Why get training when you run a very small business/small and medium-sized enterprise (and why you never do)?
Running a business alone means simultaneously wearing the hats of salesperson, manager, HR professional, accountant, and strategist. Finding time for training often seems like an impossible task. And yet, the numbers speak for themselves.
According to a study published by Bpifrance University in April 2025, 91% of SME managers believe that regular training is essentialBut in reality, only 38% of them did so in the previous two years. In other words, more than 6 out of 10 business leaders have not undertaken any training since 2023, despite believing it is necessary.
This paradox is structural. The two most frequently cited obstacles are lack of time (nearly 9 out of 10 managers believe it is difficult to integrate training into their schedule) and difficulty in identifying training adapted to their specific needs.
Very small businesses are particularly affected. According to Céreq (Centre for Studies and Research on Qualifications), very small businesses represent 84% of private sector employersbut only include 10% of employees trained In France, the rate of access to training in companies with fewer than 10 employees reaches only 32%, compared to 62% in structures with more than 250 employees.
This underinvestment, however, has a real cost. Failing to invest in training means running a business with eroding skills. The topics that leaders themselves consider priorities for their future are digital transformation and AI (30%), strategic development (26%), and managerial skills (27%). These are rapidly evolving subjects that cannot be learned on the job or in isolation.
The good news: funding mechanisms exist to support this skills development, often unknown even to managers themselves. Here's a comprehensive overview, updated for 2025.
Le tax credit For leadership training: what you need to know in 2025
A system that will be discontinued on January 1, 2025
For nearly 20 years, business owners were able to benefit from a specific tax credit for their training expenses. This mechanism, codified in Article 244 quater M of the General Tax Code, allowed them to deduct from their corporate income tax an amount calculated on the basis of the hourly minimum wage multiplied by the number of training hours completed during the year.
This scheme definitively ended on December 31, 2024. No provision in the 2025 Finance Act renewed the mechanism. Article 17 of the 2026 Finance Act officially repealed Article 244 quater M of the French General Tax Code (CGI), and the tax authorities withdrew their corresponding comments on May 6, 2026.
What the device allowed (for the record)
For training courses taken up to December 31, 2024, the tax credit worked as follows:
In 2023, more than 13,000 companies had applied for this tax credit before the scheme closed.
What remains possible: the deduction of training costs
Although the tax credit has disappeared, professional training expenses remain fully deductible from taxable income of the company, whether it is a company subject to income tax (BIC, BNC, BA) or to corporation tax.
Three conditions apply:
In concrete terms, for a manager with a marginal tax rate of 30%, a training course costing €1,500 generates a tax saving of €450, provided that any support from a FAF is not forgotten.
Training insurance funds according to your status
This is where the most substantial and least known forms of assistance are found. Every self-employed business owner is required to contribute to a training insurance fund (FAF) through his contribution to vocational training (CFP), automatically deducted by the URSSAF. In return, he can request funding for his vocational training.
The relevant FAF (French accreditation body) depends on your main activity, identified by your NAF code. Here are the four main schemes.
AGEFICE for self-employed traders and managers in commerce, industry and services
AGEFICE (Association for the Management of Training Funding for Business Leaders) is the reference fund for majority managers of SARLs, sole partners of EURLs, partners of SNCs, individual entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals in the trade, industry and service sectors.
Please note: Presidents of SAS, SASU, minority managers of SARL and non-partner managers of EURL do not fall under AGEFICE but under their OPCO (see below).
The coverage limits for 2025 and 2026 are as follows:
The hourly ceilings are €42/hour for individual face-to-face sessions, €35/hour for group face-to-face sessions or synchronous remote sessions, and €20/hour for asynchronous remote sessions.
To submit an application, you must go to agefice.fr and submit the application no later than 15 days before the start of the training. Any application submitted after the start of the training will be automatically rejected.
The FIF-PL for liberal professions
The Interprofessional Training Fund for Liberal Professionals (FIF-PL) concerns doctors, lawyers, accountants, consultants, independent trainers, architects and all liberal professions under the CIPAV or the CNAVPL.
