Micro-entreprise, EURL or SASU for a consultant: the real comparison beyond the turnover cap

In brief: For an independent consultant, choosing a legal status isn't just about a turnover cap. Below a certain activity level, the micro-entreprise (French simplified sole-trader scheme) remains the fastest and cheapest solution. Beyond that, the SASU (a French single-shareholder simplified joint-stock company) often becomes more attractive. It offers better social protection and lets you control your own pay. The EURL (a French single-member limited liability company) remains a marginal option for this particular profession. This comparison looks at what really affects your pocket: net pay, contributions, retirement, liability and management costs.

In brief: which status for which consultant?

Three profiles come up often among independent consultants.

• The first is testing a consulting activity alongside a job, or right after a negotiated termination. Their turnover remains uncertain.
• The second already invoices several assignments a year to client companies. They're looking to secure their income.
• The third aims for rapid growth. They're considering bringing in a partner one day, or raising funds.

The table below summarises the main trends. It doesn't replace personalised advice, but it lays the groundwork for the decision.

What are the three possible statuses for a consultant?

A consultant's legal status sets their tax, social and administrative rules. It determines how they invoice their assignments and pay into their social protection. Three options structure this choice: the micro-entreprise, the EURL and the SASU. Each follows a different logic, not simply an income threshold.

Micro-entreprise: simplicity and speed

The micro-entreprise appeals first for how quickly it can be set up. You declare your activity online, get a SIRET number (French business registration number), and can start invoicing within days. No complex bookkeeping is required: an income register is enough, alongside issued invoices and quotes.

Social contributions are calculated as a flat percentage of what you receive, with no link to your actual costs. You pay nothing if you invoice nothing, which is reassuring when starting out. This flat rate, specific to service provision falling under BNC (non-commercial profits, the tax category for consulting), applies to every payment received. It doesn't take into account the amount of your business expenses.

The real limit appears with the turnover cap specific to service provision. This cap is periodically revised by the tax authorities. Beyond it, you automatically move to an actual taxation regime. Another, less visible limit matters too: no expense is deductible. A consultant who invests heavily, in travel, subcontracting or tools, pays contributions on gross turnover, not on actual profit.

EURL: a rare middle ground for a consultant

The EURL is a single-member limited liability company. Its sole managing member falls under the self-employed workers' regime (TNS). On paper, it combines a company structure with flexible taxation, between income tax and corporate tax.

In practice, it remains rarely chosen by consultants. It requires full accounting like the SASU, without offering the assimilated-employee social protection that makes the SASU attractive. The TNS regime generally opens up narrower social rights than an assimilated-employee regime, for a comparable administrative burden. It keeps its appeal in two specific cases:

• taking over an activity already organised as an EURL;
• wanting to stay under the independent workers' regime while still benefiting from a company structure.

For a consultant who is starting out or growing, the SASU generally answers the same need better.

SASU: the classic structure for growing consultants

The SASU, a single-shareholder simplified joint-stock company, separates the company's assets from those of its president. It offers great flexibility in its bylaws. You set your own pay. You choose between salary and dividends. You can also bring in a partner later, without changing legal form.

The president of a SASU falls under the assimilated-employee regime. Their contributions are calculated on the pay actually paid out, not on turnover. This requires heavier bookkeeping and, in nearly all cases, the use of an accountant. This complexity is offset by social protection closer to that of a standard employee. It also allows actual business expenses to be deducted before calculating tax.

The real differences beyond the turnover cap

The turnover cap is just an administrative trigger. The real differences lie elsewhere. Five criteria truly matter for deciding:

• the net pay actually kept;
• the social cost depending on activity level;
• retirement and provident rights;
• personal liability in case of difficulty;
• the annual management and accounting budget.

That's where a genuinely informed status decision is made.

What's the real difference in pay between these statuses?

For the same invoiced turnover, what you keep depends on two very different mechanisms. In a micro-entreprise, contributions are deducted from gross receipts, with no expense deduction. In a SASU, you choose the amount of your pay. You first deduct your business expenses from the company's result. You then choose between salary, subject to social contributions, and dividends, subject to separate taxation.

