Becoming an auto-entrepreneur: everything you need to set up your micro-business

By Nathalie Pouillard

Published: October 23, 2024

Becoming an auto-entrepreneur, or micro-entrepreneur under the new name, is a major decision in any professional life.

How do you go about setting up a micro-business, and what are the formalities involved in declaring your activity?

Roadmap to your new adventure:

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What are the conditions for becoming an auto-entrepreneur?

Who can become an auto-entrepreneur?

Becoming an auto-entrepreneur is a possibility open to anyone, provided they are of legal age, have an address in France, and have at least a residence permit open to auto-entrepreneurship.

It can be your main activity, or complement a salaried or student job, or even retirement.

🧐 Restrictions: you cannot combine this status with another self-employed activity registered with Urssaf, and certain activities are excluded (farming attached to the MSA, regulated liberal professions, subject to real estate VAT, artistic activities subject to Agessa, etc.).

Other conditions to be met

What is the sales ceiling for micro-enterprises?

The micro-enterprise scheme is subject to a sales ceiling per calendar year:

Purchase/resale of goods Sale of food to be consumed on the premises Accommodation services	Commercial and craft services Liberal professions
176,200 (EXCL. VAT)	72,600 EXCL.

🤓 These figures are prorated according to the date you start your business.
If the sales thresholds are exceeded for 2 consecutive years, you will no longer be eligible for the micro-enterprise scheme from the following year.

What is the VAT ceiling for micro-enterprises?

Micro-entrepreneurs can be exempted from declaring and paying VAT, and can therefore invoice exclusive of tax, up to a certain amount of sales:

Commercial activities (purchase/sale or manufacture/sale)	Commercial or craft services Liberal professions
85,800 excl. tax (first year)	34,400 excl. tax (first year)
94,300 excl. tax (second year)	36,500 excl. tax (second year)

Sales are not limited in the first year of existence. Beyond that, the micro-enterprise is simply subject to VAT.

Obligations of the micro-entrepreneur

In addition to :

declaration of activity,
registration,
proof of professional experience or a diploma for certain activities...

you must :

take out professional liability insurance;
sign up to a mediation scheme of your choice to resolve any disputes amicably;
open a bank account dedicated to your professional activity, whether personal or business, in excess of €10,000 in sales per year for 2 years;
declare your sales on a monthly or quarterly basis (the first declaration is made at least 90 days after you declare that you are starting your business), even if they are zero;
declare and pay your contributions online via the Urssaf website: they represent 12.8% of sales for a commercial activity, between 22.1 and 22.4% for a self-employed activity and 22.78% for a craft activity;
systematically issue invoices and keep all supporting documents relating to your purchases and sales, as well as all your sales declarations.

Steps to becoming an auto-entrepreneur

Step 1: Register with the appropriate CFE

First of all, you need to set up your micro-enterprise online. To do this, you need to declare the start of your activity to the Centre de Formalités des Entreprises (CFE) by completing the " P0 Micro-Entrepreneur " or Cerfa P0 form, together with a copy of your identity document.

The autoentrepreneur form includes the following fields:

business activities,
civil information,
place of business (choice of domicile),
option chosen for payment of contributions.

Your contacts depend on your activity category.

1) If you are declaring a main liberal profession or a secondary craft activity

▷ CFE: Urssaf,
▷ Documents to provide: scan of an ID document and copy of diplomas for certain professions.

Screenshot of the type of activity declaration on Urssaf :

Social declaration and choice of tax option on Urssaf :

2) If you are declaring a commercial activity

▷ CFE: Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI),
▷ Registration with the Registre du Commerce et des sociétés (RCS) at the Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce,
▷ Documents to provide: scan of ID, declaration of non-conviction and proof of address.

3) If you are declaring a craft business or a dual craft and commercial activity

▷ CFE: Chambre des Métiers et de l'Artisanat (CMA),
▷ Registration with the Répertoire des Métiers (RM) and the Stage Préalable à l'Installation or SPI (optional),
▷ Documents to provide: ID, declaration of non-conviction, proof of address, diplomas or proof of professional experience depending on the profession.