Since October 1, 2025, the ceilings have been increased:
The funding request must be submitted no later than 10 calendar days after the first day of training, which is a particularly short timeframe. It is therefore recommended to submit it well in advance.
FAFCEA for craftsmen
The Training Insurance Fund for Heads of Craft Businesses (FAFCEA) finances the training of non-salaried managers registered in the national business directory in the craft trades section.
FAFCEA offers, in particular, a personalized training program that can provide up to €4,800 per company per year for craftspeople wishing to pursue customized training. The 2025 eligibility criteria have been renewed as they were in 2024, with changes to the criteria for personalized training programs effective May 15, 2026. Applications must be submitted between three months and the day before the start of the training.
OPCOs for salaried executives
The leaders assimilated employees (Presidents of SAS/SASU companies, minority managers of SARL companies, presidents of SA companies) do not contribute to a FAF but to a skills operator (OPCO) via the single contribution to vocational training and apprenticeship (CUFPA) of their company.
These managers can access their OPCO's funds as part of their company's skills development plan. The 11 OPCOs cover all sectors of activity. To identify yours, visit quel-est-mon-opco.francecompetences.fr and enter your SIRET number.
Eligible training courses cover management, strategic skills, regulatory changes, and technical skills development. Companies with fewer than 50 employees benefit from dedicated pooled funding, making the use of the OPCO (Skills Operator) particularly attractive for very small businesses where the manager is considered an employee.
The manager's CPF
The Personal Training Account (CPF) is not reserved for employees. Any self-employed worker, craftsman, tradesperson, member of a liberal profession, or microentrepreneur can also benefit from it, provided that they are up to date with their contribution to vocational training (CFP).
How does the CPF (Personal Training Account) work for a self-employed person?
The CPF is funded up to the amount of €500 per year of activity, within the limit of a ceiling of € 5 accumulated. These rights are calculated pro rata to the period of activity declared to the URSSAF and credited in the spring of the following year to the moncompteformation.gouv.fr account.
Since May 2024, a flat-rate contribution of 102,23 € is required of any holder who uses their CPF independently, unless a third party (employer, region, OPCO) contributes to the account.
What the CPF allows you to finance
Training courses eligible for CPF funding for a manager include, in particular:
Please note: Since the 2025 Finance Act, non-certified business creation or takeover support training courses are no longer eligible for CPF funding. Only certified training courses in this field remain eligible for funding.
Combining CPF and FAF
The CPF (Personal Training Account) can be combined with FAF (Training Funding Fund) grants to finance training whose cost exceeds available funds. For example, a self-employed professional with €2,000 in CPF credits can supplement this with €900 from the FIF-PL (Interprofessional Fund for Liberal Professions), allowing them to access €2,800 training with only €100 of their own money remaining. In 2024, only 27% of self-employed individuals had used their CPF, leaving considerable untapped potential.
Choosing the right training: criteria, formats and the Qualiopi label
Having the right to training is not enough. You also need to choose training that provides real value and is eligible for public funding.
The Qualiopi label: the non-negotiable criterion
Since January 1, 2022, any training organization wishing to access public or pooled funding (CPF, OPCO, FAF) must be certified. QualiopiThis certification, issued by an organization accredited by COFRAC, attests that the service provider complies with the 7 criteria and 32 indicators of the National Quality Framework.
Before registering for a training course, always check that the provider is Qualiopi certified. The official list can be found on the Ministry of Labour website. Without this certification, no FAF, OPCO, or CPF funding will be granted, even if the training is of high quality.
Formats tailored for executives
The Bpifrance University study for 2025 is clear on this point: the ideal training for a business leader is short, practical, real-time, and peer-to-peerThe most popular formats are training sessions lasting a few hours, with practical exercises and time for discussion between managers.
