Important information
Proposed by
Target audience
Requirements
Where is it?
Becoming a self-entrepreneur
What is it?
A self-entrepreneur is a person who creates an individual business, called a "micro-enterprise", to carry out a commercial, craft or liberal activity.
The advantages of this status:
- Open to all (employee, unemployed, student, etc.)
- There is no need to bring in capital i.e. you are not required to have money to start the business activity
- The calculation and payment of social contributions is simple (it is a fixed percentage of turnover that you must pay to have guarantees, such as health insurance contributions or pension contributions)
- If you don't earn money, you don't pay taxes or social contributions
- Accounting is simple (recording of cash inflows each month)
- You do not have to pay VAT (Value Added Tax)
- You can benefit from assistance for the creation or takeover of an ACRE business
Please note: with the auto-entrepreneur status, the annual turnover (i.e. the money collected in 1 year) must not exceed :
- €77,700 for craft or liberal service activities (example: translation, delivery, advice, etc.). ;
- €188,700 for commercial activities (example: purchases and sales of products, catering, etc.).
If you exceed these limits, you are obliged to change the status of the company.
To know the type of your activity, click here .
The disadvantages of this status:
- Limited turnover
- Limited social protection (no allowance in case of illness, work accident, etc.)
- Unemployment under conditions
It is necessary to create a bank account specifically for self-employment, that is to say, you must ask your bank adviser to open a separate account. It is the RIB of this new account that you must give to your customers.
How to do it?
All major stages for the company, from the beginning (declaration) to the end of the activity (cessation), as well as modifications, must be made on https://formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr
This site is the “guichet unique” , that is to say the only entry point.
To declare your micro-enterprise, you must first create an account on this site: click on “ Declare ”. Then, click on "First visit? Create an account".
> To read: the Refugees.info sheet "Connecting to a site with FranceConnect".
At the end of the procedure, you will receive an acknowledgment of receipt by email with a link to validate your account. You have 5 days to validate your registration.
After validating your account, log in again to your personal space on the site.
In the " Companies " section, click on "Submit a business creation formality". Then, click on the "Create a company" button.
To register as a self-employed person, you must select “Individual entrepreneur” at the start of the procedure for the form of business to be created.
In general, you must send these documents in PDF format:
- Proof of your company's address with clearly identifiable address (water or electricity or gas bill, lease contract)
The address of your micro-enterprise can be your home address. Everything is explained here . - Sworn statement of non-conviction and filiation dated and signed
- Copy of an identity document
- If you carry out a regulated activity , copy of the authorization to exercise the activity, diploma or title.
Other documents may be requested depending on your situation.
> To read: the Refugees.info sheet "Scanning a document".
To find out how your request is progressing, log in to your personal space and click on “Monitor the progress of a business formality”.
As soon as your auto-entreprise is officially created, you receive a registration number: the SIREN (9 digits) and the SIRET (SIREN + 5 additional digits, therefore 14 digits in total).
These two numbers are unique and identify your company, it's like the company's identity card. These numbers are requested in all procedures.
You also receive an APE activity code (main activity exercised), of 4 digits + 1 letter, which makes it possible to identify the main branch of activity of the micro-enterprise. The APE code is also sometimes referred to as the “NAF code”.
If you are a craftsman or if you exercise a liberal profession, you do not need a Kbis: your SIREN number is sufficient.
For the day-to-day management of your micro-enterprise, you must create an online space on the autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr website.
URSSAF is the Recovery Union for Social Security and Family Allowances, which records and collects contributions and social security contributions from companies.
On your personal space, you have access to all URSSAF services for auto-entrepreneurs:
- Declare the turnover;
- Pay social security contributions;
- Download certificates (affiliation, vigilance, contribution to professional training, etc.);
- Contact an URSSAF adviser using secure messaging.
If you have a positive response, you will receive a certificate of admission to ACRE.
If the answer is negative, the URSSAF explains the reasons to you.
Once your auto-enterprise has been created, you will receive by post some documents with important information:
- The SIREN number and the SIRET number : these are the two numbers that identify your company.
i Good to know : The SIREN is 9 digits , while the SIRET is 14 digits .
- The Kbis : it is the official document which certifies the legal existence of a commercial enterprise.
What happens next?
You must declare your turnover (the amount of gross money that you have cashed in your account) each month or each quarter (every three months), it depends on your choice at the time of the creation of your self-employed company. .
This declaration can be made on:
- A computer from your account on this site: autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr
- Or directly on your mobile phone using the “AutoEntrepreneur Urssaf” application (Android: PlayStore / IOS: App Store )
At the end of each declaration, URSSAF calculates the amount of contributions that you must pay the next month or quarter. The percentage applied for the calculation depends on your activity (for example 21.2% for services). The money is taken from your bank account.
It is mandatory to make an invoice for each service or product sold with a self-employed company, regardless of your activity (courier or delivery person, translator, editor, etc.).
There are “mandatory information” (essential information) to be indicated on all invoices, everything is listed and explained here .
The customer then has 30 days to pay the invoice into your bank account dedicated to the self-business activity (separate from your personal money). Do not hesitate to write everything collected in a separate table, to facilitate accounting and calculation of your turnover.
If you have any technical problems making the declaration of activity, you can contact INPI:
- by phone on 01 56 65 89 98 Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- or through the contact form.
You can also contact URSSAF:
- by phone at 3998 (free number)
- or through the contact form.
Important: Take your SIRET number or your social security number with you each time you contact a service.
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