In practice, a consultant with few business expenses and modest turnover rarely optimises their net pay through a SASU. The structure adds complexity, without real gain. Conversely, a consultant with significant expenses, travel to clients, subcontracting, equipment, benefits more from a SASU. Higher turnover too. They benefit from deducting actual expenses and from balancing salary and dividends.

How much do social charges really cost depending on status?

The micro-entreprise applies a fixed rate on turnover received. This rate stays the same whether or not you have expenses. The SASU calculates contributions on the gross pay you pay yourself. The overall social charge, employer and employee share combined, is proportionally higher. In return, it funds more comprehensive social coverage.

A consultant invoicing €30,000, €50,000 or €80,000 a year doesn't experience the same logic depending on their status. In a micro-entreprise, the social cost rises at the same rate as turnover. In a SASU, it depends on the pay level you decide to give yourself. This choice remains independent of the turnover invoiced by the company.

Social protection and retirement: what you don't see on the payslip

In a micro-entreprise, your contributions build up rights to retirement and health insurance. Modest turnover can, however, limit the validation of quarters and the level of daily allowances. In a SASU, regular pay, even a modest one, builds up rights close to those of an employee. Sick pay is generally more favourable. Retirement is calculated as for a managerial employee. However, there is no right to unemployment benefit if you lose your mandate, unless combined with a separate employment contract.

This point matters particularly for a consultant considering pregnancy, an extended sick leave, or planning retirement in the medium term. Social protection doesn't show up on a turnover statement: it's measured in acquired rights.

Personal liability and asset separation

In both EURL and SASU, the manager's liability is in principle limited to their contributions to the company. Personal assets remain protected, except for a personal guarantee given to a creditor or clear management fault. In a micro-entreprise, personal assets also benefit from protection in principle, except in the case of explicit waiver or proven fault.

This matters especially in three cases: assignments with high financial stakes, business loans taken out, or clients requiring significant contractual guarantees. In these cases, the clarity of a company structure, EURL or SASU, reassures a client or banking partner more than a sole proprietorship.

How much does bookkeeping really cost depending on your status?

In a micro-entreprise, bookkeeping is limited to an income register and keeping invoices and quotes. No accountant is required. Whatever status is chosen, accounting records must be kept for 10 years from the end of the financial year. This rule also applies to the micro-entreprise, a point often overlooked by consultants who think they have no documentary obligations under this simplified regime.

In a SASU, full accounting, balance sheet, income statement, tax return, makes using an accountant almost systematic. An annual budget needs to be planned for in your cash flow. Among consultants managing their quotes and invoices with Quickote, hesitation often comes up when switching to a company structure. They underestimate the real weight of this mandatory bookkeeping. They then discover the accountant's cost after the fact, rather than before.

From what turnover should you switch to a SASU?

There is no single threshold valid for all consultants. The tipping point depends on several factors: the level of actual business expenses, the desire to build stronger retirement rights, the ability to absorb the cost of an accountant. No figure replaces a personalised simulation, specific to your activity.

Three signs generally indicate it's time to consider a SASU:

• turnover approaching the micro-entreprise cap;
• business expenses that genuinely weigh on profitability;
• a need for more comprehensive social protection, ahead of a life project: buying property, having a child, planned time off work.

How does profitability evolve between €20,000 and €100,000 in turnover?

The profitability of each status changes in steps, not linearly. Here's how the picture changes depending on the turnover level targeted.

Micro-entreprise: how far is it profitable?

Up to a moderate turnover, the micro-entreprise often remains the most profitable solution, net of administrative costs. It generates almost none, which explains this advantage. The point to watch comes with VAT thresholds. For service provision, you're exempt from charging VAT up to €37,500 in annual turnover, with a raised threshold of €41,250 (2026 figures). Beyond that, you must charge VAT to your clients. This changes your pricing position, especially with individual clients, who aren't themselves liable for VAT.

SASU or micro-entreprise: where's the tipping point?

Many consultants start wondering about a SASU when their turnover approaches the VAT threshold mentioned above. It's not an automatic rule. If business expenses remain low and simplicity remains the priority, the micro-entreprise keeps its appeal, VAT included. If deductible expenses become significant, or if social protection becomes a priority, the SASU lets you regain control over the actual result of the activity. It's no longer limited solely to turnover received.

What if you're targeting €80,000-€100,000 a year?

