Accountant for architects

An accountant for architects needs to understand how project-based revenue works. Architectural fees spread across phases (sketch design, developed design, technical design, tender, contract administration and handover), which means cash flow depends on milestone billing, not on a regular monthly pattern.

A busy agency with a full order book can still face cash problems if invoicing lags behind completed phases, if disbursements are not rebilled, or if the contribution margin per project is not tracked properly. Good accounting connects the project file to the financial statement.

French architectural contracts split fees across phases: APS, APD, PRO, DCE, ACT, DET and AOR. Each phase represents a percentage of the total fee. The accounting challenge is matching income recognition with actual work progress while keeping cash flow readable against upcoming costs: payroll, rent, subcontractors and insurance.

We build a project-level dashboard that tracks billed versus earned fees, pending invoices, expected phase completions and cash needs over the coming months. This turns the project schedule into a cash forecast.

Disbursements (débours) are costs advanced on behalf of clients: structural engineers, acoustics consultants, surveyors and other technical specialists. The accounting treatment matters: they must be separated from own-account expenses and rebilled at cost, or they distort the agency's real margin.

The same logic applies to subcontracted design work. If a sub-consultant is billed directly to the project, that fee should not be confused with agency overhead. Properly isolated, disbursements and sub-consultants reveal the real contribution margin: what the agency earns on its own design work once pass-through costs are removed.

MAF (Mutuelle des Architectes Français) is the professional liability insurer for licensed architects in France. The premium is partly indexed to fee revenue, making it a variable cost that needs to be budgeted forward. It also affects break-even analysis at the agency level.

We ensure MAF premiums are correctly deducted, documented and included in project cost comparisons, and that insurance renewals are anticipated in the annual cash plan.

Architects who operate as liberal professionals under the BNC regime file Form 2035 and are affiliated to CIPAV for retirement and disability. Since 2023, URSSAF collects these contributions while CIPAV manages the pension rights. CIPAV contributions are income-based and paid with a lag, which creates a cash provisioning need.

Key deductible costs on Form 2035 for architects include: MAF premiums, office rent, professional subscriptions (Ordre des Architectes), software licences (AutoCAD, ArchiCAD, Revit), continuing education, travel and vehicle costs. The deduction framework should be documented consistently to withstand a tax review.

The most useful measure for an architecture firm is not gross revenue: it is the contribution per project after direct costs (disbursements, sub-consultants, time spent by junior staff) are removed. A project with a large fee can be low-margin if it is overscoped or if billing is incomplete.

We build a project profitability tracker comparing billed fees, time cost, sub-consultant cost and disbursements to produce a per-project contribution margin. Over time this informs pricing decisions, scope negotiation and staffing choices.

Many architects start as sole practitioners under BNC. As the practice grows (first hire, partner entry, studio space), the right structure changes. We model the tax and social cost impact of staying in BNC versus incorporating (SARL, SAS or SELARL).

For agencies with multiple partners, we advise on shareholders' agreements, partner compensation frameworks and exit or buy-out provisions. When partners buy commercial premises, separating a property-holding company (SCI) from the operating entity often produces a cleaner structure and better financing capacity.

Many architects acquire an existing practice or merge with a smaller studio. The valuation of a practice depends on fee revenue stability, client relationships, staff retention, equipment, ongoing project commitments and the terms of the professional liability transfer. We review the financial statements, rebuild the real operating margin and model the acquisition financing against the acquirer's cash position.

We understand that an architecture practice is not a standard service business. Revenue is project-driven, cash is lumpy, the cost base includes both fixed overhead and project-variable costs, and the regulatory environment (Ordre, MAF, CIPAV) adds specific obligations. Our support goes beyond the annual accounts. We give architects and agency principals a practical reading of margin, cash and structure.

Architecture firms employing staff fall under the Convention Collective Nationale des Entreprises d'Architecture (IDCC 2332). The agreement defines specific classifications (architect-collaborator, project leader, draftsperson, secretary), seniority bonuses, mandatory healthcare and provident schemes. Salary grids are updated annually through branch agreements.

