Micro-enterprises under VS 2026: what applies to businesses with fewer than 10 employees

One of the practical innovations in VS 2026, which has received little attention so far: for the first time, the standard now systematically distinguishes between companies with more and fewer than 10 employees. For small craft businesses, single-location gastronomy, and small suppliers, this is highly relevant – here is the context.

Why this distinction was introduced

The previous VSME standard basically treated all companies up to the upper limit (previously 250, now up to 1,000 employees) the same. In practice, it became clear: a business with 8 employees has different capacities for data collection and reporting than one with 300. VS 2026 responds to this with its own, reduced regulation for the smallest group.

Quick checklist: Do you belong to the micro-enterprises under VS 2026?

• Fewer than 10 employees (full-time equivalents)

• Not subject to CSRD reporting requirements

• First external request is pending or expected in the foreseeable future

• No structured sustainability data collection in place yet

If all four points apply, the micro-enterprise regulation in VS 2026 is likely the most appropriate, low-barrier entry point.

Why micro-enterprises are a special focus in EU statistics

In terms of numbers, micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees) make up the vast majority of all businesses in Germany and the EU. When drafting VS 2026, the EU Commission therefore specifically examined whether the data points designed for "normal" SMEs are also practical for this very small group – with the result that a separate, further reduced regulation made more sense than a one-size-fits-all solution for the entire SME sector up to 1,000 employees.

An example: the five-person supplier business

A specialized supplier business with 6 employees supplies a medium-sized mechanical engineering company. Without the new micro-enterprise regulation, the business would have had to orient itself to the same depth of data as a supplier with 300 employees – an effort that is completely disproportionate to the size of the business. With the new, reduced regulation, the business can produce a leaner version of the VS 2026 report, which is nevertheless considered a recognized structure and is accepted by customers.

What this means for communication with major customers

Important to know: Even with the reduced micro-enterprise regulation, the report remains a recognized VS 2026 report – not a special format that needs to be additionally explained to customers. This distinguishes the regulation from a purely internal, self-made "minimal report" that might trigger follow-up questions from a major customer.

What actually changes for micro-enterprises

The exact scope of the simplifications for micro-enterprises will be specified in the final legal act and the associated EFRAG guidelines – at its core, it is about a further reduction of the already lean VS data points, adapted to the realistic capacities of very small businesses. In practice, for you as a micro-enterprise, this means: entering into a voluntary report becomes even more accessible than it already is with the regular VS 2026.

Is a report even worth it for a micro-enterprise?

The same logic that applies to larger SMEs also applies here – just with different weightings:

• Are you a supplier to a larger customer? Even as a micro-enterprise, you can be drawn into a major customer's supply chain requests – the simplified VS data points for micro-enterprises are still the obvious structure for your response.

• Is a lean database without a full report enough for you? For many micro-enterprises without an active external request, this is the more pragmatic first step – see also the context under VS standard or own report?.

How strait also works for small businesses

For micro-enterprises in particular, the effort of manual, annual data collection is disproportionately high compared to the size of the business. strait captures energy and operating data automatically via IoT sensors – regardless of the company size, the database is created almost incidentally, without requiring additional staff for reporting.

How much reporting do you really need? The Sustainability Readiness Check gives you an assessment tailored to your business size.

Ready for the next request, even as a small business?

Take the Sustainability Readiness Check – or book a demo.

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