Auto-entreprise and turnover
As of 2019, the maximum turnover an auto-entrepreneur can do is 70000 euros if you are selling a service, and 170000 euros if you are selling a product.
The turnover is calculated yearly and pro. This means, from the above example, if you have started your service based auto-entreprise on the 1st of july, you can only do 35000 euros that year (and that will be your maximum limit). The calculation is (70000€ x number of days) / 365.
If someone is doing both types of activities as an auto-entrepreneur, service based and product based, your collective turnover can not be higher than 170000 euros and inside of it, turnover of your service based activity cannot be greater than 70000 euros.
Example of people who would be mixing both kind of activities could be people working in the construction, where they will be both working physically and may be selling some materials as well.
In case if you have doubt on whether your activity is considered as a service based one, or a product based one, speak to your accountant (or someone having knowledge of the french administration) to clarify this.
Those who have working earlier as an auto-entrepreneur and was doing well, will agree that this increase of doing higher turnover a year has been a great relief.
There is however, no minimum turnover required if you register yourself as an auto-entrepreneur. If you have done zero turnover, just do not forget to declare your turnovers.
What happens if turnover goes higher than the authorised limit ?
If your turnover goes higher than the authorised limit, your business moves from being a micro-entreprise to an « entreprise individuelle ». Once your status of auto-entrepreneur is over and you are considered as a « proper businessman », the simplicity that auto-entrepreneurs gets, gets over as well.
The first thing you will need at that moment, is to take service of an accountant. As an auto-entrepeneur, it was not an obligation so far. A lot of calculations will become necessary from beginning of the year when your turnover went ahead. A smart auto-entrepreneur will prevent it, unless you are sure that your business has grown and you will be having a higher turnover every year from now on.
Sourav Choudhury is a social entrepreneur living in France since 2003 and working for the cause of Indian community of France, since 2007. He is founder of multiple projects: the largest social network of the Indian community of France, a French language school for english speaking expatriates, this website, and few other projects.