In practical terms, several formats are available to you:
Short, in-person training courses These courses allow participants to focus on a specific topic (cash management, management, contract law, digital marketing) in 1 to 2 days. They are often the best funded by the FAF (French acronym for "Fonds d'Appui à la Formation").
Synchronous distance learning courses Virtual classrooms and videoconferencing offer the same interactivity as in-person classes with greater geographical flexibility. They are eligible for FAF funding at slightly lower ceilings.
Asynchronous online training courses E-learning allows you to learn at your own pace, but requires genuine educational support to be eligible for funding. Modules without human guidance are generally rejected by training providers.
Skills assessments These are particularly useful for reflecting on one's career path, identifying areas for development, and building a coherent training plan. They are eligible for funding through the CPF (Personal Training Account) up to €1,600.
Priority topics for a manager of a very small or small business
The most useful and best-funded training programs generally cover:
Freeing up time for training by equipping oneself better
Investing in training is a strategic decision. But for it to be sustainable in the long term, the problem must be addressed at its source: the lack of time. And this problem is not inevitable.
Most managers of very small and small businesses spend hours each week on repetitive administrative tasks: creating quoteSending invoices, chasing up unpaid invoices, monitoring project progress, answering the same customer questions – these are all hours that are not used to develop the business, let alone to train.
Automating these tasks is now accessible to all budgets. A tool like DjabooDesigned specifically for French micro-businesses and SMEs, this platform centralizes CRM management, invoicing, projects, and customer relations in a single interface. Registering a client and sending an invoice takes less than two minutes. Overdue payment reminders are automated. Project and freelance team tracking is done in real time.
Djaboo offers a free plan to start (no credit card required), which allows you to issue up to 5 invoices per month, manage a basic sales pipeline, and connect your email. For more advanced needs, the Pro plan starts at €29 per month. When administrative tasks take less time, you can actually dedicate time to training.
FAQ: 5 questions about leadership training
Does the tax credit for management training still exist in 2025?
No. This scheme ended definitively on December 31, 2024. No renewal was planned in the 2025 Finance Law, and Article 17 of the 2026 Finance Law officially repealed Article 244 quater M of the French General Tax Code (CGI). Training courses taken from January 1, 2025 onwards no longer qualify for this tax credit. However, training expenses remain fully deductible from the company's taxable income.
How do I know which FAF is suitable for me?
Your FAF (Training Funding Fund) is determined by your NAF (or APE) code, which appears on your SIRENE registration certificate or your vocational training contribution certificate, available in your URSSAF account. Generally, craftspeople are affiliated with FAFCEA, business owners and self-employed managers with AGEFICE, and members of the liberal professions with FIF-PL. If you are the president of a SAS (simplified joint-stock company) or a minority manager of a SARL (limited liability company), you fall under the jurisdiction of an OPCO (Skills Operator), which can be identified at quel-est-mon-opco.francecompetences.fr.
Can I combine CPF and FAF funds to finance the same training course?
Yes, in most cases. CPF and FAF funding can be combined to cover the total cost of training exceeding either limit. However, be aware that the same expense cannot be funded twice from the same source. Therefore, it's essential to coordinate applications carefully and verify the specific rules for combining funding with each organization.
Should the funding application be submitted before or after the training?
Always submit your application in advance. This is an absolute rule for all FAF and OPCO organizations. Any application submitted after the start of the training will be systematically rejected. Deadlines vary depending on the organization: at least 15 days in advance for AGEFICE, within 10 days of the first day for FIF-PL (which means it's best to apply well in advance), and up to 3 months in advance for FAFCEA. Make it a habit to submit your application at least one month before the start of the training.
How to choose a reputable training organization?
Three criteria are non-negotiable. The first is Qualiopi certification: verify that the training provider is on the official list published by the Ministry of Labor. The second is the relevance of the content: learning objectives must be formulated in terms of concrete skills, not vague terms. The third is the suitability of the format: prioritize short, practical training courses, ideally peer-to-peer, that correspond to the real needs of managers according to recent studies. Also, consult the opinions of other managers before committing.
