Latest information for small businesses in France


Seminar: How to become an Auto Entrepreneur

Seminar: How to become an Auto Entrepreneur

About the Pepinière d’Entreprises. Sygma Energies 50 is an association funded by local authorities and European Funds (FSE). Every year, our team of 4 business advisers helps over 650 people wanting to start their ...

By Valérie Aston · 16 Jan 2009


What is your business APE or NAF code?

What is your business APE or NAF code?

Every business in France is classified under an activity code entitled APE - Activite Principale de l’Entreprise - or NAF code. When registering your company, you will need to indicate which is your main activity. Here ...

By Valérie Aston · 16 Jan 2009


Start business in France is back online

Start business in France is back online

Tracking down the unanswered questions on the old blog and forum was a tricky and long process, which lead to some questions being answered with a 2 week delay. So lets start 2009 in an efficient way! Thanks to my other ...

By Valérie Aston · 13 Jan 2009


Can a Profession Liberale register as an Auto-Entrepreneur?

Can a Profession Liberale register as an Auto-Entrepreneur?

The law entitled Loi de Relance will be voted by mid February. In the meantime it implies that nobody can register as an auto entrepreneur in the profession liberale sector. Hervé NOVELLI – secrétaire d’Etat for small ...

By Valérie Aston · 9 Jan 2009


How to switch to the Regime Micro Social

How to switch to the Regime Micro Social

f you have an existing business registered as an entreprise individuelle in France, you cannot switch to the auto entrepreneur system. However you can decide to switch to the Regime Micro Social which will enable you to ...

By Valérie Aston · 6 Jan 2009


TIP: Where to register as an Auto Entrepreneur

TIP: Where to register as an Auto Entrepreneur

Herve Novelli – secrétaire d’État chargé du Commerce, de l’artisanat, des petites et moyennes entreprises, du tourisme et des services – will be holding a press conference on Thursday 18th December in Paris to present ...

By Valérie Aston · 16 Dec 2008


Can an existing micro entreprise become an auto entrepreneur?

Can an existing micro entreprise become an auto entrepreneur?

This is the most recurrent question I have come across over the last 2 months. The official answer is no, but you still can switch over to the regime micro social until the 31st march 2009. This regime actually enables ...

By Valérie Aston · 10 Dec 2008


How to register your business trademark or brand in France

How to register your business trademark or brand in France

It will cost you 200 euros for an online registration with up to three categories and 250 euros for a paper registration. A category refers to types of activities for which you wish to protect your trademark, for ...

By Valérie Aston · 8 Dec 2008


How will you market your business in France in 2009?

How will you market your business in France in 2009?

Your English customers will be spending less in 2009. You will have to target French customers. You are likely to review your marketing spend too. Since then French News has also gone bust, leaving only one national ...

By Valérie Aston · 6 Dec 2008


Auto-Entrepreneurs: How to Assess your social charges

Auto-Entrepreneurs: How to Assess your social charges

If you are wondering how much social charges you would pay with the Auto-Entrepreneur scheme, have a look at their social charges simulation tool. Enter your turnover per month or quarter, click on your activity type ...

By Valérie Aston · 28 Nov 2008


English help line for URSSAF

English help line for URSSAF

If you have questions about Unions de Recouvrement des Cotisations de Sécurité Sociale et d'Allocations Familiales (URSSAF) you could try their English help line 0821 74 27 27, Monday to Friday 8am to 6.30pm. Please be a ...

By Valérie Aston · 25 Nov 2008


How to become an Auto-entrepreneur business in France

How to become an Auto-entrepreneur business in France

The French Government is expecting 100,000 people to register as an auto-entrepreneur by the first semester of 2009. Although the implementation details will not be published before the end of November, this new system ...

By Valérie Aston · 24 Nov 2008



How to start a Table d’Hôtes business in France

How to start a Table d’Hôtes business in France

The first thinsgs to be aware of when starting a table d’Hôtes business in France are: A table d’hôtes is strictly reserved to guests staying in your chambre d’hôtes. If your friends have a gîte nearby, you won’t be ...

By Valérie Aston · 18 Nov 2008