Which enterprises of the organization are called commercial. What is a commercial organization? Forms of commercial organizations

According to the law, a commercial organization is usually called a legal entity that seeks to make a profit in the course of its activities. The forms of commercial organizations can be very different, and, nevertheless, the essence of their existence will not change.

A commercial organization is an independent economic unit that can produce goods and services for consumption by society, and of course, to make a profit from its activities. Each of them complies with the norms established at the legislative level.

Basic concept and essence of a commercial enterprise

Depending on their goals, it is customary to distinguish between commercial and non-profit organizations. Some, in the process of activity, strive to obtain a high income, others provide services of a non-commercial, that is, non-profitable nature.

Those organizations that are classified as commercial are created solely to generate income. Moreover, the activities of such organizations are directly related to the sale of goods and services. Supply material resources, as well as trade and intermediary activities. According to current legislation, there may be several types of organizations, differing in characteristics. Not every one of these can be considered commercial. It is necessary to highlight the main criteria according to which an organization can be considered commercial:

The main goal is profit

• The pursuit of the goal is to make a profit that fully covers expenses.
• Created in accordance with established legal norms.
• Upon receipt of profit, it distributes it in accordance with the owners' shares in the authorized capital.
• They have their own property.
• They can be held accountable for their obligations.
• They exercise their rights and responsibilities independently, act in court, etc.

The main goals pursued by business entities conducting commercial activities include:

• Release of products or services that can compete in the market. At the same time, what is produced is constantly and systematically updated, has demand and production capacity for production.
• Rational use of resources. This goal is due to the fact that it affects the final cost of the product or service produced. Thus, due to a rational approach to use, the cost of products does not increase while maintaining high quality indicators.
• Commercial organizations systematically develop strategy and tactics, which are adjusted depending on market behavior.
• Has all the conditions to ensure the qualifications of its subordinates, including growth wages, creating a favorable climate in the team.
• Conducts pricing policy in such a way that it corresponds to the market as much as possible, and also performs a number of other functions.

Finance of commercial organizations

As part of the creation of enterprise funds, finances are created and formed, which are based on the enterprise’s own resources, as well as attracting funds from outside, that is, investments. As a rule, the finances of each organization are closely related to cash flow.
It is generally accepted that the economic independence of each commercial enterprise is impossible without the implementation of the same type of characteristics in the field of finance. Thus, regardless of other entities, each business entity determines its expenses and sources of financing in accordance with current legislation.

It is important to note that finance has two important functions for an enterprise, namely:

• Distribution.
• Test.

Under the distribution function, the initial capital is executed and formed, which is based on the contributions of the founders. Capital is formed depending on the volume of their investment, and accordingly determines the rights of each of them in order to ultimately distribute legally received income, as well as the possibility and procedure for using such funds. Thus, at the enterprise, it turns out to influence manufacturing process and the interests of each of the subjects of civil circulation.

The control function is designed to take into account the costs of production and the sale of manufactured goods or products, in accordance with their value and the costs of the product. Thus, it is possible to form and predict a fund of funds, including a reserve fund.

The finances of the enterprise must be under control, which is implemented through:

• Analysis at the enterprise itself, regarding its indicators for the execution of the budget and plan, the schedule for fulfilling obligations, etc.
• Control can be exercised directly by regulatory government bodies regarding the timely and complete calculation of tax obligations, as well as the correctness of their accrual.
• Other companies hired to perform the supervisory function. These could be various consulting companies.

Thus, by exercising control over financial indicators, there is an opportunity to identify the real result of maintaining economic activity, make a decision regarding the feasibility of the chosen direction of activity, the quality of its conduct, as well as its continuation.

Otherwise, without proper control, any of the business entities may become bankrupt, having no idea in which of the articles it had a “hole”

Modern classification of activities

Today, commercial organizations are usually classified as follows:

• Corporations.
• State and .

