Countryreverie

Hi All,
I am about to make the move to Aveyron . I have been dipping in here frequently for advice ( without posting) and very informative it has been. Thank you !
I am a furniture maker and have been considering the options for plying my trade. It will be a few years before retirement is an option. A-E is appealing as I don't intend vast expansion , just getting by. The problem seems to be that it is skewed towards people who are offering services as opposed to makers. The aspect of not being able to claim expenses is problematic as clealy my material costs are significant . The first point to clarify then is are materials included in turnover ? My understanding is that they are but I would be delighted to be put straight about that. If they are , would it be legitimate
( as in , within the law ) to get clients to pay for materials themselves ?
Thanks

EuroTrash

Hi, welcome!

I think you need to look into this because I seem to have it my head that if you buy in all the materials on the kind of scale you would be doing, and then sell the furniture, you can be classed as a commercant rather than an artisan. I.e instead of the 25 per cent cotisations and th 32k turnover (all figures are approximate) you may be able to use the 15 per cent cotis, 80k turnover scale.

I think I have read this somewhere in the past, and if it's the case then it might work out more beneficial to you.

If I've dreamt it, or if you work it out and it wouldn't be beneficial, then yes certainly you can ask your customers to purchase the materials. But not just pay for them separately and you buy them because if the transaction goes through your books then it is part of your turnover. Your supplier would have to make the invoice out to your customer and your customer would have to pay the supplier direct. I believe many auto entrepreneurs do this, but obviously it's more hassle for the customer and some will go elsewhere.

Hope that helps.

EDIT - here you go, I've found a link.
http://www.federation-auto-entrepreneur.fr/node/1817
"Les auto-entrepreneurs relevant du secteur du bâtiment et certains artisans entrent dans la catégorie des activités mixtes lorsqu'ils fournissent les matériaux entrant à titre principal dans l'ouvrage à exécuter : maçons, menuisiers, peintres, ébénistes, etc. Par contre, lorsqu'ils ne fournissent que des produits accessoires, le CA global ne doit pas dépasser 32 900 euros : cordonniers, teinturiers, blanchisseurs, imprimeurs ne fournissant pas le papier, etc."

So when you do your declaration you might have two separate entries. For furniture you make from scratch (as it were) and for which you purchase all the raw materials, you can record it in the commercial activities box and pay the lower cotis rate. For work that is labour only, for instance if you go out and do a repair job or French polishing or something (I really have no clue what furniture makers get up to) you would declare it in the artisan activities box and pay the higher cotis; also, any furniture you made for which the customer had supplied the raw materials. Your total turnover limit is 82k and within that, your artisan activities must stay below 33k.

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the Forum from neighbouring North Hérault. Not many expats settle in Aveyron!
As usual, ET has given a very comprehensive reply, and I just wanted to wish you all the best. An ex-neighbour of ours set up a workshop (craftsman rather than furniture maker) in West Aveyron, a vastly different world from the barren Larzac to the East.
Good luck with your venture!