What is an SME?

SME stands for Small and Medium Enterprise. Thailand's Office of SME Promotion (OSMEP, or สสว.) is the agency that officially sets the size thresholds, using two main measures: average annual revenue and number of employees, split across four business types — manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, and services. Under the general criteria OSMEP publishes, a micro enterprise has revenue up to 1.8 million baht/year and no more than 5 employees. A small enterprise runs roughly 1.8-100 million baht/year (depending on business type) with up to 30-50 employees. A medium enterprise sits above that, up to a few hundred million baht. These figures get revised by ministerial announcement, so check the current numbers at sme.go.th before relying on them. A common point of confusion: Thai law actually has more than one "SME" definition. The OSMEP criteria above determine eligibility for various promotion and support programs. The Revenue Department has a separate SME definition for corporate income tax benefits, based on paid-up registered capital not exceeding 5 million baht and annual revenue not exceeding 30 million baht — a different criterion from a different agency entirely. Worth noting: the 1.8 million baht figure for OSMEP's micro tier happens to match the Revenue Department's VAT registration threshold. The two are separate laws serving separate purposes, though, so don't treat them as the same rule. For online sellers — whether on Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, or LINE MyShop — most shops just starting out fall into the micro tier by OSMEP's revenue criteria, even without formal business registration. Knowing your business size matters when applying for SME loans or government support programs, since they often use the same revenue and employee criteria as screening conditions. MooMooNext helps organize accounting data and reports for micro-to-small businesses just starting to keep systematic books, so records are ready for accountant review.