Which legal form should I choose to sell online?
Selling online requires registration, even for a few sales a month: a shop is not a private sale. The choice mostly comes down to deducting costs.
Short answer
- A regular online selling activity must be registered, whatever the amount collected.
- The micro-entreprise is the simplest route: light formalities and contributions proportional to turnover.
- In a micro-entreprise, social contributions are 12.3% of turnover for the sale of goods.
- A micro-entrepreneur deducts no costs: the purchase price of goods is not deductible.
- As soon as stock purchases weigh on the margin, an SASU or EURL becomes more advantageous.
Comparing the options
Legal forms for an online shop
| Legal form | Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-entreprise | Instant setup, minimal bookkeeping, contributions on cash received | No deductible costs, turnover caps to watch |
| EURL | Deductible costs, majority manager under the self-employed scheme | Full bookkeeping, incorporation formalities |
| SASU | Deductible costs, flexible bylaws, easy to bring in partners | Higher contributions on the chair’s remuneration |
A real example
Example: a seller books €60,000 of sales with €35,000 of stock purchases. In a micro-entreprise, contributions are computed on the €60,000 collected, ignoring the €35,000 of purchases. In a company, the taxable base starts from the real margin. It is the margin-to-turnover ratio, not turnover alone, that should trigger the change.
Common mistakes
- Selling for months “as a test” without registering, which amounts to undeclared activity.
- Staying in a micro-entreprise on a thin margin over expensive purchased goods.
- Confusing the micro-entreprise cap with the VAT exemption threshold: they are two different things.
- Setting up a company before the first order and paying fixed costs with no revenue.
How 4shopy helps
- The subscription is monthly and commitment-free, which suits a micro-entreprise trial.
- Legal notices and company identity are updated without rebuilding the site after a change of legal form.
- Tracking collected turnover helps you see when the caps come into view.
- Accounting is fed by the 4b2b ecosystem, with no re-keying of sales.