When do you graduate from an EOR to your own France entity?

The calculation below uses EUR 550 as the illustrative EUR equivalent of the Teamed fee. This is illustrative only. The actual EUR amount depends on the exchange rate at the time of invoice. Teamed charges from $599 USD with zero FX mark-up.

* "About even" marks the illustrative zone where the EOR and entity lines run close. It is not a fixed crossover headcount: it shifts with the flat EOR fee, your entity quote, and how fast you are growing. Run the Crossover Calculator for your own point.

All entity cost figures in this table are typical ranges based on outsourced payroll bureau, bookkeeping, DSN filings, URSSAF declarations, and HR advisory for a small French entity. They are illustrative, not verified statutory figures. Actual costs vary with your chosen structure (SASU vs SARL), outsourcing model, and benefits programme.

France employer social charges add significantly to the cost of each employee on both sides of the comparison. They run approximately 42 to 47% of gross salary depending on salary level, applicable reductions, and sector convention. At EUR 60,000 gross annual salary the total employer cost is roughly EUR 85,000 to 88,000 all-in. The social charge line does not change the crossover maths because it applies to both sides equally.

Pension at 8.55% on qualifying earnings up to the social security ceiling of €4,005/month moves the entity-side fixed cost line, but it is on both sides of the comparison. Run the Crossover Calculator with your own headcount and salary band.

1. Calculate the EOR cost

   Multiply the Teamed fee (from $599 USD) by your planned France headcount. This is the fixed variable cost. It grows linearly as you hire.

2. Estimate the entity fixed overhead

   Typically EUR 3,500 to 5,500 per month for a small French SASU or SARL. This covers payroll bureau, DSN filings, bookkeeping, complementaire sante admin, and first-point HR. This cost does not grow much until headcount exceeds 15.

3. Find your crossover point

   The crossover is where EOR monthly cost equals entity monthly overhead. There is no fixed number: it moves with the flat EOR fee, your entity quote, and how fast you are growing. Use the Crossover Calculator for your own numbers.

4. Factor in non-financial triggers

   The maths gives you a planning point. The CSE election trigger at 11 employees, BSPCE share options, convention collective alignment, and market-validation reversibility are separate questions that may override the cost crossover in either direction.

5. Plan the graduation date

   Allow 4 to 8 weeks for entity formation before the first payroll on your own entity. Factor in URSSAF registration and DSN setup time. Start the GEMO process while EOR continues running, and align the novation date with the CSE threshold if you are approaching 11 employees.

These are typical ranges, not law. There is no statute that sets what a French SASU or SARL costs to form. The range reflects real professional services market rates and varies with how much complexity your structure needs.

The choice between SASU and SARL matters for setup cost and ongoing governance. A SASU is a simplified single-shareholder SAS and is typically easier to set up for foreign-owned entities. A SARL requires at least one associe and has more rigid governance rules under the Code de commerce. Most foreign-parented structures use a SASU.

Why supplementary health is a day-one cost

Unlike the UK, French law requires employers to provide complementaire sante (supplementary health cover) to all employees from the first day of employment. The employer must cover at least 50% of the premium. This is a recurring cost that applies immediately and cannot be deferred until you feel established. It is one of the items that makes France entity setup more expensive than incorporation alone suggests.

These figures are typical market ranges for a small French entity with 1 to 15 employees. They are illustrative. They are not law. Actual costs depend on whether you outsource or hire, the quality of service, and the complexity of your payroll and benefits programme.

France has a heavier monthly filing load than most European countries. The DSN (Declaration Sociale Nominative) is filed monthly by the 5th of the following month for companies with 50 or more employees, or the 15th for smaller employers. This means a French payroll bureau is typically more expensive on a per-employee basis than equivalent services in the UK or Germany.

Past 11 employees the CSE (Comite Social et Economique) threshold is triggered. You must hold elections within 90 days. The CSE then has consultation rights on any significant organisational change. This is not optional and not a cost that outsourcing eliminates. It adds management time and, in practice, advisory cost.

Most cost comparisons skip the personal liability dimension because it is hard to put a number on. It matters more in France than in many comparable jurisdictions.

Personal duties of the SASU president and SARL gerant

Under the Code de commerce, a SASU president manages the company and is personally responsible for ensuring compliance with all social, fiscal, and employment law. A SARL gerant is similarly exposed. Both can be held personally liable for management faults (faute de gestion) that cause loss to the company or to third parties including employees.

