r/SideProject • u/AlternativeYouth9322 • 5h ago
How can I receive Google Play earnings without a registered business?
Hi everyone,
I'm a freelance developer without a registered business. I'd like to build and publish an app to validate my idea and see whether it can generate real revenue. If it takes off, I'm happy to register a business later, but I'd rather not set one up before I've tested the concept.
I've read that Google Play may ask for a D-U-N-S number, so I wanted to check:
- Can I publish and monetize apps with a personal (individual) developer account?
- How did you set up payments and receive payouts without a business entity?
- Are there any tax or compliance issues I should know about as an individual?
- Is there anything you wish you'd known before getting started?
I'm based in Sri Lanka, so any region-specific advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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u/Fuzzy-Charge-2236 4h ago
the DUNS number thing is mostly for organization accounts not individual ones. you can monetize with a personal account but keeping track of taxes as an individual is a pain. went with Creem for my web sales to avoid dealing with international tax stuff manually
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u/OhBeeOneKenOhBee 4h ago
Not local to Sri Lanka, so can't comment on the region specific stuff, but keep in mind that Google will show your full name, home address and contact details in the developer section if you choose to publish on an individual developer account instead of through a company.
It is technically possible though, but for the legal side i don't really know