Autónoma o Sociedad

The learner is a maintenance and quality engineer in A Coruna, Spain, who leaves her job on 31 January 2027 to consult on her own and sets up the practice over her first year.

Decision 1, January 2027: the legal form (self-employed sole trader with the EUR 80 flat contribution, a single-member limited company from day one, or sole trader with a written rule to incorporate in 2028 if 2027 profit exceeds EUR 60,000), her former employer offer of four days a week on its premises and schedule as a so-called freelancer (accept, counter with a two-day project with deliverables, or decline) and how the money is kept (one account, a business account setting aside VAT and 25 percent for tax, or VAT only).

Decision 2, April: the invoicing tool (a Word template, compliant invoicing software, or the accountant doing everything), a German business client (charge Spanish VAT, register as an intra-EU operator and invoice under the reverse charge, or decline) and quarterly VAT (on time, late with a surcharge, or the cash-accounting scheme).

Decision 3, July: professional liability insurance (none, EUR 300,000 or EUR 1,000,000), the contract (a quote by email, her own terms capping liability at the fee, or the client contract with unlimited liability and 90-day payment) and an unpaid EUR 9,000 invoice (wait, a notarial demand with interest and the EUR 40 compensation, or stop working for the client).

Decision 4, October: year-end expenses (real ones only, putting family holidays and the household car through the business, or buying equipment early to pay less tax), a pension contribution (none, EUR 1,500, or EUR 5,750) and the 2028 contribution base (minimum, matching expected earnings, or higher).

A deterministic model with a simplified progressive income-tax scale, corporate tax for new companies, contributions on real earnings and a large-claim scenario drives 2027 net income, expected 2028 net income, a worst-case out-of-pocket figure and paperwork hours a month.

The score combines the quality of each decision with those four outcomes and is capped when personal spending is deducted as a business expense, a tax offence under Spanish law. Spanish (primary, Spain) and English.

An intermediate simulation for participants who already know the core concepts of the subject, designed for master's and MBA programmes.