Hi all
I currently have a non vat registered business in the UK, I make and repair fabric things, boat covers , sails, bags and that kind of thing.
I am intending moving to France shortly ( within the next 12 months) and i intend taking my business with me.
My question is does the Micro-Entrepreneur classification apply to me ?
and which turnover limit applies? 32k or 82k?
The majority of my business will be selling stuff that i have made, but im not sure if that means “sales” and hence 82k limit or professional ( artisan?) and hence a 32k limIt. I envisage a 60k turnover
It sounds as if ME would suit your activity.
The turnover ceilings are going to increase massively next year, can’t remember the new figures but I remember thinking when I read them that very few MEs will find the ceiling an issue any more. But if you go over the 32k or 80k turnover, whichever applies to your activity, you’ll have to register for VAT, since the reason for the old ceiling limiits was that they are the VAT thresholds
The rule of thumb is that if you buy raw materials, transform them and sell them, that is normally classed as artisan. The 60k turnover is typically for resellers, ie your business consists of buying items wholesale, add your markup and resell them. Obviously for a reseller model such as an eBay business you need a far higher turnover to achieve the same level of profit, because your expenses in buying in the stock are going to so much higher. Repairs would certainly be artisan. But the devil is in the detail so the best plan is to have a chat with someone at your chamber of trade / chamber of commerce / whatever business advice service you have locally, when you’re ready to register.
It is also possible to have a mixed activity, for instance you could have a workshop where you make things and repair things, and you might also keep a stock of components or prefabricated items that you sell over the counter. In that case you’d declare turnovers separately for the two different activities, and pay cotisations at the appropriate rate on each revenue stream.
ME works out most advantageous for businesses with lower than average expenses and overheads. The regme is based on the “average” for your activity and designed so that if your overheads are “average”, your cotisations will work out the same as they would on other business structures. If your expenses are higher than average, ME will work out more expensive although you may decide the simplicity makes it worth it. If your expenses are lower than average, then all things being equal (other household income etc) ME is probably the way to go.
Hope that helps.
Where will you be located? Do you do tent repairs?
furniture making is artisan normally.
No idea on boat stuff and such.
Pretty sure its going to fall under artisan though not AE or ME
Just to clarify, ME (AE as was) is a business regime.
Artisan is a type of activity.
Business activities that can be registered under the ME régime are activités de vente which include resellers and also some catering and accomodation providers, prestations de service which cover all kinds of services both artisan and non-artisan, and professions libérales.
I was always told, sales are sales, the provision of labour is a service, as in if you do something which involves providing materials then the materials are classed as sales. With sales you realistically need a 100% mark up or its not worth selling anything. You pay cotisations on the total selling price, not on the profit. No idea what the percentage is but its a pretty duff system when it comes to encouraging people to set up small businesses. Can’t clear unsold stock at cost, pay 25% charges or whatever on the selling price, unbelievable system.
Works well for me Trev 
Apparently there are around 300,000 new MEs registering per year on average, so it doesn’t seem to discourage people too much.
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I think that Trevor is highlighting a problem that many expats experience which has nothing to do with the conditions for working under AE/ME. Perhaps he, like so many others, just made a big mistake by opting for a regime that is easy to set up, got him into the health service and needed no complicated bookkeeping or expensive accountants. It was probably recommended by the other English speakers he met who, like he, didn’t take into account the small fact that it did not suit and therefore was unsuitable for, his business. It has nothing to do with AE/ME being a duff system or not encouraging people to set up small businesses it’s all about making correct choices.
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AE is still available depending on your business I was advised to do absolutely nothing with my work and stay exactly like I am
Micro entrepreneur is basically the new name for auto entrepreneur.
There were various changes made to the scheme as of 1.1.16 and the whole scheme was renamed, so all auto entrepreneurs became micro entrepreneurs at the stroke of midnight New Year 2016, and after that date everyone registered as a micro entrepreneur not an auto entrepreneur. For existing AEs/MEs it just meant one or two new obligations to comply with, especially for artisans.
It’s a bit silly really because the official auto entrepreneur website address is https://www.lautoentrepreneur.fr/, its banner is Le portail des auto-entrepreneurs and then it starts off Bienvenue sur le portail officiel des micro-entrepreneurs and goes on to talk about the micro entrepreneur regime.
on paperwork im still an AE. silly really as its still there under the ME scheme