Is your enterprise micro, small, medium-sized or large?

Under EU rules the size of an enterprise depends on three figures. These are the number of employees, annual turnover and the balance sheet total. A micro enterprise has fewer than 10 employees and a turnover or balance sheet total of up to EUR 2 million. A small enterprise has fewer than 50 employees and a turnover or balance sheet total of up to EUR 10 million. A medium-sized enterprise has fewer than 250 employees and a turnover of up to EUR 50 million or a balance sheet total of up to EUR 43 million. Anything above that is a large enterprise.

The figures are not always those of your enterprise alone. If you have linked or partner enterprises, their employees, turnover and balance sheet total are added to yours. The tool below does the adding for you and shows the category straight away.

The conditions of many calls and aid programmes in Croatia depend on the category, so it is worth knowing it before you apply.

Data as of 13 November 2026 · Sources: 3, listed at the end · How we check our information · Report an error

It is worth checking the rest before you apply. The site also offers the undertaking in difficulty test, the de minimis aid calculator, the municipality and town search and the funding programme questionnaire.

How the tool calculates

The tool applies the definition in the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. The same definition is in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 651/2014, to which State aid programmes refer. An enterprise is any entity engaged in an economic activity, irrespective of its legal form, so the definition also applies to sole traders (Article 1 of the Annex).

The thresholds are in Article 2 of the Annex. A micro enterprise has fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million. A small enterprise has fewer than 50 employees and a turnover or balance sheet total of up to EUR 10 million. The category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) covers enterprises with fewer than 250 employees whose turnover does not exceed EUR 50 million or whose balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 43 million. The headcount must be below the threshold, while for the two financial indicators it is enough that one of them is within the threshold.

The number of employees is counted in annual work units (Article 5). A person who worked full time for the whole year counts as one unit, while part-time and seasonal work count as fractions of a unit. The data are taken from the latest approved accounting period, and turnover is calculated excluding VAT (Article 4(1)).

Article 3 distinguishes three types of enterprise. An autonomous enterprise holds less than 25% in any other enterprise and no one holds as much in it. Partner enterprises are those connected by a holding of 25% or more of the capital or voting rights that are not linked. Linked enterprises are those in which one holds a majority of the voting rights in the other, has the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members of its administrative, management or supervisory body, or exercises a dominant influence under a contract or the articles of association. Enterprises that have such a relationship through a natural person are also considered linked if they operate in the same or an adjacent market.

Aggregation is governed by Article 6(2). The data of every linked enterprise are added to the data of your enterprise at 100%. The data of a partner enterprise are added in proportion to the percentage holding in capital or voting rights, whichever is higher. This is why the tool asks for a percentage between 25 and 50 for a partner enterprise. The aggregated figures are then compared with the thresholds in Article 2.

The tool does not calculate three rules and lists them as notes under the result. The category changes only when the enterprise is above or below a threshold for two consecutive accounting periods (Article 4(2)). An enterprise in which public bodies hold 25% or more of the capital or voting rights is as a rule not an SME (Article 3(4)). Some investors may hold 25% or more while the enterprise is still considered autonomous, provided they are not linked to it. These are public investment corporations, venture capital companies, business angels investing less than EUR 1,250,000, universities and non-profit research centres, institutional investors and local authorities with a budget below EUR 10 million and fewer than 5,000 inhabitants (Article 3(2)).

Enterprises that are not SMEs but have fewer than 750 employees and a turnover of up to EUR 150 million or a balance sheet total of up to EUR 129 million have since 2025 formed the new category of small mid-caps (Commission Recommendation (EU) 2025/1099).

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a partner and a linked enterprise?

A partner enterprise is connected to yours by a holding of 25% or more of the capital or voting rights, but without control. Its data are added in proportion to the holding, so with a holding of 30% you add 30% of its employees, turnover and balance sheet total. A linked enterprise is one in which one enterprise holds a majority of the votes in the other or controls it in another way. Its data are added in full.

What if we exceeded a threshold only in the last year?

Then the category stays the same. Under Article 4(2) of the Annex, the status of a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise is lost or acquired only when the enterprise is above or below a threshold for two consecutive accounting periods. The tool calculates from the data of the one year you enter, so in that case repeat the calculation with the data of the previous year. If both years are above the threshold, the new category applies.

How are employees counted?

Annual work units are counted. One unit is a person who worked full time for the whole year. Part-time work, work for part of the year and seasonal work count as fractions of a unit, for example 0.5. Employees, owner-managers and partners who work regularly in the enterprise are counted. Apprentices and students in vocational training under a contract are not counted, and neither is the duration of maternity or parental leave.

Do both turnover and the balance sheet total have to be below the threshold?

No. The headcount must always be below the threshold, while for turnover and the balance sheet total it is enough that one indicator does not exceed its threshold. An enterprise with eight employees, a turnover of EUR 3 million and a balance sheet total of EUR 1.5 million is therefore still a micro enterprise. If both financial indicators exceed the threshold, the enterprise moves to the higher category whatever its headcount.

Does this definition also apply to sole traders?

Yes. Under Article 1 of the Annex an enterprise is any entity engaged in an economic activity, irrespective of its legal form. The text expressly mentions self-employed persons and family businesses engaged in craft or other activities. A Croatian sole trader (obrt) therefore enters the same data as a company, and an owner who works in the business counts as an employee.

What if a town, county or the State co-owns the enterprise?

If public bodies, jointly or individually, directly or indirectly hold 25% or more of the capital or voting rights, the enterprise is as a rule not considered an SME under Article 3(4) of the Annex, whatever its headcount and financial data. The exceptions are the investors listed in Article 3(2), for example local authorities with a budget below EUR 10 million and fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sources

• Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (EUR-Lex)
• Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014, Annex I, consolidated text (EUR-Lex)
• Commission Recommendation (EU) 2025/1099 on the definition of small mid-cap enterprises (EUR-Lex)