Chartered Accountant for Bakeries and Pastry Shops

A bakery has its own accounting constraints. Several VAT rates coexist in the same display, the margin is decided by the gram of raw material, and artisan status carries its own obligations. The difficulty lies in accuracy more than in the volume of entries: a poorly split till, and VAT becomes an inspection topic.

Our firm supports artisans and food trades, alongside our work with craftspeople and retailers and restaurants.

Quick answer. An artisan bakery and pastry shop falls under industrial and commercial profits, and its central issue is multi-rate VAT: bread, viennoiseries and takeaway pastries (deferred consumption) fall under 5.5%, products consumed on site or for immediate consumption under 10%, and confectionery, some chocolates and alcoholic drinks under 20%. Splitting the till by rate is the major accounting and inspection point. Added to this are material margin tracking, stock management (flour, butter), artisan status (registration in the national business register) and specific payroll (the artisan bakery and pastry collective agreement).

This is the first technical topic. A single sale can fall under several rates:

• 5.5%: bread, viennoiseries and takeaway pastries (deferred consumption).
• 10%: products consumed on site or for immediate consumption, including ice cream sold by the unit.
• 20%: confectionery, some chocolates (milk, white or filled, except family milk chocolate and chocolate bonbons), alcoholic drinks.

Good practice is to configure the till to allocate each product to its rate and to make the revenue split reliable. This is what the tax authority looks at: a till that aggregates everything at a single rate exposes you to a reassessment.

The activity falls under industrial and commercial profits (BIC), most often on the actual regime. The baker is an artisan: they register in the national business register (RNE) as a trades and crafts sector business, and the title of baker is regulated (bread made on site). Artisan status and the choice of form (sole trader, company) carry social and tax consequences to be weighed case by case.

In a bakery, profitability is decided by the material cost (flour, butter, sugar, eggs) relative to turnover, and by controlling shrinkage (unsold goods, losses). Regular tracking of material cost as a percentage of turnover, by major product family, is worth more than an annual analysis. Keeping purchase invoices and a reliable inventory is the basis of an accurate margin.

Staff (bakers, sales assistants, apprentices) fall under the artisan bakery and pastry collective agreement (IDCC 0843). Apprenticeship is frequent and payroll is a major item. Payroll management requires mastering the agreement's classifications and the specifics of working hours.

A common case in our files: a bakery consults us with a till that records all sales at a single VAT rate and a material margin tracked once a year. The work consisted of reconfiguring the VAT split by product, setting up monthly material-cost tracking and making the inventory reliable. No figure from this case can be generalised: each bakery has its own bread, viennoiserie and pastry mix.

• VAT split: secure the till settings by product (5.5 / 10 / 20%).
• Supporting documents: keep raw-material purchase invoices for deductibility and inventory.
• Artisan status: respect the conditions of the title and registration in the national business register.
• Payroll: correctly apply the artisan bakery and pastry agreement, notably for apprentices.

Every bakery has its own product mix, organisation and constraints. The starting point is a conversation about your situation: share of bread and pastry, on-site consumption, headcount, apprentices. We offer an initial meeting to frame the scope and priorities.

Updated 20 June 2026. Informative content reviewed by a chartered accountant registered with the Île-de-France Chartered Accountants Board. A decision specific to your business requires examination of your situation, your revenue and the regulations in force.