Company Project Support Contract (Cape)

Verified 11 October 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The company project support contract (Cape) allows the economic viability of a company creation or takeover project to be tested with the aid of an accompanying body. It provides support, material and financial resources. In exchange, you have to go through a program of preparation for creation or recovery. The Cape is not an employment contract but it offers social protection.

The Cape allows you to test a project by taking advantage of a support to study its feasibility.

This is a written contract between a project owner and an accompanying body (company or association):

  • The accompanying staff will to provide continuous assistance to prepare to create or resume a company.
  • In return, the beneficiary must to follow a program preparing for the creation or resumption and management of an economic activity.

The Cape has a maximum duration of 1 year but it may be renewed in writing 2 times. Its maximum duration is therefore 3 years.

Please note

The Cape is not a contract of employment.

To enjoy the Cape, you must be holder of a company creation or take-over project.

You must also be in one of the categories following:

Please note

A full-time employee cannot benefit from the Cape

The company Project Support Contract (Cape) shall specify all items following:

  • Company creation, recovery, and management readiness program
  • Respective commitments of the 2 parties (project leader and accompanying structure), distinguishing between those planned up to the start of the activity and those applicable after the start of the activity
  • Amount and conditions of use of the resources made available by the accompanying structure and any changes during the contract
  • Conditions for calculating or the flat-rate amount of the remuneration of the accompanying structure and their possible evolution during the contract
  • Nature, maximum amount and conditions of the beneficiary's commitments to third parties during the contract, the party bearing the financial burden
  • Conditions and periodicity under which the accompanying structure is informed of the beneficiary's accounting data after the start of the activity
  • Early Break Mode
  • Remuneration of the beneficiary, calculation and payment conditions
  • Conditions for repayment to the accompanying company of the amount of social contributions and social contributions paid on behalf of the beneficiary after the beginning of the activity

Before the activity starts

Until the activity is launched, the accompanying company shall guarantee the commitments of the Cape beneficiary to third parties. Thus, the beneficiary of the Cape can enter into an agreement with a client, a bank or a partner. In this context, the Cape beneficiary must indicate on all commercial documents (invoices, purchase orders, advertising documents, etc. ) the following:

  • the benefit of a Cape with its duration
  • the name of the company, the place of its registered office and the identification number of the accompanying body

From registration to the end of the support contract

The beneficiary of the Cape may start his activity and carry out the formalities for the creation of his company during the execution of the Cape.

The registration of a individual business VID (EI) or a business must be made on the website of the company formalities office.

Company Formalities Window

The beneficiary of the Cape retains his social status as a jobseeker or part-time employee, etc. He thus retains his social assistance rights under certain conditions (unemployment benefit and return to work assistance (ARE), active solidarity income (SSA), etc.). When he receives remuneration in connection with his activity under Cape, he may to acquire new rights to unemployment insurance.

Like any company creator, the beneficiary of the Cape can benefit from social security tax exemption under thecompany creation or take-back assistance (Acre).

The beneficiary of the Cape is not bound by an employment contract with the accompanying structure. However, he has the same social protection as employees.

Throughout the life of the Cape, the beneficiary shall have the following social protection:

  • Social coverage of the general social security scheme
  • Unemployment insurance cover
  • Accident at work Protection in the event of an occupational disease (AT/MP)

It is the accompanying structure that is person responsible for declaring and paying social security contributions. As soon as the Cape is concluded, it informs the Urssaf and France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) of the conclusion of the contract, specifying in particular its duration. It shall also inform them of the renewal(s).

Social security contributions are based on income from the activity and remuneration net of tax.

When the Cape beneficiary has started its activity, it must reimburse the accompanying structure the amount of the

social contributions.

FYI  

The beneficiary is dependent on the general scheme for employees until the expiry of the Cape. He is then affiliated as a self-employed person.

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