E-invoicing in France: small businesses

The timeline by business size

The French reform does not apply to everyone in the same way or at the same time. The tax authority distinguishes two obligations: receiving electronic invoices and issuing them.

According to impots.gouv.fr:

From 1 September 2026, all businesses must be able to receive electronic invoices.
On the same date, large companies and mid-sized companies must issue their invoices in electronic format, through an approved platform.
Small businesses and micro-businesses have until 1 September 2027 to issue their invoices electronically.
E-reporting follows the same timeline.

What this means for a tradesperson

If you are a tradesperson or run a small business in France, the first step is already here: you must be able to receive electronic invoices from your suppliers. Issuing them comes next. This window is the right time to choose your platform and check that your quoting and invoicing tools can keep up.

Which transactions are covered?

E-invoicing covers sales of goods and services between businesses established in France that are subject to VAT and liable to French VAT. Certain transactions that are exempt or do not require an invoice are excluded (for example healthcare, education, real estate, banking and insurance).

The other transactions do not drop off the radar: they go through e-reporting, which means sending certain data to the tax authority.

The two forms of e-reporting

Transaction e-reporting: it covers sales to parties not subject to VAT, such as private individuals or associations, and transactions with foreign businesses. For sales to parties not subject to VAT, daily totals per VAT rate are sent. All VAT-registered businesses established in France are concerned, including micro-businesses.
Payment e-reporting: it covers services where VAT becomes due on receipt of payment. You send the date of payment and the amount received per VAT rate. When an electronic invoice exists, this information goes through its “paid” status.

Approved platforms and the public portal

Invoices between businesses established in France are no longer sent directly from one to the other: they go through a third party, an approved platform. These are private companies, registered by the French State, that issue, transmit and receive electronic invoices. They also extract the data the tax authority needs and send it on.

You choose your platform. It can be different from your suppliers’ or your customers’. To be registered, these platforms must in particular be interoperable with the public invoicing portal and with the other platforms. The official list of approved platforms is published on impots.gouv.fr.

Check whether your current invoicing software already offers a connection to an approved platform.
Compare what each platform includes for a business of your size.
Consult the official list before signing with a provider.

Formats and new details on your invoices

An electronic invoice is not just a PDF. The tax authority states that a scanned paper invoice, an ordinary PDF or a document sent by email will no longer be compliant. The accepted formats are UBL, CII, or a mixed format combining a structured data file and an image file.

The existing mandatory details stay the same. Four new details are added:

The customer’s SIREN number (the French company identification number).
The category of the transaction: supply of goods, provision of services, or both.
A statement that you have opted to pay VAT on invoicing (“d’après les débits”), where applicable.
The delivery address for the goods, if it differs from the billing address.

Prepare your tools now

Even if issuing only concerns you in 2027, these new details can already be added to your quote and invoice templates. Start by collecting the SIREN of your business customers in your customer file or your CRM. It is a simple job that saves a last-minute rush.

Check your situation on the official websites

Every business has its own situation: VAT scheme, type of customers, activity. This guide is a summary, not legal or tax advice. To find out your exact obligations, consult the official pages listed at the bottom of this guide. The impots.gouv.fr website also offers a four-question questionnaire to identify your future obligations, and a telephone helpline. Your accountant remains your point of contact for questions specific to your business.

Information checked on the official websites on 3 November 2026.

What we can do on our side

We replace neither your accountant nor an approved platform. What we can do is adapt your quoting and invoicing tool, or build one: the tool connects to the approved platform of your choice to issue and receive electronic invoices, and it includes the new details and your customer data. The first 30-minute call is free.

E-invoicing in France: what changes for tradespeople and small businesses