Formation · Auto-entrepreneur
The auto-entrepreneur status: simple, light — and limited.
The auto-entrepreneur is the simplest status for starting a one-person activity in Morocco: quick registration, tax calculated on revenue, reduced obligations. You just need to know what it allows — and above all what it does not.
We help you choose between the AE, sole trader taxed on actual profits and a company — and switch at the right moment if the business takes off.
The status made clear
What the auto-entrepreneur status allows.
A regime designed for a one-person business getting started — with simple rules and clear boundaries.
Simplified registration
Registering on the national auto-entrepreneur register goes through a streamlined procedure, with no company to form and no capital. You get an identifier and you can start invoicing.
Tax on revenue
Tax is worked out by applying a reduced rate directly to the revenue actually collected, through a periodic return — no liasse fiscale (the annual tax return pack), no IS instalments.
Eligible activities
Most commercial, craft and service activities are open; certain professions — regulated ones in particular — are excluded by the legislation. We check yours before you register.
Social cover
The status gives access to social cover for the entrepreneur under the scheme in force — a point to examine concretely in light of your family situation.
Domiciliation at home
An auto-entrepreneur can register the business at their home address: no commercial lease and no domiciliation to pay for at the start.
Watch out for the least-known point of the status: above a certain annual amount invoiced to a single client, a specific withholding tax applies.
Who can become an auto-entrepreneur in Morocco?
Any individual carrying on an eligible one-person activity — trade, craft, services — within the revenue ceilings of the status. Registration is done on the national auto-entrepreneur register through a simple procedure. Certain activities, regulated professions in particular, are excluded: that is the first thing we check with you.
How is an auto-entrepreneur taxed?
On the revenue actually collected, by applying a reduced rate, declared periodically — that is the whole simplicity of the regime: no full accounts, no liasse fiscale. The trade-off: no expense is deductible. An AE with heavy real costs — purchases, equipment, subcontracting — pays proportionally more than a company that deducts its expenses; that is the first switching criterion we calculate.
When should you move from AE to a company?
Three signals, in the order we usually see them arrive: your figures are approaching the ceilings of the status; your main clients are businesses that want a more solid framework — or your invoicing is concentrated on a single client, which triggers the specific withholding tax attached to the status; your real costs are growing to the point where being taxed on revenue turns against you. At that stage, the SARL AU is the natural next step — and we handle the transition from end to end, formation included, 4,000 MAD excl. tax.
Does an auto-entrepreneur need an accountant?
Not full bookkeeping — that is the point of the status. But a scoping meeting at the start (eligibility, ceilings, returns, compliant invoices) and an annual review head off the two classic mistakes: missing a periodic return, and staying an AE a year too long when a company would have become the better deal. That is exactly the light-touch support the firm offers to AEs.
How it works
From testing the idea to the status that follows.
Our role with auto-entrepreneurs: get you launched fast, and get you to change status at the right moment — not too early, not too late.
Confirming the status
Is the activity eligible? Are the ceilings compatible with your plans? Is your client base concentrated or spread out? One consultation is enough to confirm — or rule out — the AE for your case.
Registration & getting going
Registration on the national register, and the first good habits: compliant invoices, tracking your revenue, filing deadlines in the diary.
Annual review
Once a year we go through your figures together: how far you are from the ceilings, the shape of your client base, your real costs. A clear verdict: stay an AE, or switch.
Switching when the time comes
If a company becomes the right tool, we form your SARL AU — 4,000 MAD excl. tax turnkey — and organise the transition with no break in activity or invoicing.
Pricing
Light-touch support, sized to the status.
An AE does not need a full accounting subscription: our work is occasional and priced in advance.
Supporting your AE activity
Scoping at the start, periodic returns if you delegate them, an annual review, and the switch to a company when the time comes.
- Consultation to confirm the status
- Help registering on the national register
- Setting up compliant invoices
- Periodic returns (optional)
- Annual review: stay an AE or switch
- Company formation when the time comes — 4,000 MAD excl. tax
The AE is excellent for testing and getting started — it is not designed to carry a business that grows.
Tax on revenue ignores your real costs: the heavier your expenses, the more attractive a company becomes.
Invoicing a lot to a single client triggers a specific withholding tax — plan for it.
Changing status mid-year is perfectly manageable — improvised in a rush once the ceiling is breached, far less so.
Who it's for
The AE is the right choice if…
01
You're testing an idea
A fledgling activity, uncertain income: the AE lets you exist legally with no structure to fund.
02
You have a side activity
A regular but modest additional income: the status is made for exactly that.
03
You're a craftsperson or solo provider
Private clients, limited costs, revenue below the ceilings: the AE is efficient and enough.
04
You're preparing a company
The AE as an airlock: you validate the market, then switch to a SARL AU with real figures behind you.
Frequently asked questions
Auto-entrepreneur: your questions.
Can you be an employee and an auto-entrepreneur at the same time?
Combining the two is possible within the rules, subject to your employment contract (exclusivity, non-competition) and to the rules specific to certain employers, public ones in particular. Check both points before registering — we do it with you.
Can an auto-entrepreneur hire staff?
The status is designed for a one-person activity. If your growth depends on permanent hires, that is the clear signal to switch to a company — with the employer CNSS affiliation that goes with it. We organise that transition regularly.
How do you move from auto-entrepreneur to SARL AU?
We form the company — 4,000 MAD excl. tax turnkey — organise the transfer of the activity (clients, contracts, equipment where relevant), then deregister the AE status. Properly sequenced, the transition creates no break in invoicing.
What does an AE risk by exceeding the ceilings and doing nothing?
Exit from the regime and taxation under the ordinary rules, with the back-adjustments that go with it. Going over shows — the amounts collected are declared. Good practice: plan the switch as soon as the yearly trajectory approaches the ceiling, not after crossing it.
Going further
Next steps on the journey.
STRACOMA
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