The Founder’s First 90-Day Compliance Checklist

Incorporation is the easy part. The next 90 days decide how clean — or expensive — the next three years will be.

Week 1: open the current account, apply for GST (if turnover threshold likely), and register on the MSME portal.

Week 2–4: set up accounting software, chart of accounts, and a basic expense policy.

Month 2: appoint statutory auditor within 30 days of incorporation, file ADT-1, issue share certificates within 60 days.

Month 3: set up TDS deduction process, payroll, and the first quarterly return cycle.

Founders who treat this checklist seriously save themselves the typical year-three compliance clean-up that costs 5–10x more.