What legalstart.fr does

Legalstart.fr, operated by Yolaw SAS, is a Paris-based online legal services platform founded in 2014 that helps French entrepreneurs create, manage, and close businesses through a digital interface. The platform serves over 900,000 entrepreneurs with company formation across common French legal forms (SAS, SARL, SCI, auto-entrepreneur), legal modifications, business closures, and an expanding suite of operational products including LS Compta for accounting, Compte Pro for professional banking, and an invoicing product positioned for France's incoming e-invoicing mandate. The user-facing experience is a product-led, self-serve workflow with optional expert validation, supported by an extensive French-language library of guides, fact sheets, and free conversion tools (company name search, document generators) that drive inbound SEO-led acquisition.

The underlying platform appears to combine template-driven document automation with integrations to French administrative registries and government filing bodies, handling the procedural complexity of French business creation on behalf of users who would otherwise engage traditional law firms or chartered accountants. Revenue mechanics blend a tiered subscription model (with a €0 entry tier plus administrative fees) with transactional formation fees and recurring subscriptions for accounting, banking, and invoicing products. Go-to-market is primarily digital, anchored on organic search visibility and a free-tool-driven content strategy, supplemented by partner distribution channels that resell Legalstart.fr's document-generation utilities. The company is France-only, with no observed geographic expansion, and competes against traditional legal professionals, chartered accountants, and a small set of digital legaltech entrants in the French SMB market.

Name

legalstart.fr

Legal name

Yolaw SAS

Website

https://legalstart.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Legalstart.fr is a Paris-based online platform, founded in 2014, that helps French entrepreneurs create, manage, and close businesses through digital company formation, legal formalities, accounting (LS Compta), and professional banking (Compte Pro), serving over 900,000 customers in France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Formation & Legal Services Platform

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Other Legal Services (54119), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Records Management, Information Governance & Retention (BPAEAPAO)

Keywords

• Business formation platform
• Legal document automation
• Company registration services
• Online legal formalities
• Digital accounting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Formation and Management Subscriptions: Legalstart offers tiered subscription plans for legal services including company creation, modifications, closures, and trademark filing. The Starter plan starts at 0€ plus legal fees, while premium plans provide enhanced services with guaranteed processing timelines. Additional services include compliance management, legal obligation services, and legal assistance.
2. LS Compta Accounting Services: The affiliated accounting cabinet LS Compta provides ongoing accounting services including balance sheets, tax returns, and VAT management, billed as a separate subscription.
3. Professional Account (Compte Pro) and Billing Software: A professional bank account with French IBAN, unlimited transfers, and a mobile app, integrated with billing/invoicing software. Revenue is generated through the account and software subscription.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Legalstart.fr is a 100% digital online platform that enables French entrepreneurs to create, modify, manage, and close businesses through questionnaire-driven automated generation of mandatory legal documents (statuts, registration dossiers, legal notices), with validation by in-house jurist-formalist experts and administrative submission to the greffe and legal notice publishers (Kbis delivered within 48 hours). The platform extends beyond formation into an integrated ecosystem offering accounting (LS Compta), a professional bank account with French IBAN (Compte Pro), electronic billing software, trademark filing, and debt recovery services.

Product overview

Legalstart est une plateforme digitale tout-en-un pour les entrepreneurs français, proposant un écosystème de services pour accompagner les entreprises de leur création à leur fermeture. Le portefeuille comprend la plateforme principale Legalstart pour les formalités juridiques (création, modification, radiation d'entreprise), le cabinet d'expertise comptable LS Compta, le Compte Pro avec IBAN français et application mobile pour la gestion bancaire quotidienne, un logiciel de facturation préparant à la facturation électronique, des outils simulators (choix juridique, calcul charges), un générateur de mentions légales, des services de dépôt de marque et de recouvrement de factures, ainsi qu'une bibliothèque complète de fiches pratiques et guides thématiques éducatifs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LS Compta: The accounting expertise and bookkeeping services arm of Legalstart, providing accompaniment for financial management and compliance.

Products and services

• Legalstart Legal Formation & Lifecycle Platform Subscription-based online platform for French entrepreneurs to create, modify, and close businesses. Generates and files all required legal documents (statuts, legal notices, registration dossiers) with expert validation.
• LS Compta Accounting Services Ongoing accounting services (bilans, liasse fiscale, TVA) delivered by the LS Compta expert-comptable cabinet, sold as a monthly subscription for Legalstart customers.
• Compte Pro Legalstart (Professional Bank Account) Professional bank account with French IBAN, cards, unlimited transfers, and mobile app, sold on a monthly subscription for French entrepreneurs and small businesses.
• Trademark Filing Service (Dépôt de marque) Service for filing trademarks and running prior-art/antériorité searches at the relevant IP offices, sold as a standalone offering for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
• Debt Recovery Service (Recouvrement de factures) Amicable and judicial debt-recovery services for unpaid invoices, including formal notices and seizure procedures, sold as a standalone paid service for Legalstart customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Kbis delivered in 48 hours after complete file submission
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Captain Contrat: French LegalTech platform providing online company creation, modifications, and legal services with integrated lawyer support, targeting the same French SMB and entrepreneur segment as Legalstart.
• LegalPlace: French online legal services platform offering company formation, legal documents, and ongoing legal formalities for entrepreneurs and SMBs, directly competing with Legalstart on the same online legaltech category in France.
• Shine: French neobank and admin platform for freelancers and SMBs that combines business banking, accounting, and administrative support, directly comparable to Legalstart's Compte Pro and integrated SMB offering.

Emerging players

• Dougs: French online accounting firm providing bookkeeping, tax filings, and corporate accounting for entrepreneurs and SMBs, comparable to Legalstart's LS Compta accounting arm.
• Pennylane: French financial management platform for SMBs and accountants covering accounting, treasury, and invoicing; competes with LS Compta and Legalstart's billing software in the same French SMB finance stack.
• Indy: French all-in-one platform for freelancers and small businesses combining accounting, invoicing, and tax compliance; overlaps with Legalstart's LS Compta and billing offerings for the same self-employed customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Qonto: Leading French/European business neobank for SMBs and freelancers offering accounts, payments, and accounting integrations; competes with Legalstart's Compte Pro and broader SMB financial-services play in France.
• LegalZoom: US-headquartered online legal services platform for business formation, legal documents, and ongoing compliance; serves as the international benchmark for Legalstart's online business creation model.
• Clio: Leading international legal practice management software provider for law firms, broadly comparable to Legalstart's legaltech category and the platform approach to delivering legal services digitally.
• Cegid: Established French provider of cloud accounting, ERP, and HR/payroll software for SMBs and mid-market, comparable to LS Compta's accounting practice and Legalstart's broader SMB software stack.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/legalstart_fr
• Facebookfacebook.com/legalstart.fr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/legalstart

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about legalstart.fr