❌ Difference #2
Confusing personal assets with company assets: costly decisions
‘I pay this supplier with my personal card, I'll reimburse the company later...’
‘I take out a subscription in the company's name, even if it's for me, it's simpler...’
On the surface, these little arrangements make everyday life easier. In reality, they blind your company to its cash flows, cause you to lose deductions... and can undermine the credibility of your accounting in the event of an audit.
Why it's important
- 🔄 When you pay for a business expense out of your own pocket
- Your company does not see anything going through its accounts → it cannot deduct anything.
- Without an invoice, we cannot reclaim VAT (and we cannot guess what it is).
- Even if you forward the invoice afterwards, you still have to manually reconstruct the links between payments and expenses, which increases the risk of errors.
➕ The advantage of double-entry accounting is that it allows you to verify that each invoice has been paid and that each payment corresponds to an invoice (known as lettering).
Without it, we work twice as hard... for uncertain results.
A concrete example: a restaurant bill often includes two VAT rates (10% for food and 20% for alcoholic beverages). Without a detailed invoice, you cannot take any risks, and therefore you cannot claim anything back.
- 🧾 When the company pays for the manager's personal expenses
- C’est un problème plus grave, car cela peut être considéré comme un abus de biens sociaux ou un avantage en nature non déclaré.
- It must be possible to demonstrate that each expense is in the company's interest and in line with the corporate purpose set out in the articles of association.
- The director is not the owner of the company: he is its representative and acts on its behalf.
➡️ The company is a legal entity in its own right:
It has a name, an address (registered office), a date of birth (registration), a gender (legal form), a lifespan (99 years by default), its own birthday (fiscal year-end date)... It does not belong to you: you serve it. And it is this rigour that protects it.
What we recommend
💳 1. Pay for business expenses through the company's bank account.
This is the best way to:
- provide a VAT deduction,
- prevent confusion,
- enable us to do our work effectively.
If an invoice is missing, the payment system will identify it and alert you promptly.
🚗 2. Regarding the vehicle, beware of preconceived notions
Buying a car in the company's name may seem tempting, but it is often a bad idea:
- VAT not recoverable in most cases (as vehicles are still too ‘polluting’),
- capped depreciation, meaning that part of the expense is never deductible.
✅ The best solution: keep the vehicle in your own name
→ We then calculate a mileage allowance according to the official scale (based on fiscal horsepower).
➡️ A Google Calc file on your mobile phone allows you to easily record your daily mileage.
Tip: Tolls and business parking fees can be paid by the company and are tax deductible.
🏠 3. For premises: a service agreement
Instead of a simple “rental agreement”, we suggest drawing up a contract that includes:
- use of the office or work area,
- the coffee machine, the toilets, the lounge (for business meetings),
- access to the printer, internet, mail reception services, etc.
➕ This justifies the charge in a comprehensive and realistic manner, while remaining within the rules.
📱 4. Mixed-use telephone: don't panic
No need to overcompensate: the amounts are small, and the tax authorities do not usually comment on this type of expense, especially if you use the telephone for business purposes.
The expert's tip
Not all expenses are deductible simply because they are paid by the company.
It must be justified, proportionate, and in the interests of the company.
➕ Clearly distinguishing between professional and personal matters means greater peace of mind, credibility and tax efficiency.