It is important to note that the first group is corporations, these are those commercial enterprises that are managed by the founders, as well as members of higher bodies who have corporate rights. At the same time, a large group of corporations may include business societies and partnerships, industrial enterprises, as well as farming enterprises.

The second group includes organizations that do not have ownership rights to property transferred by the owner. So they can't acquire corporate law on him. Such enterprises are created under the supervision of the state.

At the same time, the legislation defines the following forms of organizational and legal form:

• Full partnership. This form is characterized by the fact that it has a company charter, which is based on the contributions of the co-founders. Profit or loss borne by participants general partnership, are divided proportionally.
• Farming.
• Economic society.
• A company with additional responsibility. With this form of management, participants bear obligations, that is, each participant is responsible for obligations in accordance with their investment.
• Limited Liability Company. This is an institution that has one or more persons at its head. It has constituent documents, but the number of its co-founders is limited to fifty.
• . This enterprise does not have property that would be assigned to it, because such enterprises are most often state-owned.
• Trading company or foreign company.
• Multinational enterprise.
• Joint-stock company. This form of business is determined by the authorized capital, which is divided depending on the participants. Each of them is not responsible for the obligations that arise in the course of activity. Profit is distributed in proportion to shares.
• Non-public joint stock company. Limited Liability Company.
• Production cooperative.

Difference between for-profit and non-profit organizations

In terms of business form, commercial and non-profit organizations differ. In particular, one of the most important differences is making a profit. So, it does not set such a goal, unlike a commercial one.

More details in the video

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LLC in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the Law on Limited Liability Companies (hereinafter referred to as the LLC Law) Federal Law “On Limited Liability Companies” dated 02/08/1998 No. 14-FZ (as amended on July 11, December 31, 1998, 21 March 2002) clause 1. Art.2. Chapter 1. a business entity is recognized authorized capital which is divided among the participants into shares of sizes determined by the constituent documents. Its participants bear the so-called limited liability for the activities of the company, i.e. they are not liable for its obligations and bear the risk of losses associated with the activities of the company, within the value of the contributions they made. The law allows a company participant to pay the due share in the authorized capital over a certain time, and not at a time.

In this case, participants who have not fully contributed to the authorized capital of the company bear joint liability for its obligations to the extent of the value of the unpaid part of the contribution of each of its participants. This type corporations are an invention of German lawyers made at the end of the 19th century and caused by the requirements of practice, which showed the insufficient elasticity of joint-stock companies. Participants in the company have only obligatory, but not real rights to property in relation to it. A company participant can claim his property only in cases of its liquidation, upon his withdrawal from it and other cases when it must make settlements with him, for example, in the event of failure to obtain consent from the remaining participants in the company to alienate a share to another participant.

LLC is a commercial organization, making profit for it is the main goal of its activities. This means that it can carry out any type of entrepreneurial activity Unlike non-profit organizations who have the right to conduct business activities only insofar as it serves the achievement of the goals for which they were created. Certain types of activities, the list of which is determined federal laws, the company can engage in activities only on the basis of a special permit (license). The types of activities subject to licensing are determined by the Federal Law “On Licensing individual species activities." Federal Law “On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities” dated 08.08.2001 No. 128-FZ (as amended on March 13, 21, December 9, 2002, January 10, February 27, March 11, 26, December 23, 2003, November 2, 2004) art. 17. If the conditions for granting a special permit (license) to carry out a certain type of activity provide for the requirement to conduct such activity as exclusive, then the company during the period of validity of the special permit (license) has the right to engage only in those types of activities that are provided for by the special permit (license), and associated species activities.

LLC is considered created as a legal entity from the moment of its state registration. The legal capacity of the company ceases with its liquidation and the entry of this into a single State Register legal entities. Unless other conditions are specified in the charter, the company operates without a time limit. The company is liable for its obligations with all its property and is not liable for the obligations of its participants. However, in certain cases there may be exceptions to this rule.

