Mandatory electronic invoicing in 2026 and 2027: what your software must do

Since September 1, 2026, every business must be able to receive an electronic invoice. Small and medium-sized businesses must issue them from September 1, 2027. A custom tool remains legitimate for running your business, provided it connects to an approved platform instead of emailing a file.

Mandatory electronic invoicing: the timetable has two dates according to the France Num guide updated August 17, 2026. Since September 1, 2026, all businesses must be able to receive electronic invoices; from September 1, 2027, very small businesses, SMEs, and microbusinesses must be able to issue them, which affects their software.

What 'electronic invoice' means today

Official terminology changed in August 2026. France Num uses 'Plateforme Agréée' (Approved Platform) and 'Solution Compatible' (Compatible Solution), with the following wording: to receive and issue invoices, you must use an Approved Platform or a Compatible Solution connected to an Approved Platform. There is also an electronic invoicing directory where every business has its invoicing addresses, and only an approved platform can register you or activate access. The scope covers purchases and sales between businesses established in France subject to VAT, including those not liable to pay it, such as microentrepreneurs and businesses under the basic VAT exemption, with limited exceptions listed in the text.

An emailed file no longer counts

France Num answers the question everyone asks directly. An invoice in image format, scanned or produced by office software and emailed, does not meet the definition in Article 289 bis of the French General Tax Code: a minimum set of structured data and passage through an approved platform are required. The listed formats are Factur-X, CII, and UBL. The France Num 2025 Barometer, surveying 11,021 businesses, finds that 20% currently issue in one of these formats, while 69% of very small businesses and SMEs have invoicing software. The gap between those numbers is the real issue for the coming year: most businesses have a tool, and it still produces an image.

What your custom tool must be able to do

A custom tool still makes complete sense for running your business: quotes, schedules, records, project tracking, follow-ups, margins by job. For invoicing, it does not become an approved platform itself. The normal route is to make it a compatible solution: it produces and keeps invoicing data in a structured format, then sends it to an approved platform handling issuance, the directory, and e-reporting. Three lines deserve to be explicit in the specification you approve: the chosen output format, the connected platform's identity, and what happens to an invoice it rejects. These are business decisions, not construction details, just like the precise rules of regulated professions. France Num also notes that changing software is not always necessary: start by checking whether yours is already approved or connected.

E-reporting also catches the smallest businesses

E-reporting, sending transaction data to the authorities, also concerns businesses billing private individuals. The guide is explicit: a sole trader billing individuals with a small activity volume is covered, with daily transaction aggregation resembling a summary till receipt, at a frequency tied to the VAT regime, six submissions per year in that case. DGFiP operates a national helpline, 0 806 807 807, free excluding call charges. Approved platform prices vary by operator and we have not collected them: request them in writing, including per-invoice and connection costs, before choosing.

Check your situation this week

Three checks, in this order. Ask your publisher in writing whether your invoicing software is an approved platform or a compatible solution connected to one, and keep the answer with your contracts. Then make sure you can receive a structured invoice, an obligation in force for a month. Finally, list every place your business creates invoices, including spreadsheets and homemade tools: these must be connected by summer 2027, and an accounting firm's custom software and an artisan's face the same requirement. These rules have exceptions and particular cases: check yours with your accountant or adviser before deciding.