The Conseil de prud'hommes is always in scope

French labour courts (Conseils de prud'hommes) hear employee claims from the first day of employment with no minimum service requirement for most claims. The bareme Macron caps unfair dismissal awards at up to 20 months of salary for the longest-serving employees in larger companies, but claims for procedural failures, discrimination, or harassment carry no cap. An EOR carries the employer status and manages the dismissal procedure. A French entity places that risk directly with your local management.

The URSSAF compliance treadmill

• DSN filing: monthly, due by the 5th of the following month for larger employers. Late filings attract automatic penalties from URSSAF.
• Annual DADS/N4DS: annual social data declaration, due by 31 January. Late or incorrect filings trigger fines.
• Liasse fiscale: annual tax return to the Direction Generale des Finances Publiques. Signed accounts are required within 6 months of financial year-end.
• CSE elections: once you cross 11 employees you have 90 days to organise elections. Failure is a criminal misdemeanour, not a civil fine.
• Complementaire sante and prevoyance: ongoing URSSAF declarations for each employee. Any lapse creates retroactive personal social charge liability.

Each filing is individually manageable with a good cabinet de paie. Stacked across the year, they consume real management attention. An EOR handles all of these on its own entity.

• While your French team is small: EOR is usually cheaper every month. The typical entity overhead of EUR 3,500 to 5,500 has nothing to amortise against at low headcount.
• Market validation phase: you are hiring 1 or 2 people to test commercial fit in France, with an option to scale back. Entity setup commits capital and management attention before you know whether the French market will deliver the return.
• Project-based hires under 12 months: the formation cost and first-year overhead will not amortise before the project ends.
• Avoiding the 11-employee CSE threshold: if you are just below the 11-employee mark and plan to stay there, triggering the CSE election threshold with your own entity adds a permanent governance layer. EOR employment against the EOR entity does not count toward your own headcount for CSE purposes.
• Reversibility: if the French market does not pan out, closing an EOR relationship takes weeks. Closing a French SASU with CDI employees can take months and carries redundancy costs.

• Sustained headcount past your crossover point at average salaries: the entity overhead starts to amortise and per-head cost falls below the EOR fee.
• Convention collective alignment: joining a sector-specific collective agreement directly gives you the ability to negotiate HR terms, benefit structures, and working time arrangements that match your French market peers. An EOR typically operates under a general convention collective or its own applicable CBA, which may not match your sector norms.
• Permanent establishment clarity: if your French employees are generating revenue in France, you may already have a permanent establishment under French tax law regardless of your corporate structure. Owning the entity removes ambiguity about where the taxable profits sit and who files the liasse fiscale.
• Share-based compensation: BSPCE (bons de souscription de parts de createur d'entreprise) the French equivalent of EMI share options, require the holder to be employed by a qualifying French company. An EOR cannot grant BSPCE on your behalf.
• Enterprise customer preference: some French enterprise and public-sector clients prefer or require contracting with a French-registered entity. Worth flagging early if relevant to your sales motion.

The technical mechanic is contract novation: each employment contract transfers from Teamed France SAS to your new entity on a single specified date. All terms carry across. Salary, annual leave entitlement of 25 days per year, pension, complementaire sante, and the seniority date all remain unchanged. The employee sees a different entity name on their payslip. Nothing else changes.

What we do operationally:

• Stand up your French entity through GEMO, typically 4 to 8 weeks, while EOR continues running in parallel.
• Register the new entity with URSSAF, set up DSN credentials, and join the applicable convention collective.
• Novate every active employment contract on a single effective date.
• Transfer complementaire sante and prevoyance coverage without any lapse in employee protection.
• File the closing DSN on the EOR entity and open DSN on the new entity from the novation date.
• Provide the same People Ops specialist as the post-graduation primary contact for the first 90 days.

One France-specific note: if you are approaching 11 employees, the timing of graduation relative to the CSE election threshold matters. Graduating before you hit 11 on your own entity gives you time to set up governance before the election obligation triggers. Plan the novation date with this in mind.

Real HR and legal experts handle your French hires from the first offer letter through every monthly DSN submission and annual social declaration. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Every employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice. You see the pension line at 8.55% on qualifying earnings up to the social security ceiling of €4,005/month, and the statutory leave accrual for 25 days. Nothing is hidden inside the management fee.

EOR payroll, contractor onboarding, and entity setup all live on one platform. Run the Crossover Calculator to see the month the model flips for your France headcount and salary band. Start from the France hiring overview. Key sources: Ministere du Travail, URSSAF, and Code du travail.