The LLC must have a full name in Russian and mailing address, through which communication with him is carried out. Location of the company general rule determined by the place of its state registration. However, in constituent documents it may be established that it is the permanent location of its management bodies or the main place of its activities. The legislator obliges the company to use the words “limited liability company” or the abbreviation LLC in the full and abbreviated corporate name of the company, respectively, and allows the use of the name of the company in any language.

The Company has a number of characteristics that make it possible to establish its place among other business Partnerships and Societies.

Firstly, LLC, like all business partnerships and companies, is a legal entity. The features contained in the legal definition of a legal entity (Article 48 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) - organizational unity, the presence of proprietary rights to property, independent liability, acting in circulation in one’s own name, procedural legal personality - require different specifications for different forms of a legal entity. The only point common to all legal entities is the ability to speak outside on their own behalf.

Secondly, the lack of liability of the Company's participants for the obligations of the LLC. The very name “limited liability company” is not entirely accurate. The Company bears full responsibility for its obligations with all its property, and the participants do not bear any liability for the obligations of the Society, except in cases provided for by law.

In accordance with the Law on Companies, LLC can create branches and open representative offices by decision general meeting members of the LLC, adopted by a majority of at least two-thirds of the total number of votes of the LLC participants, unless the need for a larger number of votes to make such a decision is not provided for by the charter of the company. Creation of LLC branches and opening of their representative offices in the territory Russian Federation are carried out in compliance with the requirements of the Law and other federal laws, and outside the territory of the Russian Federation also in accordance with the legislation of the foreign state on the territory of which branches are created or representative offices are opened, unless otherwise provided by international treaties of the Russian Federation.

An LLC may have subsidiaries and dependent business companies with the rights of a legal entity, created on the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the Law and other federal laws, and outside the territory of the Russian Federation also in accordance with the legislation of the foreign state on the territory of which the subsidiary or dependent business company was created , unless otherwise provided by international treaties of the Russian Federation.

• 1. Participants of the Company who have not made full contributions bear joint liability for its obligations within the value of the unpaid part of the contribution of each participant (Clause 1, Article 87 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation; Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Companies). The subjects of liability are all participants who have not fully made the contributions provided for by the constituent documents. Members of the company are responsible to the creditors of the Company, and not to the company. At the same time, the company itself has the right to demand that the participant fulfill his obligation - to make a contribution on time, in the prescribed manner and in the form in which it is provided for in the constituent agreement.
• 2. In accordance with clause 3. Art. 56 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and clause 3 of Art. 3 of the Law on Companies, if the insolvency of a legal entity is caused by its participants or other persons who have the right to give instructions mandatory for this legal entity or otherwise have the opportunity to determine its actions, such persons, in the event of insufficient property of the legal entity, may be assigned subsidiary responsibility for his obligations. The meaning of the norm is a certain compensation to creditors in the event that obligations were accepted on behalf of the Company, but the participant or other persons had the opportunity to give mandatory instructions or determine the actions of the legal entity. To impose subsidiary liability, the following conditions are required:

The legal basis for the ability to determine the actions of the Company is participation in the capital, providing a majority of votes compared to other participants, or the existence of an agreement on the obligation of instructions and the use of this opportunity.

• 3. In accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 105 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and clause 3 of Art. 6 of the Law on Companies, the parent company, which has the right to give instructions to the subsidiary company that are obligatory for it, is jointly and severally liable with the subsidiary company for transactions concluded by the latter in pursuance of such instructions.
• 4. In the event of non-monetary contributions to the authorized capital of the Company, the Company’s participants and an independent appraiser, within three years from the date of state registration of the Company or corresponding changes in the Company’s charter, jointly and severally bear, if the Company’s property is insufficient, subsidiary liability for its obligations in the amount of the overvaluation of non-monetary contributions (clause 2 of article 15 of the Law on Companies).