To sum up:

From 2021, a single online platform will be available for all administrative procedures involved in setting up a micro-business, whatever the activity.

Step 2: Apply for Acre

Acre(aide à la création et à la reprise d'une entreprise pour les auto-entrepreneurs) is "financial aid for people setting up or taking over a business in France, who opt for a lump sum paid in two instalments instead of the partial continuation of the allocation d'aide au retour à l'emploi.ateurs ou repreneurs d'entreprise en France, qui optent pour un capital versé en deux fois au lieu du maintien partiel de l'allocation d'aide au retour à l'emploi (ARE) ". (Source Pôle Emploi). As of January 1, 2020, the application is once again compulsory.

It involves you benefiting from the 50% exemption from certain social security contributions, until the end of the third calendar quarter (from the date of its creation).

You must send it to Urssaf within 45 days of your declaration of activity.

To find out more about eligibility requirements, visit the government website.

You may also be eligible for other grants and subsidies, including :

NACRE: nouvel accompagnement à la création ou la reprise d'entreprise (new support for starting up or taking over a business), a regional aid scheme providing entrepreneurs with 3 years' support, from project set-up to financial structuring and business start-up.
Garantie ÉGALITÉ femmes (ex FGIF): a national scheme dedicated to women entrepreneurs, notably to facilitate their access to bank credit.
Fonds AGEFIPH: a fund managed by the Association de Gestion du Fonds pour l'Insertion professionnelle des personnes handicapées, to help disabled people enter the workforce and keep their jobs.

Step 3: SIRET registration

Registration, i.e. the SIRET number, is sent by Insee around 2 weeks after you declare the start of your activity.
You can then start invoicing your customers!

Stage 4: Notification of affiliation to the Sécurité Sociale pour les Indépendants scheme

This takes between 4 and 6 weeks.
At this stage, you can create your online account to manage your micro-enterprise via a personal portal, and thus :

make your sales declarations,
pay your contributions,
download your certificates, etc.

Step 5: Managing your accounts

Accounting has been simplified, but it remains the foundation of any healthy business. Keep track of your cash flow, sales and invoicing, and don't worry in the event of an audit.

You can adopt software such as :

Axonaut, which supports micro, small and medium-sized businesses in their administrative and commercial management, while automating the most time-consuming tasks.
Wity, which offers micro-entrepreneurs personalized support throughout the creation of their business, in addition to expert accounting and legal advice.

How much does it cost to become an auto-entrepreneur?

Registration fees for auto-entrepreneurs

If you'd like to become an auto-entrepreneur free of charge and online, use the links provided above and register on your own.
The registration procedure is free, with the exception of commercial agents, who must pay €24.79 to RSAC, the special register for commercial agents.

🧐 Beware of websites with false official airs that help you set up your micro-business, but charge you for advice.

If you'd like some guidance, the CFEs of the CCIs and CMAs offer an assistance service at an average cost of €60 to €90.

The PACTE law eases start-up costs

The PACTE law, for Plan d'Action pour la Croissance et la Transformation des Entreprises, cancels the obligation since 2019 :

to set up a dedicated bank account if you generate less than €10,000 in sales per year for 2 years,
to take the installation preparation course for craftspeople.
As a bonus, the cost of this course has been reduced from €250 to €194 for motivated entrepreneurs.

Tax and social security regime for micro-entrepreneurs

Micro-entrepreneurs are subject to the simplified tax regime for sole proprietorships. This is known as the "micro-entreprise" tax regime, and the "micro-social" regime for payment of social security contributions.

Calculation and payment of social security contributions:
- social security contributions are proportional to sales;
- social security contributions are payable either monthly or quarterly;
- deductions are made automatically from your account, after you have declared your sales;
- if you don't make any sales, you don't have to pay social security contributions!
For tax and accounting purposes:
- if you don't generate any revenue, you don't have to pay tax either!
- tax declaration and payment are simplified, by opting for payment in full discharge of income tax (cf. box to tick on the Urssaf form above);
- accounting is reduced to a chronological income/expense register, with amounts, origin, method of payment and supporting documents;
- VAT exemption, up to a certain threshold .