At this activity level, the SASU allows for a balancing act the micro-entreprise no longer allows. You can split your pay between salary and dividends. Higher salary increases social contributions but strengthens retirement and provident rights. Larger dividends reduce the immediate social cost, but build up no social rights. This balance is worked out with an accountant, according to your horizon: buying property, planning for retirement, reinvesting in the business.

EURL or SASU for a consultant: which should you really choose?

Between EURL and SASU, the concrete difference for a consultant lies almost entirely in the manager's social regime. In an EURL, you fall under the self-employed workers' regime. Your contributions are calculated on profit, but social protection generally remains narrower. In a SASU, you're an assimilated employee. Your contributions apply to the pay you receive, with social coverage closer to that of an employee.

The EURL still makes sense in two situations: you prefer staying within the logic of the independent workers' regime while benefiting from a company structure, or you're taking over a structure already set up in that form. For a consultant building their consulting activity from scratch, the SASU generally answers the same structuring need. It also offers more comfortable social protection.

Should you change status along the way?

Moving from a micro-entreprise to a SASU isn't a simple update formality. You need to end the micro-entreprise and create a separate company. This means a new SIRET, new professional bank details, and sometimes renegotiating ongoing contracts with your clients. Formality costs, legal notice and registration, add to this change.

Moving from an EURL to a SASU, on the other hand, is a legal transformation. It's carried out without creating a new entity, nor interrupting existing contracts. The SIRET stays the same in most cases, which simplifies continuity with clients. The right time to change status is before a period of high activity, never urgently in the middle of an invoiced assignment.

Do you need a holding company to work as a consultant?

A holding company is a company that owns shares in another company. It's used to reinvest profits or structure several activities. It's only worthwhile once you already have a comfortable result level, with a clear reinvestment plan. To start a consulting activity, it's generally not necessary.

What happens if I hire a first employee?

Both SASU and EURL allow hiring. The obligations remain standard for an employer: contract, payslip, employer contributions. The micro-entreprise technically allows it, but the logic of flat contributions on turnover fits poorly with managing an employee. Most consultants who hire switch to a company structure, before or at the time of hiring.

Does the status change my VAT obligations?

No. The threshold that exempts you from charging VAT depends on your turnover, not your legal status. For service provision, it's set at €37,500 in annual turnover, with a raised threshold of €41,250 (2026 figures). A micro-entreprise and a SASU switch under the same conditions, as soon as this threshold is crossed.

Does the Factur-X reform change things depending on my status?

No, it doesn't either. Electronic invoicing obligations depend on the size of the business, not its legal status. Receiving electronic invoices becomes mandatory from 1 September 2026, for all professionals liable for VAT. Issuing them becomes mandatory on the same date for large companies and mid-sized ones (ETI). SMEs, micro-businesses and micro-entreprises switch from 1 September 2027. A non-compliant invoice exposes you to a fine of €15 excl. VAT per invoice, capped at €15,000 excl. VAT a year. A first offence corrected within 30 days remains exempt.

Micro-entreprise or SASU: which to start with?

Most consultants start out as a micro-entreprise. They test their market without heavy administrative burden. They then switch to a SASU, once their activity is confirmed and their turnover stabilised. This gradual path limits financial risk at the start, while keeping the SASU available for the growth phase.

EURL or SASU: what's the real difference for a consultant?

The difference lies in the manager's social regime. Self-employed worker in an EURL, assimilated employee in a SASU, for a comparable administrative burden. The SASU generally offers better social protection. It also leaves more flexibility to change the shareholding structure over time. That's why it's chosen far more often by consultants than the EURL.

Your next step

If your turnover remains moderate and your expenses limited, the micro-entreprise keeps its appeal. It stays quick, with no heavy bookkeeping, and is enough to test or consolidate your consulting activity. If your activity settles in, your expenses become significant, or you're looking for better social protection, a costed simulation with an accountant becomes necessary. Only that can confirm whether a SASU truly becomes advantageous for your specific situation.

Whatever status you choose, managing quotes and invoices remains the same daily task. Quickote lets you create a professional quote in under 60 seconds, then turn it into an invoice. Quickote generates your invoices in Factur-X format. Connection to an approved platform, required for the mandatory issuance from September 2027, is being finalised.