Thirdly, a limited liability company is an organization that unites the property of its participants. Therefore, naturally, we should turn to the question of the features of the authorized capital, i.e. property. The presence of property ensures the property isolation of the company from its participants and independent responsibility. The company, even at its inception, must have a certain authorized capital, the amount of which is indicated in the constituent documents. Martemyanov V.S. Economic law. T. 1 - M., 2002. - P. 175.

The company, like other business partnerships and companies, has separate property transferred by the participants and received in the process of activity, and accounted for on an independent balance sheet (clause 2 of article 2 of the Law on Companies). The independent balance sheet reflects everything property rights and liabilities, revenues and expenses. The independent balance sheet includes the property of branches, representative offices and separate divisions.

Fourthly, the authorized capital of the company is divided into a certain number of parts (shares). The shares may be equal or unequal. By payment or obligation to pay these shares in a certain amount, the right to membership in the company is acquired. The authorized capital itself consists of the totality of contributions from participants.

The participant who made the contribution loses any real rights to the contributed property, acquiring rights of claim against the company. The size of the participant’s share determines the size (volume) of the participant’s legal obligations claims to the company. But in addition to rights, the share also determines the size of the participant’s obligation to society. Thus, a share of participation is a set of rights and obligations in a certain amount of each participant in relations with society, i.e., in a broad sense, a share is a set of legal rights and obligations; in a narrow sense - the share of participation of a participant in the property of the company Rosenberg V.V. Limited Liability Partnership. - St. Petersburg, 1999. - P. 27.. The meaning of allocating shares is for the participant to exercise their rights to management, part of the profit, liquidation quota, receipt actual value shares, as well as obligations to make a contribution in the amount determined by the size of the owned share in the capital. A participation share in the form of a set of rights is a kind of counter-representation, an equivalent presented in an obligation in exchange for the participant’s contribution.

Fifthly, the presence of obligatory relations between the participants of the company. Internal relations in society consist of the relations of participants among themselves and participants with society. Fact of existence constituent agreement, signed by the participants, implies the existence of rights and obligations of the participants in relation to each other for the entire period of operation of the company.

A limited liability company, although based on an association of capital (like any business company) and does not provide for the mandatory participation of the persons creating it in production and economic activities, commercial activities society, presupposes, at the same time, the establishment of closer corporate and economic ties between its participants and the company than, say, in a joint-stock company, which is manifested in: a special procedure for joining a limited liability company; the restriction permitted by law on the admission of new persons to its composition; the possibility of the company purchasing a share owned by a participant; the right of a participant to leave the company with payment to him of the actual value of his share and a number of other features characteristic of these structures. At the same time, limited liability companies are quite close to closed joint stock companies. These relations arise on the basis of a civil law contract, which is the constituent agreement, bind certain persons and have as their content the obligation to take active actions, i.e. these are typical obligatory legal relations.

Sixthly, the internal structure of society implies the need for governing bodies, whose actions are the actions of society itself. The totality of all participants forms only the highest body of the society, limited in its actions by the conditions contained in the constituent documents. Volobuev Yu.A. Limited Liability Company. - M.: "Filin", 2004. - P. 19.

An LLC, like a joint-stock company, is a form of commercial organization, where the presence of a participant status does not mean the obligatory and necessary participation in the management of the company. Persons who are not members of the company can act as the executive body of the company, and the functions of the sole executive body can be transferred to the manager of a commercial organization or individual entrepreneur(Article 42 of the Law on Societies).

Seventhly, a company can be founded by one or more persons. However, the number of its founders cannot exceed more than fifty - the maximum number of participants established by clause 3 of Art. 7 of the Law on Societies. In addition, a company cannot have another business company consisting of one person as its sole founder (participant) (clause 2 of article 88 of the Civil Code, clause 2 of article 7 of the Law on Companies).

