Auto-entrepreneur receipts book in France: the registers to keep

The receipts book (livre des recettes) is the basic register of the auto-entrepreneur (a self-employed person under France’s micro-business regime): the list, in order, of everything you receive. The micro-entreprise (France’s micro-business regime) gives you simplified bookkeeping, with no balance sheet or general ledger, but not an absence of bookkeeping. Depending on your activity, a purchases register is added and, above a certain turnover, a dedicated bank account. And the day you leave the micro regime, other books take over. Here’s which ones, and what each must contain.

The rules are those in force in 2026, checked on Entreprendre.Service-Public.fr, the BOFiP (the tax administration’s official doctrine) and impots.gouv.fr on 30 September 2026.

What “simplified bookkeeping” means

Service-Public sums it up like this: as a micro-entrepreneur, the official name of the auto-entrepreneur, you benefit from the micro social-security regime (régime micro-social) and you have the option of keeping simplified bookkeeping.

In practice, you don’t have to draw up a balance sheet, an income statement or a business results return: the BOFiP specifies that under the micro-BIC, one of the two branches of the micro tax regime, you carry your annual turnover straight onto your income tax return. In return, you must keep:

On top of that come your invoices and supporting documents, which you must keep.

The receipts book: what it must contain

You record your takings in it in chronological order, as you receive them. For each one, Service-Public asks for:

• the amount;
• the origin, that is, the identity of the client or of the company acting as agent;
• the method of payment: cheque, cash, transfer, card;
• for traders and providers of accommodation, the reference of the supporting document (the number of the invoice or bill).

For liberal professions (professions libérales) under the micro-BNC, article 102 ter of the CGI (the general tax code) refers to a document showing the identity declared by the client, the amount, the date and the form of payment of the fees. The BOFiP specifies that this document isn’t subject to any formal requirements: a simple record is enough.

You then total your takings every three months. It’s handy: it’s also the rhythm of a quarterly declaration to the URSSAF (the body that collects social-security contributions).

For retail sales and services provided to private individuals, you can record takings as a single total at the end of the day, provided the unit amount of each sale is below €76 (article 286 of the CGI). So a baker or a bike repairer doesn’t have to note down every customer.

What a page looks like, for a service activity:

You record the date of payment received, not the date of the invoice. An invoice issued in March and paid in April goes into the book in April. It’s also this figure received that you declare to the URSSAF.

The purchases register: who needs one?

The BOFiP reserves it for auto-entrepreneurs whose main business is selling goods, articles, supplies and food to take away or to eat on the premises, or providing accommodation. Service providers are excluded.

It sets out, year by year and in chronological order, the detail of your business purchases, with for each one:

• the date of payment and the amount;
• the method of payment;
• the reference of the supporting document (invoice, bill).

One case to know about: Service-Public states that a liberal profession under the franchise en base de TVA must also keep a register for each year detailing its purchases of goods and services, in addition to a journal of its takings. What the franchise changes for you is explained in the article on VAT for auto-entrepreneurs.

Paper, spreadsheet or software?

All three are fine. Service-Public mentions accounting books sold in shops, official templates to download and accounting software. The receipts book and the purchases register can be kept electronically, provided each entry is identified and dated at the moment it’s made.

Once recorded, your entries can no longer be changed. A spreadsheet you edit freely doesn’t give that guarantee: if you use one, never delete a past row.

The dedicated bank account: from when?

A bank account is mandatory, but your personal account is enough at first: you don’t have to open a “business” account.

According to Service-Public, the obligation kicks in if your annual turnover exceeds €10,000 for two consecutive years. You must then open an account dedicated to your activity, used only for it. Service-Public recommends having one even below this threshold.

A separate account does half the work of the receipts book: every payment received shows up in it with its date and amount. All that’s left is to add the client and the document.

How long to keep your registers and invoices?

Ten years from the close of the financial year concerned, according to Service-Public, for the receipts book, the purchases register and all supporting documents: sales invoices, purchase invoices, bills.

Your invoicing itself is changing form: since 1 September 2026, you must be able to receive e-invoices, and from 1 September 2027, you’ll have to issue them and send certain data to the authorities. The timetable is detailed in the article on e-invoicing for the auto-entrepreneur, and the details to put on each invoice in the one on the auto-entrepreneur invoice.

