What the engagement covers
Throughout the year
- Bookkeeping, or review of the entries you record yourself
- Bank reconciliations and follow-up of customer and supplier accounts
- Fixed assets: acquisitions, disposals, depreciation schedule
- Recording of payroll and of the director’s remuneration, where applicable
Tax side
- VAT recording and returns, according to your VAT regime
- Company tax deadlines: corporate income tax and instalments, local business tax (CFE)
- Corporate tax return (liasse fiscale) and annual income statement for tax
At year end
- Valuation of stocks and work in progress, based on the stock count you carry out
- Year-end entries: depreciation, accruals and prepayments, provisions
- Annual accounts: balance sheet, income statement and notes
Day-to-day exchanges about your file (documents, returns, deadlines) are naturally part of the engagement.
Additional services, on request
Depending on your needs, the engagement can be extended. Each additional service is set out in our proposal.
- Interim accounts and dashboards
- Approval and filing of the accounts, with the corporate secretarial service
- A block of hours for management questions during the year, for topics that call for specific analysis or advice
How your documents flow, from collection to advice
- Collection Purchase and sales invoices centralised on a secure platform, ready for French e-invoicing; bank transactions synchronised.
- Automated pre-accounting Bank entries and pre-accounting are generated automatically.
- Review by a professional Every entry is checked and reconciled: automation saves time, human review secures your accounts.
- Accounts and returns Annual accounts, tax return and VAT, on schedule.
- Advice, as an option On request: dashboards, progress reviews and recommendations for your decisions.
Your goals, our answers
“I want accurate accounts without spending my evenings on them”
Centralised invoices, synchronised bank feeds, automated entries reviewed by a professional: your time goes where it matters.
“I want to understand my numbers”
As an additional service, interim accounts and dashboards bring together the indicators that matter for your business. To know the margin of each activity, site or client: management accounting, quoted.
“I want to switch accountants and join you”
We organise the handover with your current firm, in line with professional rules. Read our guide to changing accountants
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.
Estimate your budget now, for your situation: estimate my budget
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to use a chartered accountant in France?
You may keep your books yourself or have an employee do it. If you outsource them to an external professional, that professional must be a chartered accountant (expert-comptable) registered on the roll of the Order, who is then responsible for the work performed.
Books behind: how do we get back on track with an accountant in France?
We review the situation together at the introductory meeting. Where possible, we propose an engagement letter that starts with a realistic catch-up, followed by ongoing bookkeeping. See catching up on late accounts
Does an accounting firm in France work with my invoicing software?
In most cases, yes: we adapt to the usual tools on the market. See the software and banks we work with
What is the difference between bookkeeping and review?
With bookkeeping, we record all transactions. With a review, you record them yourself and we check, correct and finalise. Approximate entries take time to understand and correct, which can end up costing more than outsourcing the bookkeeping.
Are annual accounts published in France?
Commercial companies file their accounts with the court registry (tribunal des activités économiques, TAE, formerly the commercial court, in Paris and where it applies; commercial court elsewhere). Small and micro companies may, under conditions, ask for all or part of their accounts to be kept confidential. See corporate secretarial
How long must I keep my accounting records?
In principle ten years for accounting documents, with other periods for some tax and social documents. Secure digital archiving makes this easier.
Annual accounts and tax return: does your accountant in France follow your books all year round?
Yes: as part of the accounting and tax engagement, your chartered accountant keeps or reviews your books, follows your VAT and deadlines, then prepares your annual accounts and corporate tax return. They take your overall situation into account: the company’s profit and tax, the director’s pay and personal income. Automated entries are always reviewed by a professional, so your accounts are in good hands. In 2 minutes, your meeting is booked; in 5 more minutes, your fee estimate is shown. Get my free meeting and quote
Company already working with an accountant in France for its annual accounts: 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. Changing at the year end is often the simplest, but a change during the year remains possible. See the steps to change accountant