The company-formation market is littered with providers, from US$100 online mills to law firms charging HK$7,000–8,000 a year. There is no uniform price — which is exactly why the advertised number tells you almost nothing. The only question that matters is what you get for what you pay. Here's a true story about what one client got.
The client with the magic books
A client came to us from a mainland-China-based incorporation provider — a volume operation, likely serving thousands of companies — advertising roughly HK$4,500 a year, government fees included, for his Hong Kong company. That price sits barely above cost; at first I genuinely couldn't understand how it was possible.
He used the same provider for accounting, and what he got was what I call magic accounting: he handed over bank statements, was involved in nothing else, and the accounts came back conveniently breaking even every year — with no visibility into how any number was produced. Support, when he needed it, was a WeChat account. In Mandarin only.
Untangling those books took over six months of combined effort — his time, our team's, and the auditor's — before the accounts could withstand proper scrutiny. The durable fix wasn't heroics; it was structure: we set up a proper expense-reporting channel for his staff and trained them on record-keeping. (They now run so cleanly that they're migrating onto Certanta, our AI-assisted bookkeeping platform, next fiscal year.)
The final touch came during the handover itself. The old provider's documentation was incomplete, and everything had a price — including RMB 1,000 to update the director's passport details at the Companies Registry. Why RMB, for a Hong Kong filing? Because the agent sits across the border. Every sneeze had a fee. We processed the change for free and completed the transfer.
To be fair: sometimes cheap is fine
Honesty first: if all you need is a registered address and a nominal company secretary — you do your own books, file your own changes, and never need advice — a budget provider is genuinely fine. No shame in it. The trap is needing more than that and discovering, at the worst moment, that "more" was never on the menu.
What "full service" actually means
Full service doesn't mean premium service. It means, quite modestly:
- Someone answers you the same day — on your channel: email, phone, WhatsApp, Signal — and the answer is coherent, because the person is knowledgeable and knows your file.
- Someone you can visit without a million arrangements. (Our office is a minute from Tin Hau MTR — clients walk in.)
- Routine changes included — address, passport number — not billed per sneeze.
- The rest of the picture under the same roof — accounting, audit coordination, and if you're planning to move to Hong Kong yourself, someone who can actually answer those questions too. Mills do one thing; for everything else it's hands up, you're on your own.
- Continuity. Budget providers churn staff — your "personal manager" jumps ship after a year, and without handover processes (most have none) the replacement doesn't know you exist.
The year-2 ambush
Here's what the budget packages most reliably leave out of the conversation — and what it costs when it surfaces:
Every Hong Kong company must prepare audited accounts annually. I've had clients migrate to us who simply did not know this. As a rough guide: basic accounting starts around HK$8,000 a year, and an audit from about HK$5,000, scaling with turnover. That's more than the entire HK$4,500 "all-in" package — for obligations the package never mentioned.
And the misconception I have heard literally a hundred times: "My company is in Hong Kong but all our operations are outside — so we're not taxable in Hong Kong, so there's nothing to do." Hong Kong's territorial tax system is real, and foreign-sourced profits may indeed escape Hong Kong tax — but that does not exempt you from accounting and audit. Even with an offshore claim filed with the IRD, audited accounts remain mandatory, every year. (What that claim involves in practice is a story of its own.)
Do the math over three years
Price the cheap package honestly: HK$4,500, plus a fee for every filing change, plus accounting and audit you were going to owe anyway (sourced in a panic from strangers), plus your own hours untangling books nobody can explain — and, if it goes really wrong, a six-month cleanup. Our HK$12,800 all-in first year includes the filing changes, multi-channel support in several languages (including Mandarin), and books you can actually explain to a bank, an auditor, or the IRD. The expensive package is the cheap one.
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Start your companyFrequently asked questions
Is a cheap incorporation provider ever a reasonable choice?
Yes — honestly. If you only need an address and a nominal secretary and handle everything else yourself, budget is fine. The problems start when you need actual service.
Do Hong Kong companies really need an audit every year?
Yes — every HK-incorporated company. Roughly: accounting from HK$8,000/yr, audit from HK$5,000, scaling with turnover. Budget packages rarely mention either at signup.
My operations are all outside Hong Kong — am I exempt?
No. Territorial taxation may spare foreign-sourced profits from Hong Kong tax, but annual accounting and audit remain mandatory — even with an offshore claim filed.
What should a full-service package include?
Same-day multi-channel support, routine filing changes included, accounting and audit under one roof, and people who know your file.
Figures are typical ranges from our practice as of 2026 and vary with company complexity and turnover. General information, not professional advice for your specific situation.