In paragraph 2 of Art. 2. The Law on Companies establishes the basic provisions necessary for a company to acquire the status of a legal entity:

a) a limited liability company owns separate property that is accounted for on its own balance sheet. The source of its formation is, as already noted, funds contributed by the founders (participants) of the company as a contribution to the authorized capital, as well as property acquired on other grounds provided by law - as a result of production, economic, commercial activities, etc. (Article 218-219 of the Civil Code).

As contributions to the property of a business company in accordance with Art. 27 of the Law on Companies may be amended cash and other material assets, as well as property or other rights that have a monetary value. At the same time, the company may own intellectual property objects created by it in the course of its activities - the right to industrial designs, certain technologies, trademark and etc.

b) the company may, on its own behalf, acquire and exercise property and personal non-property rights and bear obligations. This is manifested in the exercise of the owner’s powers to own, use and dispose of property to meet their own needs, conduct production and economic activities, for charitable and other purposes. The company can enter into transactions for the alienation of its own property and the acquisition of new ones (purchase and sale agreements, exchange, donation); transferring your property for rent or temporary use (under a loan agreement); pledge it, make it as a contribution to the authorized capital of other business companies, etc.

These rights are exercised by the company freely, except in cases where legislative restrictions apply. Yes, Art. 575 of the Civil Code does not allow commercial organizations to donate property to each other. Art. 690 of the Civil Code prohibits commercial organizations from transferring property for free use to a person who is a founder, participant in this organization, as well as its director, member of a collegial management or control body.

The company bears responsibilities related to the exercise of the rights of the owner - concerns about the maintenance of the property belonging to it (Articles 209, 210 of the Civil Code).

• c) another feature of a legal entity is the right to be a plaintiff and defendant in court. Right to legal protection provided for in Art. 11 Civil Code. The Company is independently responsible for its obligations except in cases established by law.
• d) society has organizational unity, which is manifested primarily in a certain hierarchy, subordination of the governing bodies that make up its structure, and in the clear regulation of relations between its participants. Thus, many persons united in society act in civil circulation as one person.

Being a commercial organization, the company in accordance with Art. 49 of the Civil Code and paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Law on Companies has general legal capacity, that is, it can have civil rights and bear civil responsibilities necessary to carry out any types of activities not prohibited by law. Article 2 of the Law on Companies also notes that the activities of the company should not contradict the subject and goals specifically limited in the company’s charter. Such restrictions can be established in the charter by decision of either the founders (when creating the company) or the general meeting of participants (by introducing amendments and additions to the Charter), based on the purposes for which the company is being created. The execution of transactions by a company in conflict with the goals of its activities, which are definitely limited in its constituent documents, is the basis for the court to invalidate them at the request of this company, its founder (participant) or government agency supervising the activities of a given legal entity, if it is proven that the other party to the transaction knew or should have known about its illegality (Article 173 of the Civil Code).

All organizations can be divided into 2 categories: commercial and non-profit. The main goal of creating and operating commercial organizations is to make a profit. For non-profit organizations, profit is not an important goal.

Types of commercial organizations according to civil law:

Limited liability companies;

Municipal and state unitary enterprises;

Features of each type:

Partnerships (general) are commercial organizations that are created on the basis of a special constituent agreement. Entrepreneurial activities in general partnerships are carried out on behalf of the partnership. All participants of the partnership bear property liability for the activities of this commercial organization. Losses and profits are distributed between each participant in proportion to his contribution.

Production cooperatives are commercial organizations operating on the basis of the personal desire of citizens, with the aim of conducting joint economic or production activities. Each member of the cooperative must personally participate in economic or production activities. The responsibility of each member is subsidiary. The governing body is a meeting of members of the cooperative.

A limited liability company is an organization in which the authorized capital is divided into shares between the founders according to the profit between the participants of the LLC is distributed according to their shares. Participants are not responsible for the debts and obligations of their organization. The highest governing body of an LLC is the meeting of its participants.

Unitary enterprises are commercial organizations that do not have the right to dispose of property assigned to them by the owner. A unitary enterprise cannot be divided between participants. The owner of the property of such an enterprise is the state or municipal service. The governing body is the manager appointed by the owner of the enterprise.

