French invoices separate HT, VAT, and TTC totals. Everhour keeps rates and tracked billable time ready for review.
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A French billable-hours calculation answers one practical question: what is the invoice value of approved professional time before and after VAT? For hourly legal work, the core method is hours × hourly rate, expressed in euros. The result should separate the amount excluding tax, the VAT amount when VAT applies, and the total including tax.
For French lawyers, the written fee agreement matters before the arithmetic. Except for emergency, force majeure, and specified legal-aid situations, a lawyer must have a written fee agreement stating the fee amount or calculation method and expected costs and disbursements. That agreement controls the rate, fee method, and any billing increment used for the matter.
French invoices need line-level detail: quantity, precise service description, unit price excluding VAT, applicable VAT rate or exemption, and total amounts excluding and including VAT. That means a billable-hours total is not just one number. You need approved hours, the correct hourly rate, the VAT treatment, and the final HT and TTC amounts.
The normal VAT rate in metropolitan France is 20% and applies to the majority of goods and services, including ordinary taxable professional services. For regulated lawyer activities in 2026, the VAT exemption threshold is prior-year turnover of €50,000 or less, with a current-year increased threshold of €55,000 before VAT becomes due from the relevant date.
The formula is direct: billable hours × hourly rate = amount excluding VAT. Then apply VAT where due: amount excluding VAT × 20% = VAT amount. Add both figures for the TTC total. Keep different roles, rates, or service lines separate before adding them, because French invoice lines must show quantity, description, unit price excluding VAT, and VAT treatment.
For example, a French legal matter has 18 approved lawyer hours at €210 per hour and 11 approved support hours at €140 per hour. The HT total is €5,320. At 20% VAT, VAT is €1,064, so the TTC amount is €6,384. If the lawyer is under the applicable VAT franchise regime, the invoice should show the exemption instead of adding VAT.
A one-off calculator is enough when you have final approved hours, a single rate, and clear VAT treatment. It is also enough for checking a draft invoice against a written fee agreement. It is not enough when several people bill at different rates, rates changed during the matter, or non-billable work must stay visible without reaching the invoice.
That is where a managed workflow pays off. Everhour separates cost and billable rates, supports per-person defaults and per-project overrides, preserves dated rate history, and can price billable work by project, member, or task. Those controls make the handoff from tracked time to invoice review cleaner when French billing needs HT, VAT, and TTC totals.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
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For hourly work, multiply approved hours by the agreed hourly rate. French attorney billing uses euros, so the pre-tax amount is stated as an HT total. If VAT applies, add the applicable VAT amount and show the TTC total. Different rates should be calculated as separate lines before adding them together.
No. French national lawyer-fee rules require the fee calculation method to be agreed with the client and identify time spent as a fee factor, but they do not prescribe a national 6-minute, 15-minute, or annual billable-hour standard. The increment comes from the agreement, firm policy, or client terms.
The normal VAT rate in metropolitan France is 20% and applies to ordinary taxable professional services. For regulated lawyer activities in 2026, the VAT franchise threshold is prior-year turnover of €50,000 or less, with a current-year increased threshold of €55,000 before VAT becomes due from the relevant date.
A French invoice should show each service line with quantity, precise description, unit price excluding VAT, applicable VAT rate or exemption, and totals excluding and including VAT. For billable hours, that means hours, rate, HT amount, VAT treatment, VAT amount when due, and TTC total.
Between professionals, the default payment deadline is 30 days from completion of the service if the parties have not agreed another deadline. Professional parties may agree up to 60 days from invoice issue or 45 days end of month. For the first half of 2026, late payment carries 12.15% plus a €40 fixed recovery indemnity.
Everhour separates cost and billable rates, supports per-person defaults and per-project overrides, and preserves dated rate history. A French firm can price work by project, member, or task, then review billable totals before preparing HT, VAT, and TTC invoice figures.
Everhour turns tracked billable time and expenses into client invoices and calculates invoice amounts from rates, time, and billable expenses while excluding non-billable work. Invoice data can be grouped by project, task, person, date, or another available breakdown for client review.
Track approved hours, rates, and billable status before invoice review. Everhour keeps dated billable-rate data organized so French invoice preparation starts from cleaner billing totals.
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