Definition
A carpenter is called in to fit made-to-measure shelving. On the phone he says "around €3,000". On site the wall turns out not to be straight and has to be rebuilt.
He invoices €3,600, the client transfers €3,000 and stops there. Nothing in their exchange of messages says what the price covered.
A devis (quotation) is a priced offer of contract, handed over before the work starts. It describes what will be done, at what price, within what time.
As long as the client has not accepted it, it is only a proposal; once the client writes "bon pour accord" (agreed) and signs, the devis becomes the contract, and both sides are bound by it.
The Invoice comes afterwards: it records what was actually done and claims payment.
The commitment is not symmetrical, and that is what tradespeople discover too late: the devis binds you from the moment the client accepts it, while the client is bound only from the moment he signs.
You are tied to your price before he is tied to his order.
When a devis is mandatory
Between businesses, no general rule requires one: custom does, the law does not.
With a private customer, French consumer law requires information on the essential features, the price and the time frame before the contract is concluded, and the devis remains the simplest way to prove that information was given.
A written devis becomes plainly mandatory in a list of activities set by regulation.
It covers building and home-equipment repair work, from plumbers to locksmiths by way of electricians, painters and roofers.
It also covers removals, car rental, optical and hearing devices, personal home services, cosmetic surgery and funeral services.
The detailed list, activity by activity, is kept up to date by Service Public Entreprendre.
Failing to hand one over exposes you to an administrative fine, and leaves you with no proof of the agreed price on the day the client disputes it.
A devis may be charged for, provided the document says so and states the cost: that indication is one of the required details.
It sets the price of one job; the rules that apply to all of them belong in your Terms and conditions.
What the devis must carry
- the date it was drawn up and how long the offer stays valid;
- your identity, address and SIRET number (the establishment identifier), the client's name and the place of performance;
- an itemised breakdown of every service and every supply, in quantity and unit price, the hourly labour rate and any travel costs;
- the total sum payable, the payment terms, and a statement of whether the devis itself is free or charged for.
That leaves the tax line.
A micro-enterprise under the franchise en base de TVA (the VAT basic exemption) writes none: it carries the wording "TVA non applicable, article 293 B du CGI" (VAT not applicable, article 293 B of the French tax code), in force until 31 December 2026.
From 1 January 2027, VAT rules move to a new code and the quotation carries "TVA non applicable, article L. 233-3 du CIBS": its date decides.
The Bulletin officiel des finances publiques (the official tax doctrine) accepts two others, including article 293 B bis for the EU-wide exemption, which the Article 293 B notice entry sets out.
The price written on the devis is therefore exactly the price paid, with no gap between the amount before tax and the amount including tax.
And VAT shown by mistake ends up on the invoice, where it becomes payable purely because it appears there, without the client being able to deduct it.
A €4,000 devis: what it earns, and when
Our carpenter supplies craft services, taxed in the BIC category (commercial and industrial profits). He signs a devis for €4,000, with a 30% deposit on ordering.
| What happens | Date | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| €4,000 devis signed "bon pour accord" | 6 February 2026 | A contract, no turnover |
| €1,200 deposit received | 6 February 2026 | €1,200 of 2026 turnover |
| €2,800 balance received | 24 March 2026 | €2,800 of 2026 turnover |
A signed devis brings in nothing at all: turnover is counted at the Cash receipt, never at signature nor at invoicing.
On the €4,000 collected, social contributions come to €4,000 × 21.2%, that is €848 at the 2026 rate for BIC services.
That is the rate for craft and commercial services and for long-term furnished residential lettings.
It applies neither to classified tourist rentals, still at 6% in 2026, nor to non-classified tourist rentals, which left the micro-social scheme on 1 January 2026.
That rate does not cover everything.
On top of it comes the CFP, the vocational training contribution, at 0.3% for a craftsperson in 2026 where turnover was declared in the previous calendar year, that is €12.
Then comes the chamber of trades levy, 0.48% in 2026 on services outside Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle, that is €19.20.
That levy is owed neither in the first year of activity nor below €5,000 of turnover.
Income tax is settled separately again.
The job therefore leaves €3,120.80 before materials, travel and tax.
Those €879.20 are deducted from nothing: they come straight out of the €4,000 written on the devis. A price built on cost alone is a price that loses money: the margin is decided when the devis is drafted, not at the declaration deadline.
The word used for the sum paid on ordering decides what the signature is worth.
If a devis handed to a private customer says nothing, that sum counts as arrhes (an earnest payment): the client may walk away by forfeiting what was paid, and if the professional walks away instead, he returns twice the amount.
Writing Deposit changes the situation entirely: the order becomes firm on both sides, and whichever party pulls out owes damages.
A devis silent on this point turns an order book into a list of cancellable reservations.
What looks like a devis but is not one
The Proforma invoice imitates an invoice for a funding application or customs: it records nothing and commits to no deadline.
The purchase order comes from the client and expresses his agreement to an offer already priced; it does not replace the devis where one is required.
As for the commercial proposal sent by email, it does not count as a devis as long as it lacks the required details.
The last confusion is about amounts.
A craftsperson collecting €45,000 in a year stays well below the micro-scheme ceiling, €83,600 for a service provider for the years 2026 to 2028, in BIC as in BNC.
He has, however, lost the VAT exemption, whose services sub-threshold is set in 2026 at €37,500 of previous-year turnover and €41,250 for the current year, provided he also stays below €85,000 and €93,500 of total turnover, four amounts unchanged since 1 January 2025.
The scheme ceiling and the VAT threshold are two separate amounts, and crossing the second does not push you out of the first: it only means carrying a tax line on every devis drawn up from the day the €41,250 is crossed, as the VAT threshold entry explains.
Frequently asked questions
Can more be invoiced than the devis states?
Not without written agreement. The signed devis fixes the price, and extra work decided mid-job can only be claimed after an amendment dated and signed before that extra work is carried out.
A client discovering the overrun on the final invoice is entitled to pay only the agreed amount.
How long does a devis bind you?
For as long as it says on the document.
The validity period is one of the mandatory details, and it protects you first: without it, a client can come back six months later holding you to a price your suppliers' increases have made impossible.
Once the stated date has passed, the offer lapses and a fresh devis is drawn up.
Is a devis accepted by email worth as much as a signed one?
Written agreement, even by email, counts as acceptance: what matters is proving that the client approved this precise document, on that date.
In activities where the devis is mandatory, the wording written on the document and then signed remains the safest form: it ties the agreement to an identifiable version of the offer.
Should quotations be numbered like invoices?
Nothing requires it: unbroken numbering, with no gap and no duplicate, is an obligation specific to invoices.
Numbering your quotations is still convenient for finding the one an invoice follows, provided you use a separate series, so as not to blur the invoice sequence that the administration checks first.
To write all of that in one go, with the itemised breakdown and the right VAT line, Compliant quotation asks the questions in order and hands back the document ready to sign.