Cegid licensing is the set of terms under which Cegid, a French publisher of management software, supplies finance, HR and payroll, ERP and retail applications. The French site groups its offer into HR and payroll (Cegid HR, Cegid Payroll Ultimate, Cegid Payroll Peoplenet, Cegid DSN Contrôle), ERP (Cegid XRP Flex, Cegid XRP Ultimate, Cegid Orli), finance (Cegid Allmybanks, Cegid Exabanque, Cegid Tax Flex, Cegid Tax Ultimate, Cegid Notilus) and retail (Cegid Retail, Cegid Retail Store Excellence).[6] Accounting-firm products such as Cegid Expert and Cegid Loop are documented in the same terms page.[1] Cegid says the same page lists “les conditions contractuelles en vigueur”: general terms, then contractual annexes per product.[1]
Contract stack
Cegid contracts are built from a short chain of documents. For SaaS, the contract consists of the order form, the service booklet, the reversibility annex, the SaaS general terms (CGU), the security assurance plan, the technical prerequisites and the personal-data annex.[2] The booklet prevails over the general terms except where the terms say otherwise, and the general terms prevail over the other annexes.[2] Implementation work (analysis, parameterisation, data take-on, training) is sold under a separate document, the general terms for services, and is priced per day rather than as a fixed price.[4] Catalog proof: Implementation services are priced per day.
Three further documents matter to an asset manager:
- The service booklet (Livret de Services) of each product sets the volumetric limits, environments, data retention and product-specific billing rules, and can be changed by Cegid with 30 days’ notice.[2]
- The technical prerequisites (Prérequis Techniques) list the hardware and software the customer must keep current; the customer, not Cegid, evolves its workstations in line with them.[2]
- The API terms grant a limited, revocable, non-sublicensable right to build applications on Cegid APIs and forbid using an application to avoid the need for a valid Cegid licence.[5] Catalog proof: API licence is limited, revocable and may not circumvent product licences.
Delivery models
| Model | Licence form | Typical metric | Deeper article |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS (Service SaaS) | Right of access for the contract term | Named user, system, work unit; per-offer metrics | Cegid SaaS general terms |
| On Premise, Souscription DAS | Renewable limited-term licence | Named user, system, work unit | On Premise licence and audit terms |
| On Premise, Souscription Fixe | Licence for the duration of copyright; services for 36 months | Named user, system, work unit | On Premise licence and audit terms |
| Third-party online service or software | Publisher’s own terms (the “Convention”) | Defined by the publisher | Cegid SaaS general terms |
The SaaS general terms define the Service as standard application functions delivered online, billed “par abonnement ou selon un relevé de consommation”, for professional use.[2] The service was designed for the French market. Unless the customer buys a Country Package listed in the booklet, it suits only companies established in metropolitan France or foreign subsidiaries of French companies.[2] The On Premise terms repeat this limit for software.[3] Catalog proof: Standard services are designed for companies established in metropolitan France.
Metrics
Cegid names its units in the general terms and refines them product by product. The access right is limited, “selon les offres”, by named users (users with a personal identifier and password), by logical or physical systems (for example point of sale, tablet or mobile) and/or by other work units expressed as quantities, thresholds or ceilings.[2] Booklets then define the work units:
| Metric | Where defined | Product lines |
|---|---|---|
| Utilisateur nommé | General terms | Most offers |
| Système logique ou physique | General terms | Retail and other per-system offers |
| Profil Actif | Notilus booklet | Expense management |
| Salarié Actif | HR dematerialisation booklet | HR documents |
| Tranche de bulletins ou de contrats actifs | Payroll booklets | Payroll |
| Dossier | Cegid Expert booklet | Accounting firms |
| Utilisateur concurrent | XRP Ultimate booklet | ERP |
| Nombre de factures par an | XRP Flex booklet | ERP |
Counting and compliance
Four mechanisms recur and are worth testing in any Cegid review.
- Overage surcharge. Unless the order form or booklet says otherwise, use above the thresholds in the order form is billed at the tariff in force increased by 50%, with a regularisation covering every period since the excess began.[2] Some booklets replace this: Notilus uses 40%, and the retail booklets provide for a revision of the subscription fees at the tariff in force. See Overage is billed at tariff plus 50% with back-billing.
- Audit. For On Premise software, Cegid may audit once a year, on site or remotely, and may use tracking tools inserted in the software to decide whether to audit.[3] A shortfall is billed at the tariff plus 50%. See Audit shortfall is billed at tariff plus 50% within 30 days.
- Affiliates. Subsidiaries (companies under control as defined in Code de commerce L.233-3) may use the service under the customer’s responsibility, but competitors of Cegid never qualify, and a company that stops being an Affiliate loses access immediately.[2] See Affiliates may use the service under the customer’s responsibility.
- Price changes. Prices follow the Syntec index each anniversary with an annual floor of 3%, and Cegid may in addition revise prices by up to 8% twice a year during the initial period if its costs rise faster.[2] See Prices are indexed on Syntec with a floor of 3% a year.
Programs
Cegid documents few named commercial programs. The ones that appear in contract documents are the On Premise Souscription DAS and Souscription Fixe, the SaaS initial period and renewals, the Cegid Extended Services layer for payroll and HR, the Country Package localisation modules, and the partner-delivered support model of Cegid XRP Flex. No public price list or part number exists in the documents reviewed.
Governance and exit
All documents reviewed are governed by French law, with exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Lyon, after a mandatory amicable-settlement step by registered letter.[2] The customer may not end a SaaS contract for convenience; leaving early makes the remaining instalments due plus 10%.[2] Cegid may amend the general terms at any time on its website, and the customer can refuse within two months, which ends access after 15 days with a refund of prepaid sums.[2] At exit, an annex applying the EU Data Act sets a four-month notice and reduced switching charges until 2027-01-12.[2] Catalog proof: No termination for convenience during the term.
Corporate context
Cegid announced on 2026-09-09 an intention to combine with Silae, the French payroll and HR platform. The release names Silver Lake as majority shareholder of both companies and expects the transaction to close in the first half of 2027, subject to works-council consultation and regulatory approval.[7] The release also refers to Cegid’s recent acquisition of Shine, and the French site states that for accounting firms the Cegid offer now sits alongside the Shine offer while “vos interlocuteurs, conditions tarifaires et engagements contractuels sont maintenus intégralement”.[7][8] Until a transaction closes, existing contracts remain those of Cegid SAS; licence managers should watch for changes to contracting entity or terms on the contract page.
Out of scope
This overview does not cover Cegid products sold only through partners without public terms, per-customer negotiated annexes, price lists (none are public), the Shine and Silae offers, or the technical prerequisites of each product.