8. Banking, Accounting & Insurance
- 8.1 Banking
- 8.2 Accounting
- 8.3 Insurance
8.1 Banking
If you set up a separate company structure to run the business, you will be required to open a bank account in the name of business.
Indeed, even if you do not set up a separate company you are expected by the tax authorities and the banks to have a compte professionelle for your business.
Banks make a charge of at least €25 per quarter for all business accounts.
If you find this charge a burden then, as a start up, you may be able to get the local manager to temporarily waive the charge.
Top Tip!
Another way to get round the charges that banks apply to business accounts is to establish two personal accounts (say, one in your sole name) and use only one for business use! You may still find there are charges, but they are generally less for personal accounts.
All bills in excess of €3000 (€1100 for those in the retail trade) must be settled by cheque or virement. Salary payments can be made in cash up to €1500 per month. Deposit payments in cash are subject to an upper limit of €460.
Informaton on loan finance from banks is included on our pages on Financial Assistance.
The Fédération Bancaire Française has recently introduced a code of conduct to govern the relationship between small business's and banks. The code is available in English, which you can read by visiting
Banking Code of Conduct 
8.2. Accounting
When starting a business the advice of a good French commercially orientated accountant (comptable) is highly recommended, if only to get a proper understanding of your fiscal and social security options.
However, when it comes to getting professional help there are ‘accountants’ and there are ‘accountants’.
Some have a reputation to keep and their word is generally respected by the tax authority. Others may lack a degree of credibility and fail to convince.
Do not be ‘penny wise and pound foolish’ when it comes to choosing your professional advisors.
Select carefully and negotiate, negotiate the fee!
Be very cautious about engaging accountancy advice outside of France, if only because of difficulties concerning your legal right of redress in the event of professional negligence by the accountant.
Accountants with no legal status in France operate outside of the jurisdiction of the French legal and regulatory authorities.
As a small business, the accounting requirements of the statutory authorities are not severe, particularly if you do not establish a limited company.
As a sole trader it should be sufficient to maintain a daybook of receipts and expenditure, together with all the relevant bills and invoices.
A small business can opt for a tax regime called micro-entreprise under which there is no need to produce detailed accounts for the tax authorities – it is enough maintain a daybook of expenditure and receipts. When you make your tax declaration you simply state your turnover, and you will be given an automatic abatement before income tax is charged. There is no need to present the accounts of the business, although you will need to keep them available for possible inspection.
As the business grows (and particularly if you engage staff or become a limited company or liable for VAT) it may be preferable to change your tax regime, when there will almost definitely be a requirement for double entry bookkeeping and the need for an accountant.
A business start up can expect to pay around €1500 per year for basic accountancy support from a local firm. The support is likely to include preparation of the annual tax return.
Top Tip!
One other option is to have your accounts managed by a Centre de Gestion Agréés (CGA) whose contact details you should normally be able to obtain through your your local Chambre de Commerce.
The CGA will prepare your accounts at a reasonable cost, and provide you with business and accounting advice.
If you do use a CGA then you are granted some relief on your taxation liability.
This concession actually operates in a rather perverse way, because if you do not use a CGA, your net income is multiplied by 1.25 before costs are then deducted!
In addition, if your turnover does not exceed
micro-entreprise turnover limits (even though you have not opted to be taxed as a
micro), you also benefit from a deduction in income tax of €915 a year for the accounting costs that you will incur.
This multiple is only used for income tax purposes; your social charges will be based on your actual profit.
However, the use of a CGA is only available to those who pay tax under the regime reel. So it is not available if you opt for micro-entreprise tax status.
There is also strong evidence that if you affiliate to a CGA, you are less likely to be subject to an inspection or control by the tax authorities.
In the first year of starting the business, you are permitted 3 months grace (5 months from Jan 08) to affiliate to a CGA, permittting you to benefit from the concession for the whole year.
A business using a centre de gestion is obliged to accept a cheque payment system, a rule that many consider is honoured more in the breach than the act!
Whichever approach you take to accounting, you are required by law to retain all accounting records for 6 years.
If you do your own accounting, and it is computer based, then you are obliged to ensure that the archiving system maintains the authenticity and reliability of the records.
8.3 Professional Insurance
You will need to consider your insurance requirements, notably the need for public liability and professional indemnity insurance.
France is no exception to anywhere else in the large increase in professional insurance premiums over the past few years.
If you are entering the building trade then you are obliged to take assurance décennale to guarantee your work for 10 years. This insurance is not cheap, costing several thousand euros a year, upwards.
Professional indemnity insurance is also obligatory for certain of the professions liberales and can be very expensive for some of them, e.g. doctors, avocats, architects.
If you want to know more about business insurance generally then you can read about it (in French) on the site of the Fédération française des sociétés d'assurances
There is also a useful independent business insurance on-line portal New Bizassur , who are worth checking out.
Otherwise, contact the professional or trade association for your business activity.
Next: Taxation
Work & Business in France