Partnerships (limited partnerships) are commercial organizations in which participants are liable for the obligations and debts of the enterprise with their property. In a limited partnership, unlike a general partnership, there are multiple investors who bear the risk of loss.

A company with additional liability is a company founded by one or more founders. The ALC is divided among the participants into shares, which are defined in the constituent documents. ODO bears 2 types of responsibility:

* the company itself in the amount of the established fund;

* each (according to contributions).

A joint stock company is an organization in which the authorized capital is divided into an equal number of shares, which certify the rights of the participant in relation to the company. The meeting of shareholders is the main governing body. The number of votes that each shareholder has is distributed in proportion to the number of shares purchased. Profits are also divided in proportion to the number of shares. Joint stock companies, in which shares can be sold not only to shareholders, are called open. Joint stock companies in which shares cannot be sold without the prior consent of shareholders are called closed ones.

Registration of commercial organizations takes place in the registration authorities. In this case, the specifics of registration and creation of organizations must be taken into account.

In the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, all legal entities are divided into commercial and non-commercial enterprises. According to statistics, for one unit of the latter there are seven units of the former. What is the difference between them - let's figure it out today. The topic of this article is the difference between commercial organizations and non-profit organizations.

What are the similarities

First, let's look at how these two organizations are similar. There are few such points:

• Both types of enterprises operate in a market environment, therefore, they can act as sellers, buyers, provide or consume services.
• Each of the enterprises must earn finances, manage them, as well as spend and invest.
• Both enterprises are obliged to cover with revenues running costs, plan for the future and, at a minimum, maintain the level without loss.
• Accounting is mandatory for both organizations.

From all this we can conclude that commercial and enterprise work on the same principle. However, there are a number of points on which they differ greatly. Now let's look at the differences and learn how a for-profit organization differs from a non-profit organization.

What is the difference

1. Direction of activity. The main differences between enterprises lie in the focus of their activities. Thus, a commercial organization is created with the goal of making a profit, while a non-profit organization is aimed at achieving goals of a different, intangible nature.
2. The initial goal of the enterprise. A commercial organization strives to increase the value of the enterprise and increase the income of the owners; a non-profit company performs the work specified in the charter, which involves the provision of services and other activities without the founders making a profit.
3. Work with profit. All proceeds from a commercial enterprise are distributed among its participants or used for its further development. In a non-profit company, the concept of “profit” is completely absent. But there are funds that are spent on specific matters and are not distributed among the participants.
4. Services and goods. Commercial enterprises produce customized goods and services. The work of non-profit enterprises is aimed at social needs and the provision of public goods.
5. . For commercial organizations, this is the end consumer; for non-profit organizations, this is the clients and participants of the company.
6. Enterprise staff. People work in commercial enterprises wage-earners, trainees and people. In non-profit companies work activity carried out not only by the people mentioned above, but also by volunteers, volunteers and the participants themselves.
7. Sources of finance. Commercial enterprises earn money through their activities and participation in the capital of third-party enterprises. Non-profit organizations receive funds from foundations, the state, investors, business (this applies to external receipts), as well as from their members, rental of premises, interest on deposits, transactions on the stock market, etc. (this refers to internal receipts ).
8. Organizational and legal form. According to Art. 50 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, commercial enterprises can operate as LLC, JSC, PJSC, production cooperative, municipal unitary enterprise, limited partnerships, state unitary enterprise or general partnership. Non-profit enterprises exist in the form of charitable and other foundations, institutions, various religious associations, consumer cooperatives and other forms permitted by law.
9. Limitations on legal capacity. Business enterprises are distinguished by universal or general legal capacity; they have civil rights and perform duties that allow them to carry out any activity that does not contradict the law of the Russian Federation. Limited legal capacity is characteristic of non-profit enterprises. They have only those rights and responsibilities that are specified in the constituent documentation, directly corresponding to the achievement of their goals.
10. The body registering the enterprise. Registration of commercial companies is carried out by the tax office; for non-profit enterprises there is the Ministry of Justice.

