Comparison
Marchant vs Tiime
Tiime is popular with French freelancers and micro-businesses for its simplicity and free plan. Here’s what changes when your business grows or goes international.
Our honest take
Tiime is excellent for micro-businesses. Its free plan covers basic invoicing, and its clean interface is designed for freelancers who aren’t accountants. If you’re just starting out, it’s a risk-free entry point.
Marchant becomes the right choice when your needs go beyond basic invoicing: UK payroll (BrightPay sync), UK operations, multi-currency, or a full double-entry ledger. Direct DGFiP submission and FR/DE payroll accounting are part of the 2028 launch, not reasons to switch today. Tiime’s collaboration model requires an accountant for many compliance steps; Marchant lets you handle them directly.
On price, Tiime wins at entry level with a free plan. But Marchant’s £15/mo includes features that would require Tiime’s paid plan plus accountant fees to replicate.
People comparing Marchant vs Tiime are usually French freelancers who started on Tiime's free plan and are bumping into its ceiling. Tiime is genuinely good at what it does. Marchant is not the answer for you yet — it does not file in France until 2028 — so this page is here to be straight about that, and useful if you also invoice from a UK entity.
Tiime prepares your CA3 in-app and leans on your accountant to submit it. Marchant does not prepare it at all yet: direct DGFiP submission is part of the 2028 French launch. What Marchant runs today is UK Making Tax Digital, CIS and UK payroll.
Below is an honest split of where Tiime is strong, a detailed feature comparison, a pricing snapshot to verify on Tiime's site, a step-by-step migration guide from Tiime to Marchant, and the questions growing founders ask most before switching.
Tiime
Where Tiime genuinely wins
- ✓A genuinely free basic plan — a low-risk entry point for new French freelancers.
- ✓A clean, simple interface designed for independants who are not accountants.
- ✓Native accountant collaboration is a real strength for the French expert-comptable model.
- ✓Solid mobile receipt capture and automatic categorisation for everyday micro-business admin.
- ✓Low full-plan price (€14.90/mo) that suits very small, France-only operations.
Where Tiime is weaker as you grow
- ✗DGFiP CA3 is prepared in-app but typically submitted via your accountant rather than directly.
- ✗No UK HMRC MTD or German ELSTER filing — international operations are out of scope.
- ✗No native payroll — DSN/URSSAF runs through an accountant integration rather than the product.
- ✗French-only interface and EUR focus; bilingual or multi-currency teams hit limits quickly.
- ✗The collaboration model means several compliance steps depend on your accountant, not you.
Marchant
Why Marchant fits founders who outgrow micro tooling
- ✓A full double-entry ledger, multi-currency with daily FX rates, and a branded client portal.
- ✓Full EN / FR / DE interface and open banking (coming soon) across 2,400+ UK and EU institutions with daily sync.
- ✓Direct HMRC MTD VAT filing on every plan — no bridging software, useful if you also run a UK entity.
- ✓UK payroll via BrightPay sync from the Professional tier, with no per-employee add-on.
Where Tiime still makes sense
- ~Marchant does not file French tax today — France is planned for 2028. If you need DGFiP filing this year, Tiime does something Marchant cannot.
- ~If you are a brand-new France-only freelancer, Tiime's free plan is hard to beat on price while you find your feet.
- ~Tiime's stripped-back simplicity suits people who want the absolute minimum and rely fully on their accountant.
- ~Marchant's depth is more than a very small single-country operation needs until it starts to grow or cross borders.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Marchant | Tiime |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From £15/mo | Free (basic plan) · €14.90/mo (full) |
| French VAT (DGFiP / CA3) | Planned — French launch 2028 | Yes — CA3 preparation, submission via accountant |
| UK VAT (HMRC MTD) | Included — direct MTD submission | Not supported |
| German VAT (ELSTER) | Planned — German launch 2028 | Not supported |
| French Payroll (DSN/URSSAF) | Planned — French launch 2028 | Not native — via accountant integration |
| UK Payroll (PAYE) | BrightPay sync (coming soon) | Not supported |
| Full tax return (liasse fiscale) | Planned — French launch 2028 | Native accountant collaboration — a strength |
| Open banking | 2,400+ UK & EU banks — daily sync (coming soon) | French banks — daily sync |
| Invoicing | Invoices, quotes, credit notes — delivery notes and orders coming soon | Full invoicing — suited for micro-businesses |
| Receipt capture (OCR) | AI OCR — mobile + web | Yes — receipt scan via mobile app |
| Bank reconciliation | AI — automatic match suggestions | Yes — automatic categorisation |
| Multi-currency | 50+ currencies — daily FX rates | Limited — EUR focused |
| Client portal | Yes — client portal; online payment coming soon | Payment link sharing |
| EN / FR / DE interface | English at launch — French and German coming soon | French only |
| Free trial | 30 days — no card required | Free plan available (limited features) |
Pricing comparison (verify before you buy)
Tiime wins on headline price at entry with a free plan, so the real comparison is total cost once you add the features and accountant fees needed to match Marchant. Use this as a planning snapshot and confirm live numbers on Tiime's site.
| What you are comparing | Marchant | Tiime |
|---|---|---|
| Typical entry price (public list) | Starter from £15/mo — full stack | Free basic plan · €14.90/mo full plan |
| Direct French TVA filing (no accountant step) | Planned for 2028 — Marchant does not file French TVA today | CA3 prepared in-app, submitted via accountant |
| UK + Germany compliance in the same product | UK MTD today; ELSTER planned for 2028 | Not supported — French market only |
| Payroll | UK payroll via BrightPay sync (coming soon); FR/DE payroll accounting is part of the 2028 launch, integrations on roadmap | Not native — via accountant integration |
| Free trial / free plan | 30 days, card not required | Free basic plan (limited features) |
A free or cheap entry plan changes the comparison only until you need direct filing, payroll, multi-currency or another country. Model the accountant fees and extra tools you would still pay for before concluding Tiime is cheaper overall.
Switching from Tiime to Marchant
Migration ships in 2027. The steps below are how the move will work when it does — the rest of Marchant is live today.
Tiime exports to CSV cleanly, and most micro-business migrations finish in well under a day. If your accountant has been handling filing, loop them in early so the handover of DGFiP responsibilities is clean.
Export contacts, invoices and transactions from Tiime
Download CSVs for customers, invoices, expenses and bank transactions. Keep any receipts and attachments your accountant may reference later.
Confirm your DGFiP filing setup
Note which TVA number and CA3 history sit with your accountant. Filing stays with them — Marchant does not take French returns in-house until the 2028 launch — but having the record ready makes that switch simple when it arrives.
Reconnect bank feeds in Marchant
Import the last 90 days of statements from each French and EU account as CSV for a clean reconciliation window. Open banking feeds are coming soon.
Add UK or German entities if expansion triggered the move
Create the UK entity in Marchant before inviting cross-border staff — payroll and VAT onboarding depend on correct registrations. German entities, like French ones, wait for the 2028 launches.
Run one period in parallel, then cut over
Keep filing CA3 the way you do now. Direct submission from Marchant is part of the 2028 French launch, so there is no cutover to schedule yet — reconcile in parallel if you want to be ready early.
Need help? Marchant support can review your Tiime export before go-live — send anonymised samples if policy requires. The goal is zero surprises on TVA or payroll deadlines as you take more in-house.
Common questions: Marchant vs Tiime
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