Our fees depend on the work your file requires. Here is how we set them, followed by an estimator that gives you a first order of magnitude.
How we set your budget
Preparing and supporting a set of accounts means, among other things, dealing with each accounting cycle: cash and financing, purchases and suppliers, sales and customers, fixed assets, equity and provisions, taxes, and where relevant stock and payroll costs. This foundation sets a minimum budget, which then varies according to:
- The frequency of your tax obligations: annual, quarterly or monthly
- The volume of transactions to process and check
- The cycles involved: employees, stock, fixed assets, loans…
- Technicality: contracts, provisions, international or exceptional transactions
- The time spent on exchanges your file requires
- The split of tasks between you and the firm
Your budget stated before any commitment: fixed monthly fees, based on the information you mention (volume of transactions, activities, employees, organisation).
The volume used is written into the engagement letter: if it changes, your fees are adjusted with your agreement. The same applies if your tax regime changes (annual VAT returns becoming quarterly or monthly, for example) or if complex or exceptional transactions are added to the day-to-day (new shareholders, acquisitions of holdings, mergers, international transactions…). We review this with you at least once a year, when the annual accounts are prepared.
We monitor the time actually spent on your file, and review it with you at the latest when the annual accounts are prepared.
If your activity turns out to be larger than expected, or involves more complex transactions, your budget is reviewed: we tell you as soon as we notice it, and present the details of the adjustment before invoicing.
Conversely, a more autonomous organisation on your side can lighten your budget.
It is also a safeguard for you: a budget in line with the real workload means your file gets the time it needs to be handled on time, with the rigour it deserves.
A first indication of budget
A “quoted” situation (over 100 transactions a month, more than two banks or two shareholders…)? Enter the number requested: the estimator calculates an estimate, to be confirmed with the chartered accountant.
Estimate your accounting and tax budget in a few questions
The accounting and tax engagement generally covers bookkeeping and review, annual accounts (balance sheet, income statement, notes), the business tax return (corporate tax, or the 2031 or 2035 return for a business taxed under income tax), and VAT returns; its exact scope is set by the engagement letter.
This estimator, purely indicative and not binding, cannot take every specific feature of a file into account: international operations (imports, exports, intra-EU trade in goods; the European services declaration is included), special tax schemes, group membership, several establishments, research and analysis needed to qualify some transactions…
No personal data is requested.
Budgets for support in English include the time needed to explain the French environment and relate it to your own practices, more extensive client identification (KYC) and bilingual support.
For the accounting and tax engagement only, as defined in the engagement letter, excluding other services (payroll, corporate legal work…), quoted separately.
Estimate indicative and non-binding, excluding specific features of your file and exceptional operations.
In the first year, set-up or takeover fees for your file may apply; they will be stated.
A starting budget: at the introductory meeting, we refine it together, up or down.
Receive the details of your estimate
The line-by-line calculation based on your answers, what the engagement includes and does not include, and the levers to lighten your budget. The details are displayed immediately and also sent to you by email.
Good to know
- Budgets are shown excluding VAT (20% VAT on top) and are indicative: only the chartered accountant’s proposal is binding.
- In the first year, set-up fees for your file may apply: review of your articles of association and history, set-up of the file and tools (secure space, bank feeds), organisation of exchanges. They are specified in our proposal.
- Exceptional transactions are subject to separate fees, announced before any work.
- Each file has its own fees, set by its engagement letter: these indications cannot be transposed from one file to another.
- The engagement letter sets out the split of work between you and the firm: some items always remain your responsibility.
Already have an accountant?
You can change firm at any time, and we organise the transition with you:
- We prepare and you sign the engagement letter online, by electronic signature.
- You inform your current firm, respecting the agreed notice period: we provide an example letter pre-filled with your details, to adapt to your situation.
- We contact your previous accountant, as the profession’s rules require, and obtain what we need: accounts and tax returns, trial balance, general ledger, accounting entries file (FEC), returns in progress.
- We check the deadlines in progress and present a takeover timetable.
Comparing several firms?
Get our grid to compare proposals on the same basis: your contact, services included, organisation, advice, fees.
Your fees, optimised by your organisation
- Tools to be autonomous Invoice upload platform, invoicing app on your smartphone, practical guides.
- Commitments kept Documents sent regularly and quick answers to our questions.
- A fair budget Less time spent on your file: at the annual review, your budget can be adjusted, including downwards.
Is our support right for you?
It will suit you particularly if you want:
- an available chartered accountant who follows your file over time;
- to anticipate your deadlines and steer your business with reliable figures;
- support at key stages: first hire, investment, growth, handover.
Our positioning is ongoing support, with fees set as fairly as possible according to the work your file requires. To compare, the most reliable basis is our written proposal, for an equivalent scope: a budget can only be judged against the work it covers. If you expect closer follow-up, we can provide that too.
Specific situations. Some files call for very specific expertise. We discuss it openly from the first conversation and, when it is in your interest, we refer you to the colleague or professional best placed to help, independently.
Check in two minutes whether our support suits you.
What you receive in practice
Each business owner has their own needs: your engagement letter sets out what is planned for your file.
With the accounting and tax engagement
- Your chartered accountant as single point of contact, whatever the subject: they know your file and assess with you the accounting, tax, social and legal consequences of your questions.
- Your VAT and profit tax returns, prepared and filed on time, at the frequency of your regime: monthly, quarterly or annual. Your documents are sent at the same frequency.
- The amount of your instalments (corporate tax, VAT…), indicated with the final return they derive from.
- Your annual accounts (balance sheet, income statement, notes) and tax return package, with a presentation booklet of the annual accounts.
