or use an approved company-account arrangement. Confirm who reviews first invoices, who approves payments and who escalates official messages.
The timetable is a planning device. For registrable changes, Commercial Register Act §112(1) separately requires the authorised person to submit a proposal within 30 days measured from the date in the relevant company decision, otherwise its adoption date, or the date the legal fact takes effect. Determine the actual trigger for each change at closing; do not wait until “day 30” by default.
Days 11–30: test the first real transaction
First 30 days · owner · proof · risk
- 01Closing
Closing professional: effective transfer, director decision, seller handover.
Proof to retain: Notarial or attorney-authorised transfer document, decisions, delivery evidence, signed inventory.
Risk if missed: Unclear ownership or authority.
- 02Days 1–3
Director: register, UBO, access rights, official correspondence and older messages.
Proof to retain: Current extract, filing receipt, delegated-user inventory, message/delivery record.
Risk if missed: Lapsed response or legacy access.
- 03Days 4–10
Director / bank / accountant: KYC, mandates, VAT and account validation, full books and mail.
Proof to retain: Provider confirmation, ledger receipt, VAT-status and account check, mail procedure.
Risk if missed: First payment or return cannot be handled.
- 04Days 11–30
Director / accountant: first contract, invoice, payment and filing rehearsal.
Proof to retain: Approved sample invoice, payment controls, filing calendar, accountable owner.
Risk if missed: Operational errors or missed filings.
Run one dry check with the new director, accountant and payment administrator: Can the correct person sign the contract under the current manner of acting? Are the company’s VAT treatment, tax numbers, invoice details and reported payment account right? Can the company receive money and make an approved payment? Can the accountant obtain statements and document the transaction? Is someone checking both Slovensko.sk and physical mail? Have former bank and portal permissions been addressed? File the evidence and resolve failures before the first binding transaction.
What if something is wrong after closing?
Former user still has access? Identify the system and scope, preserve the access record, revoke that person’s formal permission through the bank or portal and check payments or messages handled since closing. No bank access? Obtain a written onboarding status and arrange a lawful company payment route; do not direct company receipts into a personal account as an informal shortcut.
An unread official decision? Inspect the delivery confirmation and service method, record the delivery date and alert a lawyer or tax adviser immediately if a response or appeal period may be running. Unknown debt, missing books or doubtful VAT registration? Preserve the evidence, ask the accountant to quantify the issue, compare seller warranties and seek specialist advice before making potentially incorrect filings. Solving access later does not automatically restore a missed deadline. e-Government Act §32.
Four practical scenarios
Four practical scenarios
Polish director, clean non-VAT company
She acquires all shares and is appointed director. The company has an IČO but must not charge VAT merely because it exists. She records the director appointment and register filing, sets up bank KYC, physical mail and official-mailbox monitoring, and gives the new accountant the complete prior records. The first invoice is tested against the actual supply and VAT status.
Foreign investor, company advertised as VAT-registered
The buyer first verifies active full-payer status, recent returns and published bank-account information; the seller’s listing is not evidence of continuing registration. The bank must approve actual payment users. The accountant checks the draft invoice, VAT treatment and whether a newly used account needs notification before use.
Non-EU shareholder appoints a different director
The foreign owner’s shareholding gives ownership rights; the director named in the effective corporate decision acts for the company subject to its signing rules. The bank separately approves its mandate and KYC; the director or authorised delegate obtains lawful Slovensko.sk access. Ownership alone grants none of these credentials.
Recently delivered decision found after closing
The buyer records storage and legal-delivery information, sends the complete decision and delivery record to the appropriate adviser immediately, identifies any response or appeal period, and preserves the seller’s handover evidence. The fact that nobody read an email does not itself postpone official delivery.
Common mistakes during the first month
Treating the shareholder and director as the same legal role, or assuming the bank already recognises the new director.
Reading only new emails and missing earlier delivered Slovensko.sk decisions.
Letting former bank users, advisers or delegated mailbox users keep unnecessary permissions.
Assuming a virtual office monitors official electronic delivery.
Assuming a VAT identification number proves full active payer status or guarantees every VAT invoice.
Starting fresh books while leaving old returns, payables and evidence with the seller.
Treating the practical 30-day plan as the filing deadline for every legal, tax or court matter.
Already bought a Slovak ready-made company?
Send ADVISON its name and IČO, closing date, transfer and registration status, director details, VAT status, available company account, mailbox-access position and accounting handover status. We review the first-30-days setup and flag what still needs action.
Contact ADVISONFrequently asked questions
Does buying a ready-made s.r.o. create a new company?
No. A share purchase changes the company’s shareholder while the existing legal person continues. Its identification number, records, contracts and liabilities remain those of the company; verify the status of individual tax registrations separately. Commercial Code.
When can I sign for the acquired company?
Share ownership alone is insufficient. You must be its duly appointed managing director, or have another legally sufficient authority, and follow the company’s manner of acting. Check the decision, its effective date and register position, especially where a third party relies on the public entry. Commercial Code §§127a, 132–133.
Does the company’s bank account automatically come with usable login credentials?
No. The account may remain in the company’s name, but banks and payment institutions apply their own KYC and mandate procedures to the new director and users. Request written confirmation of authorised persons, pending payments and revocation of old credentials before relying on the account.
Does a VAT number remain valid after the share transfer?
A share sale does not by itself create a new legal person or automatically cancel its VAT registration. The company’s current status, account reporting and historical compliance still require verification; §7 or §7a identification is not full payer registration. VAT Act.
What happens to old messages in the electronic mailbox?
They belong to the company’s existing mailbox and should be reviewed during handover, including delivery receipts. A message can be legally delivered before a buyer obtains access. The delivery moment depends on whether service is to own hands and any applicable special rule. e-Government Act §32.
Can a former director or adviser still see company messages?
Do not assume either automatic ongoing access or automatic complete removal. The statutory basis for a director’s access and separately granted delegated access must be checked against current register information and portal permissions. Revoke obsolete delegated rights through the proper process and preserve evidence of the change. e-Government Act §13.
Must I notify the tax authority of a different bank account?
A VAT payer must apply the VAT Act §6 account-notification rules. A newly used business account may require notification before its first use; changes to reported details must be handled promptly. If the already reported company account is unchanged, the shareholder change alone does not create a new account.
Is there a general 30-day period before I must start monitoring or filing?
No. “First 30 days” is an editorial work plan; official delivery and tax deadlines follow their own rules. A separate 30-day period to submit registrable changes is set out in Commercial Register Act §112, measured from its specified decision date or legal event.