For the agency principal, the choice between liberal practice (BNC) and incorporation into a SARL d'architecture, SAS d'architecture or SCP d'architecture has material consequences: liberal practice keeps the CIPAV affiliation and the simplicity of Form 2035, while incorporation under IS allows depreciation of acquired goodwill and salary/dividends optimisation once profit exceeds €80,000-100,000 per year.

Modern architecture agencies typically use software like Revit, ArchiCAD, AutoCAD plus a time-tracking layer (Bestime, Studio Designer, Toggl) to allocate hours to projects. The cost view that matters: budgeted hours per phase vs actual hours, by team member and seniority level.

A phase that runs 30% over budget on hours is a margin warning that the accounting needs to surface monthly. Without time tracking and project-level cost reporting, the architect manages by feel rather than by data, and finds the year-end result surprising.

Every licensed architect must hold professional civil liability insurance via the MAF (Mutuelle des Architectes Français) or an equivalent. The premium is partly proportional to fee revenue and partly to the type of projects (housing, ERP, industrial, healthcare: risk weighting differs). MAF premiums are fully deductible from BNC or IS taxable profit.

Foreign architects and international agencies setting up in France face two layers at once: registering with the regional Ordre des Architectes (the diploma must be recognised) and choosing a structure, whether liberal practice under BNC with Form 2035 and CIPAV, or an incorporated SARL, SAS or SCP d'architectes with a majority of architects in the capital. MAF cover and its attestation remain mandatory on every contract.

Cross-border billing also needs care. Where you bill and where the project sits drive the VAT treatment, and disbursements rebilled at exact cost stay outside the VAT base only when clearly identified on the invoice. We secure the position before the first fee note.

The first lever of profitability for an architect is the choice of structure. As a sole practitioner, the architect is taxed under BNC and files in their own name (Form 2035 under the réel regime, or micro-BNC below the threshold). Once a practice takes shape, several forms of architecture company open up: SCP, SARL or SAS d'architecture, and above all the SELARL and SELAS (sociétés d'exercice libéral), plus the SPFPL holding company to own the shares and prepare a handover.

The Architecture Act of 3 January 1977 (article 13) strictly frames the capital: architects who are natural persons must hold more than half of the share capital and of the voting rights, and non-architect legal entities cannot exceed 25 % of the capital. Governance (chair, managing director, managers) must be made up mainly of registered architects. A practice therefore cannot freely open its capital to outside investors, and we check this constraint before any capital increase or new partner joins.

The choice between SELARL and SELAS is not socially neutral. In a SELARL, the majority manager is self-employed (lower contributions, CIPAV); in a SELAS, the chair is treated as an employee (stronger social protection and pension, but heavier charges). The SPFPL is used to hold the shares, upstream dividends with near-exemption (parent-subsidiary regime) and organise a gradual transmission.

Below the €83,600 revenue threshold (applicable from 2026 to 2028), the liberal architect can stay on micro-BNC: a flat 34 % allowance (minimum €305), with no full bookkeeping. The déclaration contrôlée (Form 2035, réel regime) becomes mandatory after two consecutive years above the threshold, but above all it becomes advantageous well before it, as soon as real costs (MAF, Ordre dues, CAD/BIM software, premises, travel, salaries) exceed 34 % of revenue, which is almost always the case for an established practice. A key 2026 point: since 2023 income, there is no longer any surcharge for not joining an approved management association (the old 1.25 coefficient is gone); the AGA keeps other benefits but its membership is no longer a constraint.

Then comes the most structuring trade-off: staying on BNC or moving to a company taxed under IS (SELARL, SARL or SAS d'architecture). There is no legal threshold; the right answer depends on recurring profit and on what the director actually draws to live. In practice, the costed study becomes worthwhile around €80,000 to €100,000 of profit. Illustration: an architect making €120,000 of profit but needing only €70,000 to live leaves €50,000 taxed at the marginal rate (up to 41 %) and subject to social contributions. Held inside a company under IS, those same €50,000 kept in the business bear corporate tax at 15 % up to €42,500 of profit, then 25 %, freeing several thousand euros a year to reinvest or capitalise. We cost this comparison case by case; you can already test the order of magnitude with our director's remuneration simulator.