- A discussion of your accounts at year end, whenever they include important points to share with you.
- A secure document space and synchronised bank entries, always reviewed by a professional.
Depending on your needs
Interim accounts and commented dashboards, monthly general ledger and trial balance or reporting in your group’s format, payslips and social filings, approval of the accounts, a package of advisory hours: your engagement can be completed by the services below.
Additional services, quoted for each need
Depending on your needs, your accounting and tax engagement can be completed by dedicated services, always proposed and quoted in advance.
Payroll and HR filings
Set-up or takeover of the payroll file, monthly payslips (price per payslip), DSN filings, staff arrivals and departures. Learn more
Annual corporate work
Approval of the accounts, minutes, filing with the court registry (tribunal des activités économiques, TAE, formerly the commercial court, in Paris and where it applies; commercial court elsewhere). Learn more
Exceptional corporate work
Dividend distributions, changes to the articles, transfer of registered office, capital transactions.
Interim accounts
Closings during the year and dashboards to steer your business, quoted. Learn more
Management accounting
Margins by activity, site or client, reporting along your group’s dimensions: a tailored service, quoted. Learn more
Package of advisory hours
For the businesses we support: a dedicated volume of hours for your questions, depending on their technicality or volume.
Forecast and business plan
For a development, investment or financing project of your business: building its financial part, on quotation. Learn more
Bringing accounts up to date
Late accounts or returns: an update at the start of the engagement, before ongoing follow-up of your accounts. Learn more
Your accountant quote, step by step, and what our proposal contains: free accountant quote in France.
The steps of working together
- Your meeting booked in 2 minutes You know straight away whether we can support you, and you choose your slot. An e-mail confirms your meeting, with the link to prepare it.
- Your fee estimate and documents in 5 more minutes You prepare the meeting: for a straightforward business, your fee estimate is shown straight away, with the list of documents to send us by e-mail before the meeting.
- Meeting and proposal from the chartered accountant as early as the same day Subject to available slots, often short, free and with no obligation, in Paris, by video call or by phone, booked right after the first questions. With your documents reviewed in advance, you usually receive your proposal during the meeting: scope of work, split of tasks, timetable and budget.
- Engagement letter signed online, set-up in a few days If you accept our proposal, electronic signature sets out our mutual commitments; then secure document space, bank feeds and, if you are changing accountant, the handover of your file organised with your previous firm.
- Ongoing follow-up Accounts, returns and regular monitoring of your budget.
See also our collaboration charter: the mutual commitments behind a smooth relationship.
Our tools
Secure document space, bank feeds, a platform centralising your purchase and sales invoices that is compatible with e-invoicing, an invoicing app, electronic signature, video calls: we use modern, secure tools and adapt to the ones you already use whenever possible. Pre-accounting and bank entries are automated, but always checked by a professional: automation saves time, human review secures your accounts. See the tools and platforms we work with
Frequently asked questions
Is the first meeting charged?
No. It is a mutual introductory meeting, free and without obligation: we get to know each other, frame your needs and check that our support suits you. It is not a consultation: tailored advice and recommendations are part of an engagement, formalised by a proposal and then an engagement letter.
Accounting fees in France: how much does an accountant cost?
It depends on the work your file requires: VAT frequency, volume of transactions, employees, technicality. The estimator on this page gives you a first order of magnitude; your budget is set with the chartered accountant at the introductory meeting.
Why can an accountant’s fees differ between French and English support?
Support in English requires more time and technicality: the time needed to explain the French environment and relate it to your own practices, client identification checks (KYC) that are often more extensive, especially when partners or funds come from abroad, and skilled bilingual staff, who are rarer and therefore more costly.
Why does a business with employees cost more, even if payroll is done elsewhere?
Payroll costs are an accounting cycle in their own right: they must be recorded, checked and supported in the balance sheet, whoever prepares the payslips.
Can my budget change?
Yes. Your budget is based on the information you mention. If your activity turns out to be larger than expected (volume of transactions, new activity, new employees…) or involves more complex transactions, it is reviewed: we tell you as soon as we notice it and present the details of the adjustment before invoicing. Conversely, a more autonomous organisation on your side can lighten your budget.
Do I have to take all the services of my accountant in France?
No. Our services are à la carte: we tell you what your obligations require, propose what we can take on, and you choose.
Can I get an opinion on a specific question without an engagement?
We reserve our opinions for the businesses we support: reliable advice requires good knowledge of your file, your activity and your history. The introductory meeting lets us check whether our support suits you.
Fixed monthly fees: does your accountant in France follow your file all year round?
Yes: the accounting and tax engagement includes your chartered accountant as your single point of contact, your VAT and corporate income tax returns, your annual accounts and corporate tax return, and a discussion of your accounts at the year end when they include important points. They weigh with you the consequences of your questions, for the company and for you as a director; payroll, corporate secretarial, forecasts and dashboards are additional engagements, offered on request and quoted in advance. Your budget is stated before any commitment, so you know where you stand. In 2 minutes, your meeting is booked; in 5 more minutes, your fee estimate is shown. Get my free meeting and quote
Already working with an accountant in France and comparing fees: how do you join us?
It is simple: you send your termination letter to your previous firm (we give you an example to adapt), and we organise the handover of your file with them, in line with professional rules. Any set-up costs for your file are stated in our proposal, before any commitment. See the steps to change accountant
The forecasts, cash-flow plans, dashboards, simulations, studies and analyses mentioned above are additional engagements, à la carte. Each one is quoted in advance, at the frequency you choose.