A commercial organization is created with the goal of making a profit, while a non-profit organization is aimed at achieving goals of a different, intangible nature.

We've mentioned the main differences between for-profit and non-profit businesses, but there are actually more to it. Much depends on the specific ones. There are also narrow specifics regarding accounting. For NPOs it is much more complicated, and for this reason their creators almost never manage to do without a professional accountant.

Types of human activity. Human activity in modern society from the point of view of the method of using its results, it can be divided into two groups: market and non-market activities.

Market activity- is human activity aimed at creating goods and providing services sold on the market.

Non-market activities- This is human activity to create goods and provide services not intended for purchase and sale.

Types of market activities

Commercial organizations are legal entities that pursue profit as the main goal of their activities. Such organizations can be created in the form of business companies and partnerships, production cooperatives, state and municipal unitary enterprises.

Non-profit organizations are legal entities that do not have profit making as the main goal of their activities and do not distribute the profits received among participants. They can be created in the form of consumer cooperatives, public or religious organizations(associations) financed by the owners of institutions, charitable and other foundations, as well as organizations of other forms provided for by law.

Thus, market activity according to its purpose is divided into commercial and non-commercial.

Commercial (entrepreneurial) activity - It is a market activity aimed at generating profit or market income.

Non-profit activities - This is a market activity that does not have the goal of making a profit, but the results of which are nevertheless intended for purchase and sale.

commercial activity

Different terminology may be used to refer to commercial activities.

The term " commerce", or "commercial activity", originally meant only trading, merchant market activity, which had as its goal making a profit from various types of trading operations, carried out by merchants first between countries (trade with overseas countries), and then within their own countries as various kinds of feudal restrictions on trade were lifted.

The term " entrepreneurship", or "", in contrast to commercial activities, previously meant market activities associated with usury, and later - with production one or another mass goods for sale (primarily to the state in connection with its military needs), with construction to order.

Commerce and entrepreneurship as special types of market activities aimed at obtaining were characteristic of pre-capitalist production.

With the development of the capitalist economy, the sectoral source of profit ceased to have any special significance, since any human activity began to be used to increase capital and make profit. Capital conquered production, and then all other types of human activity, destroyed feudal relations, opening up space for the development of market relations not only in breadth, but also in depth.

This is also reflected in the more general term “”. This term began to be understood as any market activity that brings profit to the person who carries out such activity, regardless of what its material (or intangible) result is.

Literal translation from in English The term “business” means, first of all, work, business. However, in a market economy, the greatest importance is only for the kind of business that brings monetary income and profit to the person performing it. Therefore, this term gradually began to be used as a market concept for any objective activity aimed at making a profit.

In the future, the terms “business”, “entrepreneurship”, “commerce” will be used as synonyms, meaning market activities aimed at making a profit.

commercial activity- part of entrepreneurial activity and differs from it only in that it does not cover the process of production of goods itself.

• sale of goods and services;
• activities to supply the enterprise with material resources;
• trade and intermediary activities.

Types of commercial organizations

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following possible forms of organizing business activities:

Economic partnership is a commercial organization whose authorized capital is divided into shares (contributions) of its participants (founders), who are liable for its obligations with the property they own.

Economical society is a commercial organization whose authorized capital is divided into shares (contributions) of its participants (founders), who are not liable for its obligations with the property they own and risk only their shares (contributions).

Production cooperative (artel) is a commercial organization that unites citizens on a voluntary basis on the basis of membership, personal labor and other participation and making property share contributions.

State (municipal) unitary enterprise is a commercial organization created by the state (municipal governing body) and not endowed with the right of ownership to the property assigned to it by the owner.

Advantages of capital pooling

Three of the above four forms of entrepreneurial activity represent one form or another of combining separate, individual, private capital.

