Starting an e-shop has two parts that tend to get mixed together: authorities and law (trade licence, VAT, mandatory requirements) and the store itself (platform, products, launch). The first part is cheaper and faster than folklore suggests. The second decides whether you'll actually sell. Here is the whole process in the order that makes sense, with figures verified with the authorities, not hearsay.
Quick answer: five steps to an e-shop
- Trade licence, a free trade (volná živnost), registration costs 1,000 CZK, field "Wholesale and retail". Any trade licensing office or online.
- Legal requirements, terms and conditions, the 14-day withdrawal right, complaint rules, GDPR, a correctly labelled order button. Details below.
- Platform, for most new Czech e-shops that's Shoptet; the comparison of routes is in the platform selection guide.
- Content, products, photos, descriptions and shipping. The most underestimated step: for two hundred products it takes longer than everything else combined.
- Launch and measurement, analytics, price-comparison feeds, a full test order.
Budget: technically you can start for thousands of crowns (platform plan + domain). Realistically, budget by scope, the complete numbers including design and content are in how much an e-shop costs.
Step 1: Trade licence and authorities, cheaper and faster than people say
Which trade licence do I need for an e-shop?
A free trade ("Production, trade and services not listed in Annexes 1-3 of the Trade Licensing Act"), field of activity Wholesale and retail. No education or experience required. Registration costs €40 on first entry into business (subsequent notifications €20) and can be done at any trade licensing office, via CzechPOINT or a data box.
If you sell specific goods (food, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, weapons…), special rules apply, check those before you buy stock, not after.
When do I have to register for VAT?
Since 1 January 2025 a two-tier system applies (turnover is counted per calendar year, not over the last 12 months):
| Turnover per calendar year | What happens |
|---|---|
| over 2,000,000 CZK | you become a VAT payer from 1 January of the following year |
| over 2,536,500 CZK | you become a VAT payer the very next day after crossing it |
The registration application is due within 10 working days. Details are published by the Czech Financial Administration, and with VAT, an accountant pays off before the thresholds become a problem, not after.
Do I need to handle EET (electronic sales records)?
No. EET was abolished as of 1 January 2023.
Step 2: What an e-shop must contain legally
This is where new stores most often slip, and where fines hurt. The minimum checklist:
| Obligation | Specifically |
|---|---|
| Identification | name, company ID, registered office, contact, visible, not buried five clicks deep |
| Terms and conditions | understandable, available before ordering; don't copy someone else's (they tend to be flawed and it's a copyright violation) |
| Prices | final prices including VAT and all fees; shipping cost before the order is completed |
| Order button | it must be clear the order obliges payment (e.g. "Order and pay", the Civil Code has required this explicitly since the 2023 amendment) |
| Withdrawal | consumers have 14 days to return goods without giving a reason (§ 1829 of the Civil Code) + a model form |
| Complaints | resolution within 30 days; rights from defective performance for 2 years |
| Out-of-court dispute resolution | information about the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ČOI) |
| GDPR | privacy policy, legal bases, a cookie bar with a genuine choice |
I'm not a lawyer, for terms and conditions, a one-off investment in legal review beats an internet template. This checklist covers what ČOI asks about most often during inspections.
Step 3: Choosing a platform, requirements first, brand names second
Just a signpost here, because the detailed comparison has its own article:
- Selling in CZ/SK and want to launch fast → Shoptet. Czech integrations (Zásilkovna, Heureka, payment gateways) come out of the box; the full path from registration to launch is in the Shoptet from scratch guide.
- Selling across countries and currencies → Shopify; the Czech specifics are in Shopify for the Czech market.
- B2B price lists, non-standard processes or custom logic → a custom e-shop.
Decide by catalogue, volume and integrations, not by what a friend happens to use.
Step 4: Content, the step that sets your launch date
Getting the platform running takes days. What actually determines the launch date:
- Product data, names, descriptions, parameters, categories. For 200 products, expect dozens of hours; for XML/CSV imports, get advice on the structure first.
- Photos, your own photos sell better than the supplier's stock images (your competitors have those too). They don't need a studio; they need consistency.
- Shipping and payments, carriers, pricing logic (free shipping threshold), a payment gateway. Negotiate carrier contracts in parallel with content work, not after it.
- Non-product pages, about, contact, FAQ. These are exactly the pages that decide trust at the first order.
Step 5: Launch and measurement
Before going live:
- A test order through the whole flow including payment and emails.
- Analytics, conversion measurement from day one; without data you won't know what to fix.
- Price-comparison feeds, Heureka and Zboží.cz can bring the first customers sooner than SEO.
- Basic SEO, meaningful category names, unique descriptions, a working sitemap. The checklist is in the SEO guide for e-shops.
And treat launch as the start, not the finish, the first months show what customers actually search for and where the flow squeaks.
Frequently asked questions
How much does starting an e-shop cost?
The bureaucratic part is cheap: the trade licence is 1,000 CZK. The rest depends on the route: a self-built store on a ready-made template starts in the thousands of crowns (platform plan and domain), and a store built by a professional on Shoptet or Shopify starts at €3,200 with me. The complete cost breakdown including running costs is in how much an e-shop costs.
Can I sell without a trade licence?
Regular selling for profit is business and requires a licence. The exception is occasional sales (e.g. your own surplus items), but as soon as you buy goods in order to resell them, you need the licence from the first order.
When do I have to become a VAT payer?
At turnover over 2,000,000 CZK per calendar year you become a payer from 1 January of the next year; crossing €101,500 makes you a payer the very next day. Since 2025 turnover is counted per calendar year. Cross-border sales have their own rules (OSS), that's a topic for your accountant.
How long does starting an e-shop take?
The trade licence takes minutes to a few days. Getting the platform running takes days. The real timeline is set by content: weeks for dozens of products, longer for hundreds. From decision to launch, plan realistically for 4-8 weeks.
Do I need stock to start?
Not necessarily, dropshipping or made-to-order both work without a warehouse. They have catches (margins, delivery times, and complaint liability stays with you). Availability is also one of the things that decides conversion, "in stock, ships today" sells.
Sources and links
- Czech Financial Administration, VAT payer changes from 1 Jan 2025, the two-tier 2,000,000 / €101,500 thresholds
- Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code, § 1829 (14-day withdrawal), rights from defective performance
- Act No. 455/1991 Coll., the Trade Licensing Act, free trades
- Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ČOI), out-of-court consumer dispute resolution, inspection practice