What happens if you don’t keep your registers?

Service-Public is clear: there’s no penalty for not keeping the receipts book or the purchases register. On the other hand, forgery (entering false information) and the use of forged documents (presenting falsified registers, for example to get a loan) expose you to a criminal penalty of up to 3 years’ imprisonment and a €45,000 fine.

Above all, without a register you have no way of proving your turnover if the URSSAF or the tax office asks you for it, nor of knowing where you stand against the ceilings of the micro-entreprise.

Leaving the micro regime: the books of the régime réel

When you go over the ceilings two years running, or you choose the régime réel (the standard regime, on actual profits), simplified bookkeeping stops. The books depend on your income category. The switch itself is explained in the article on leaving the micro regime.

On the régime réel in BIC: journal, general ledger, inventory

For a sole proprietor who is a trader or craftsperson, Service-Public lists:

The documents are kept for at least ten years from the close of the financial year.

On the régime réel in BNC: the déclaration contrôlée

A liberal profession leaving the micro-BNC moves to the déclaration contrôlée (the BNC standard regime). Article 99 of the CGI, as commented on by the BOFiP, then requires:

• a journal kept day by day, detailing business takings and expenses;
• a fixed assets and depreciation register, with for each asset its acquisition date, its cost price, the depreciation applied and, where relevant, its disposal;
• all supporting documents.

The FEC, the accounting entries file

The FEC (the standard accounting entries file) is the copy of your books that you hand over to the tax authorities during an audit, in a standard format. Article L47 A of the livre des procédures fiscales has required it since 2014 of businesses that must keep accounts and keep them on computer.

• Under the micro regime, you’re not concerned: the BOFiP states that, as a concession, auto-entrepreneurs are exempt from providing an FEC when they keep their books on computer.
• On the régime réel, as soon as your books are kept in software, you must be able to produce this file. The standards for the format are published on impots.gouv.fr.

Failing to present your books in this form during an audit leads to a fine of €5,000 or, in the event of a reassessment and if the amount is higher, a 10% surcharge on the tax charged to you (article 1729 D of the CGI). When you move to the régime réel, check that your tool can export an FEC.

In short

• Receipts book: mandatory for every auto-entrepreneur, chronological, with amount, client and method of payment, totalled every three months.
• Purchases register: for sales and accommodation, and for liberal professions under the VAT franchise.
• Dedicated account: mandatory after two years above €10,000 of turnover.
• Ten years of retention for everything.
• On the régime réel: journal, general ledger, inventory and annual accounts in BIC (industrial and commercial profits), journal and fixed assets register in BNC (non-commercial profits), and an FEC if your books are computerised.

A receipts book brought up to date every week means a URSSAF declaration that takes two minutes and an audit that doesn’t worry you.
💜💙 Your BravoLisa Team

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. Every situation is different — consult a qualified professional (tax adviser, accountant, or lawyer) for advice specific to your circumstances. BravoLisa does not accept liability for decisions made based on this information.

Last updated: September 2026. Rates and thresholds can change: always check with the URSSAF, impots.gouv or the relevant authority.

Sources (8)

Verified on 30 September 2026

1. Entreprendre.Service-Public.fr — Obligations comptables du micro-entrepreneur
2. Entreprendre.Service-Public.fr — Registres obligatoires du micro-entrepreneur
3. BOFiP — BIC, obligations fiscales et comptables dans le cadre du régime des micro-entreprises (BOI-BIC-DECLA-30-30)
4. BOFiP — BNC, régime déclaratif spécial, obligations comptables (BOI-BNC-DECLA-20-30)
5. Entreprendre.Service-Public.fr — Obligations comptables du commerçant (entrepreneur individuel)
6. BOFiP — BNC, régime de la déclaration contrôlée, obligations comptables (BOI-BNC-DECLA-10-20)
7. BOFiP — Contrôle des comptabilités informatisées, remise d'une copie des fichiers des écritures comptables (BOI-CF-IOR-60-40-10)
8. impots.gouv.fr — Fichiers standards des écritures comptables (art. L. 47 A-I du LPF)