• pooling of capital allows you to quickly increase it, and therefore quickly expand this or that commercial activity;
• distribution of responsibility for the safety and efficient use consolidated capital;
• freeing up time for businessmen for personal life, education, recreation, treatment, etc.;
• combining the experience and knowledge of capital owners, expanding opportunities to attract highly qualified specialists in all areas of activity;
• the owners of the combined capital bear the risk only within the limits of their contributions.

Features of a production cooperative

A production cooperative as a form of organization of entrepreneurial activity may not differ economically from a business partnership or company. It is assumed that members of a production cooperative take personal labor participation in its activities. However, on the one hand, the same thing can happen in small business partnerships and societies, and on the other hand, the law does not exclude the possibility of membership in a production cooperative of legal entities and forms of participation in its work other than labor.

Features of a unitary enterprise

The main difference between a business partnership and a company and a unitary enterprise is that, firstly, the property they have belongs to them by right of ownership, and secondly, by the right of economic ownership or operational management. In practice, there is usually a second difference between these forms of commercial organizations, which is that unitary enterprises always have only one owner (the state or municipal government), while business organizations usually have several such owners (although the law allows for the possibility of having they also have only one owner).

The difference between a partnership and a society

A business partnership differs from a business company in the form of responsibility of their members, or the amount of risk they bear when participating in a particular business organization. This liability can be full, i.e., include liability for the entire property of a participant in a commercial organization, regardless of the size of his contribution to its authorized capital, or partial, limited, i.e., limited to the size of his share (contribution) to the authorized capital of this organization.

A business partnership is based on a contribution to the authorized capital and full property liability of its members. A business company is based on a contribution to the authorized capital, but the liability of its members is limited only by the size of the contribution itself.

Types of business partnerships

A business partnership can exist in two varieties: general partnership and limited partnership.

General partnership is a business partnership in which all its participants, called “full partners,” are liable for its obligations with the property they own.

Partnership of Faith- this is a business partnership in which not all of its participants are liable for its obligations with the property they own, but there are one or more participants who do not take part in the business activities of the partnership, and therefore bear the risk of losses only within the limits of their contributions.

Any person can be a member of only one general partnership or be a general partner in only one limited partnership.

A participant in a general partnership cannot simultaneously be a general partner in a limited partnership and vice versa.

The organization of any partnership is based on the personal trust relationships of its participants. Without trust, a partnership is impossible, since the risk of its participants is unlimited (except by the size of their personal property).

The classification of commercial organizations is shown in Fig. 3.

Non-market activities

If the result of a person’s or an organization’s activity as a whole is not intended for sale on the market, then it is not sold and does not bring profit; accordingly, its initial goal is neither its receipt nor the sale of the product of labor itself - therefore such activity is called non-market activity.

In practice, under certain circumstances, the results of non-market activities may enter the market and circulate on it as ordinary goods and bring some income in relation to the costs of the person who released them to the market, or there may be a process of transforming non-market activities into market ones, as, for example, some social services, previously provided to members of society in a non-market way (without any payment on their part), become paid services. Accordingly, reverse transformations of market activity into non-market activity may also occur.

Non-profit activities

If the result of the activity of a person or organization as a whole is sold on the market, but is not aimed at making a profit, then such activity is called non-commercial activity and does not relate to business, commerce or entrepreneurship.

Non-profit activity formally occupies an intermediate position between market and non-market activities. In fact, non-profit activity is a special type of commercial activity. Its essence lies not in the absence of income, profit, i.e., the excess of revenue over costs, but in the special procedure for their use established by the legislation of a particular country.

• the profit received as a result is not the purpose of the activities of the relevant organization;
• the profit received is not distributed among the participants of such an organization.

In other words, what is common between commercial and non-commercial activities is that the result of both can be the receipt of profit, and the difference comes down to how this profit is used in the future: whether it is distributed directly between its creators and organizers or spent on statutory purposes.

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