Professional answers and advice on starting and running a small business in France, e.g. auto-entrepreneur SARL, EURL, SAS etc.

I've answered about 70,700 questions since 2009.

Valerie Lemiere: Start Business in France

Bonjour, I'm Valérie Aston. I’m French, live in France and work as a senior business counsellor at the national support network for entrepreneurs (BGE) and run this site independently since 2009.

I have expert knowledge and experience in all areas of small businesses in France, e.g. business set up, law, regulations, registration, costs, social charges, tax etc. From auto-entrepreneur, SARL, EURL, SAS etc., I'm able to answer all your questions and advise you on any business issues.

How I can help you:

Everyone's questions: I've answered about 70,700 questions for 2,979 members. Membership is for a year and you can be 100% sure of getting all the answers, options and information you need.
Helpline: This is a one to one service that covers a lot of ground. It's for when you want to get up to speed quickly, to talk through your options in-depth and fully understand the implications of your choices.
Auto-entrepreneur business registration: I can register a business for you in France. You'll be registered quickly, correctly and with no errors to hold back your business. I manage the whole process.
Business administration: After registering a business in France there are administration services that must be done and quite often registration problems chased and corrected. I can do this for you.

Wishing you all the best,

Business blog

Timescale for micro entrepreneur registration and legal documents

How long does it take to get your official micro entrepreneur papers ...

By Valérie Aston · 22 Feb 2019 · 571 views

How does conjoint collaborateur work for a micro entrepreneur

It is now possible for micro entrepreneurs to have their spouse or partner working for the business while paying fixed social charges. Overview of how this may work. ...

By Valérie Aston · 11 Feb 2019 · 749 views

How to get ACRE social charges exoneration in 2019

Great news to start the New Year: The French Government has voted a social charges exoneration for all new businesses created in France in 2019. This means that you will benefit from lower social charges. ...

By Valérie Aston · 17 Jan 2019 · 1027 views

Watch out for RGPD scam letters sent to entrepreneurs!

Watch out for RGPD scam letters sent to entrepreneurs! Several customers have received this letter asking them to call this company, obviously trying to sell them a file to deal with RGPD ...

By Valérie Aston · 15 Nov 2018 · 747 views

How to pay your CFE-IFER tax - Avis de cotisation CFE

You may have received an email from Direction Générale des Finances Publiques asking you to validate and pay your Contribution Fonciere des Entreprises (CFE). This is not a spam and you need to validate and pay this tax. ...

By Valérie Aston · 8 Nov 2018 · 1830 views

Social charges exoneration for new businesses in France in 2019

If you are thinking about starting a business in France, you might consider postponing your project for a couple of months, as new social charges exoneration will be applied in 2019. ...

By Valérie Aston · 30 Oct 2018 · 3090 views

Business videos

How to create your business account with Net Entreprises

This video gives you a step-by-step guide to create your business account on Net-Entreprises.fr. When your account is set-up, you will be able to login within 48 hours to make your auto-entrepreneur turnover declaration. ...

By Valérie Aston · 23 Jan 2011

What is the difference between artisan, commerçant and profession liberale?

Auto-entrepreneur businesses in France are classified either as activité commerciale, activité artisanale or profession libérale. When registering your business, you have to indicate which type of activity you belong to. ...

By Valérie Aston · 13 Nov 2010

I have received a bill for social charges from RSI, should I pay it?

Many auto-entrepreneurs are receiving bills for social charges or appels de cotisation from RSI? If you have been in business for a few months and have already been making turnover declaration either online with ...

By Valérie Aston · 13 Nov 2010

Business podcasts

Everyone's questions

Affordable Attorney Services?

APE - Affichage Obligatoire

TVA no. intracommunautaire

Selling a business in France

EIRL and another activity?

CNETP - scam?

Moving to France, auto-entrepreneur contracted by US LLC

Form - ‘Indexation des entreprises a la taxe sur la valeur ajoutee (TVA)

Health insurance: malakoff médéric humanis

French Tax declarations

What to register first as gite chambre d’hotes

Licence restaurateur, conjoint collaborator & website

Do I need to work for more than one client to be a micro-entrepreneur?

Can I buy travel tickets from my Business Account?

Decennale insurance and APE codes

Insurance for Micro entrepreneur

Fish and Chip Van

Trouble opening an Orange Bank account, how to access funds

Testimonials

If you want a way through the frustrating administrative minefield that is France, Valérie is THE person to help. I'm very fluent in French but there are times when you need the help of someone who understands the culture and workings of the system intimately. Everything that's ever been asked of her has been delivered without fuss and with the right result. Valérie is a truly outstanding professional and I wholeheartedly recommend her.
-Shaun Gisbourne

Start Business in France