Before we start exploring the possibilities, we should tell you right away that free rarely rhymes with long-lasting. Often, what seems free at first glance either isn't, or doesn't stay that way for very long. However, "free" solutions do exist.

The law makes it compulsory for you to register your company, as the address of your registered office determines your administrative and tax address, and enables you to be entered in the Trade and Companies Register (RCS) or the Chamber of Trades (CM).

Nevertheless, the address of your head office must also be taken into account in your marketing policy, particularly with regard to your communications strategy. Indeed, your company address will be present on all documents issued by your business, whether invoices, quotations, leaflets or other advertising.

As a result, it's vital for the entrepreneur to strike the right balance between the need for a prestigious address and the need to pay as little as possible for such a headquarters.

The cheapest direct debit solutions

There are several ways to domicile a company:

  • At the manager's principal place of residence,
  • In commercial premises,
  • With a domiciliation company.

Let's take a closer look at each of these possibilities.

Domiciliation at the manager's home

It's unquestionably the simplest, free solution par excellence. At least, that's what the Dutreil law of August1, 2003, which introduced it, was intended to achieve. In reality, it's a little more complicated.

Although domiciling your company at your main place of residence is the most economical idea, it often suffers from a lack of continuity that will put you at risk of deregistration.

Why should you? Because the domiciliation of your company at your home is subject to three conditions:

  • Your lease,
  • Co-ownership regulations,
  • Local planning regulations.

If any of these three elements prevent you from domiciling your company at your home, you must change the address of your registered office within five years, as stipulated in article L.123-11-1 of the French Commercial Code.

This article gives rise to a more serious problem: three months before the deadline expires, the registrar sends you a letter asking you to provide him with your new registered office address. If you fail to provide a new address within the five-year period, the clerk will automatically strike your company off the register.

Chances are, in five years' time, you'll have other things to worry about than transferring your company's registered office. By the time the registrar has sent you the reminder letter, you've read it and taken the necessary steps, it'll often be too late.

Case in point: A small management consultancy, run by an entrepreneur working from home, had to change the address of its registered office after five years, as its lease prohibited the use of the dwelling as its registered office. Despite a reminder from the registrar, the change could not be made in time, resulting in the company being struck off the register.

Domiciliation in commercial premises

Another free solution, at least at first sight, is to domicile your company in the commercial premises you use for your business. This is where you need to make no mistake.

Whether or not you choose to run your business from commercial premises should not be confused with the possibility of domiciling your company at the same address. Between the rules governing commercial leases, rental costs (rent, local taxes, etc.) and the loan used to purchase the premises and the business, a commercial premises requires a substantial investment.

Consequently, domiciling your company in a commercial premises is far from being free, unless the use of this premises is essential to your company's economic activity, and this domiciliation address then represents an opportunity.

Case in point: An online boutique selling high-end clothing decided to locate its business in commercial premises in a prestigious area to enhance its brand image. However, the high cost of rent and utilities ended up weighing heavily on the company's finances, demonstrating that this solution was not really free.

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Domiciliation with a domiciliation company

Domiciling your company with a domiciliation company may not be free, but it can be cost-effective. By opting for affordable offers from reliable service providers, such as those offered by SeDomicilier, you can find advantageous solutions.

On the one hand, you'll benefit from the address you need to set up or prevent your company from being deregistered, but above all you'll enjoy a prestigious address that will give your company a serious image.

There are many advantages to using the services of a domiciliation company:

  • Contractual basis,
  • Prefectoral approval,
  • No time limit,
  • Meeting room available,
  • Provision of office space,
  • Choice of a prestigious address,
  • Numerous additional services.

In general, each additional service is subject to an increase in the monthly fee. This means that this type of direct debit is not free, but that the monthly cost depends directly on your needs.

So when you need to free up some time to concentrate on your business, rather than manning the phones, the domiciliation company can offer to act as your switchboard.

Case in point: A technology start-up opted for a prestigious domiciliation address with SeDomicilier to benefit from a serious image and additional services such as call management and meeting room rental. This solution, although not free of charge, enabled the company to concentrate on its development while benefiting from the professional services offered by the domiciliation company.

How can I reduce the cost of my business address?

The cost of commercial domiciliation, which is the name given to domiciliation via a domiciliation company, can be limited.

Tip 1: Choose your address carefully

Domiciliation companies have a list of cities in which they often have several addresses. The price of these addresses varies according to several factors:

  • The prestige of the address,
  • The cost of leasing or purchasing the property by the domiciliary,
  • The amount of tax due on the property,
  • The number of companies sharing this address.

It's important to check the price of addresses, as it's not uncommon for an address on the Champs-Elysées to be less expensive than one in La Défense or Strasbourg, contrary to what you might think.

2° advice: complementary services

Domiciliary companies offer a wide range of services. They save you time, because they are often time-consuming. To decide whether to use them, you need to assess what you stand to gain by working towards your own success, rather than wasting time on the many and varied tasks involved in running a business.

This evaluation can be made all the more difficult by the fact that, at the start of your business, you're not going to earn much. The amount of work you'll be doing will be capitalized on, enabling you to develop further. This makes it all the more difficult to assess what you stand to gain from these complementary services.

Remember what Elon Musk said: when you work 100 hours a week, and your competitors only work 35 or 50 hours a week, you'll reach your goals two or three times faster than they will. That's what domiciliation companies can help you achieve.

Case in point: A small software development company chose not to subscribe immediately to the additional services offered by its domiciliation company. However, after a few months, it realized that managing calls and mail was taking up too much of its time. By opting for these additional services, the company was able to concentrate on its projects and increase productivity.

3° tip: the duration of the domiciliation contract

The law stipulates a minimum contract duration of 3 months between the domiciliary and the domiciliary company. However, contracts generally extend over much longer periods. It is not uncommon for the first contract to run for one to two years, with tacit renewal.

The longer the term of the contract, the lower the rate. So it's a good idea to choose a well-established domiciliation company with a good reputation among entrepreneurs, so that you can enter into a long-term contract without fear.

Case in point: A financial services company signed a two-year domiciliation contract with a well-established company, benefiting from reduced rates. This decision enabled the company to stabilize its domiciliation costs and benefit from quality services over the long term.

Conclusion

The free domiciliation solution is domiciliation at the company manager's home. It's simple, practical and accessible to all, but is often limited to a five-year term, running the risk of deregistration and requiring the transfer of the company's registered office.

To ensure your company's long-term viability, you'll need to consider other domiciliation solutions. Commercial premises are a good choice if you run a business that is essential to your company's activity.

Apart from this solution, using a domiciliation company remains by far the best option, because of its cost-effectiveness and the durability of the head office address. What's more, the prestige of the address, which you can choose, enables you to better integrate your company's name into your marketing campaigns.