The difference between a large and a small company.

The scale of the business can be different - there are large enterprises, and there are small ones. What are the criteria for assigning firms to both?

What is a large company?

There are many criteria for classifying companies as large or small. One of the most objective is to determine the scale of a business on the basis of standards established by law.

Thus, in the Federal Law No. 209, which regulates the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation, 3 types of firms are recorded - micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises. The assignment of a company to any of them is based on the volume of its revenue, as well as the size of the staff.

Of course, it would be legitimate to classify as “large” companies those that do not belong to the respective types of businesses, since they exceed them in terms of revenue and staff size.

In the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 702, corresponding to the Federal Law No. 209, as well as in the Federal Law No. 209 itself, it is indicated that medium-sized enterprises - the most ambitious of the three that we have indicated above - should include firms:

  • with annual revenues from 800 million to 2 billion rubles;
  • having a staff of 101 to 250 people.

Thus, a large company, if you follow the legislative criteria, can be considered one that has a revenue of more than 2 billion rubles per year and a staff of more than 250 people.

What is a small company?

Similarly, in order to determine the criteria for classifying a company as small, we can refer to the provisions of Federal Law No. 209 and Government Resolution No. 702. If we agree to call “small” exactly those companies that are classified as micro-enterprises and small enterprises, then it will be rightfully attributed to them, based on the provisions of the specified sources of law:

  • firms with revenues of up to 800 million rubles;
  • the size of the staff is up to 100 people.

As soon as the performance of the company exceeds the noted values, it turns into a medium-sized enterprise, if not even a large one - if the growth of the corresponding indicators is fast enough.

Comparison

The main difference between a large company and a small one is, if you follow the criteria that are enshrined in the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation, in the amount of the firm's revenue, as well as in the size of its staff.

Of course, there are many other criteria for classifying organizations as large or small.

For example, some experts believe that firms of the first type should include those that are entitled to claim preferential taxation regimes, such as, for example, the simplified or patent system. For large companies, if we follow this point of view, it is peculiar to work within the framework of the general taxation regime. But in this case, the revenue of the company is an important criterion - since the company gets the opportunity to work according to the STS or PSN only if its income does not exceed the limits established by law.

There is a point of view according to which small companies should include firms in such an organizational and legal form as an individual entrepreneur, as well as an LLC, if the corresponding business company does not have branches. In this case, it is legitimate to classify companies operating in the form of JSC, PJSC or LLC with branches as large ones. But the real indicators of the company's revenue and staff also matter - if they are very modest, then, regardless of the organizational and legal form of business, the enterprise may not have objective grounds for classifying it as large.

Having learned the difference between a large and a small company, we will reflect the key findings in a compact table.

Table

Large company Small company
What is the difference between them based on the provisions of Federal Law No. 209 and Government Resolution No. 702? ​​
Has revenues of more than 2 billion rubles per yearHas revenues of up to 800 million rubles per year
In the state - more than 250 employeesIn the state - up to 100 employees
What is the difference between them based on other popular criteria of experts?
Operates under the general taxation systemOperates under the simplified or patent taxation system
Registered as JSC, PJSC, LLC with branchesRepresented by IE, LLC without branches
.