An architect's fees are in principle subject to VAT at 20 %, charged on fee notes and recoverable on professional purchases. A small structure below the franchise en base threshold (€37,500 of prior-year revenue, €41,250 as the upper threshold) can invoice without VAT. Reduced rates exist, but their application to fees is tightly framed: they concern the architect only when they carry an execution project-management assignment (maîtrise d'œuvre d'exécution) on works that are themselves eligible, that is 10 % for the maintenance or improvement of dwellings completed more than two years ago, or 5.5 % for energy-performance improvement works. A design-only assignment stays at 20 %. The architect must then keep the client's signed VAT attestation (for five years). Finally, disbursements rebilled at exact cost stay outside the VAT base as long as they are clearly identified on the invoice.

This is one of the most frequent questions, and it arises mostly on the client (project owner) side. An architect's fees directly linked to the acquisition or production of an asset (construction, extension, capitalised heavy renovation) are not an immediate expense: they form part of the production or acquisition cost of the fixed asset and are depreciated with it. Only fees not attached to an asset (abandoned project, pure advisory work, a feasibility study with no follow-up) stay as an expense of the year. For fees incidental to a simple acquisition, the tax code offers an option (capitalise them or deduct them immediately), which is global and irrevocable. On the architect's side, by contrast, the fee received is always professional income: these two readings must never be confused, and this is exactly the kind of entry a specialist accountant secures.

A practice's specificity is the gap between work produced and work billed. Under BNC (Form 2035), everything is recognised on a cash basis: no progress entry, cash is the reference. In a company under IS, the logic is accrual-based, which requires two entries that many practices forget. The phase produced but not yet invoiced is recognised as accrued revenue (FAE, account 418, income attached to the year); conversely, an advance received for a phase not yet performed is neutralised as deferred revenue (PCA, account 487). On long assignments, work in progress on services (account 34) is also tracked. Without these entries, a year's result is distorted: a practice that has produced a lot without invoicing looks loss-making when it has actually created value. This is the heart of reliable project management.

A practice invests in expensive tools, and their accounting treatment has a real impact on the result. Perpetual licences for design software (Revit, ArchiCAD, AutoCAD) and hardware (workstations, plotters, survey equipment) above the capitalisation threshold are capitalised and depreciated over their useful life; subscriptions in SaaS mode, including agency-management suites such as Everwin or Ooti that track time spent and margin by project, are expenses of the year. In-house developments of parametric tools or custom BIM scripts can, under conditions, qualify for the innovation tax credit (CII at 20 % for a metropolitan SME, capped at €400,000 of spend per year), separate from the CIR. Classifying these costs correctly both smooths the result and recovers tax.

Not all designers fall under the same framework, and confusing them is costly. The interior architect and the project manager (maître d'œuvre) who are not registered with the Ordre are not subject to registration on the roll or to the MAF insurance obligation attached to the architect title. Their more commercial activity can fall under BIC (rather than BNC), with concrete consequences: Form 2031 instead of Form 2035, a 50 % micro allowance on services instead of 34 %, and ten-year insurance taken out with a different insurer. VAT stays at 20 %. We qualify the activity precisely at the start of the relationship, because a wrong BNC or BIC classification is one of the most frequent errors on these profiles.

The deadline that concerns every practice: receiving electronic invoices becomes mandatory for all VAT-liable businesses on 1 September 2026, with issuing following by size (large companies and ETIs on 1 September 2026, SMEs and micro-businesses on 1 September 2027). An architecture practice, most often B2B with public and private clients, must choose its platform and adapt phase billing to this format. Also worth remembering for 2026: the micro-BNC threshold stays at €83,600, the VAT franchise en base at €37,500, and the tax authority now requires the so-called technical remuneration of sociétés d'exercice libéral partners to be declared as BNC. We frame each of these points upstream, project by project.

We combine architect-sector accounting expertise (phase billing, FAE accruals, MAF, CIPAV, IDCC 2332 payroll), Pennylane integration and project-margin reporting, plus structural advice on the progression from BNC to SAS d'architecture. Free quote within 24 hours, first diagnostic meeting on the house: review your current setup and define a 12-month roadmap.