French e-invoicing: the small-business checklist between September 2026 and September 2027

Since 1 September 2026, every VAT-registered business in France must be able to receive electronic invoices through a platform accredited by the tax administration. The obligation to issue already applies to large and mid-sized companies; for SMEs, small businesses and micro-entrepreneurs it is set for 1 September 2027. Many small organisations therefore think they have a year ahead. That is wrong on one point: if a mid-sized supplier sends its invoice through the platform and you are not registered, you do not receive it. This guide runs through the checklist in the useful order, with the points the official calendar (impots.gouv.fr, to be checked on the day you read) does not say.

What an electronic invoice is not

A PDF sent by email is not an electronic invoice within the meaning of the reform. The invoice must be issued in a structured format (Factur-X, UBL or CII) and transmitted by an accredited platform (formerly called a "partner dematerialisation platform"), which delivers it to the customer's platform and reports the data to the administration. The state's central directory tells which platform to reach each company on: that is why your customer's SIREN becomes a structuring piece of data.

Step 1: know whether and how you are concerned

• VAT-registered, including under the small-business exemption: a micro-entrepreneur under the exemption is concerned by reception, and by issuance in 2027 for invoices between businesses established in France.
• Domestic B2B transactions: these go through e-invoicing. Sales to consumers and international operations fall under e-reporting (data transmission, without an electronic invoice), with its own deadlines.
• Associations: concerned if they are VAT-registered for all or part of their activities.

Step 2: the new mandatory mentions

Four mentions have been added to those already required on any invoice (number, date, identity of the parties, description, VAT…). Update your template now, even if you still issue PDFs:

• The business customer's SIREN number.
• The delivery address of goods when it differs from the billing address.
• The category of the operation: supply of goods, supply of services, or both.
• The mention of the option to pay VAT on debits, when you have chosen it.

Step 3: choose an accredited platform

The official list of accredited platforms is published by the DGFiP. Several invoicing tools and online banks integrate a platform: first check what your current tool offers before comparing. Criteria that matter for a small organisation:

• Price per invoice or flat fee, and what happens beyond the included volume.
• Reception included (some offers charge issuance but give reception free).
• Accounting export to your accountant, and storage of invoices in an evidential format for the legal period.
• Invoice status management (filed, received, refused, paid): this life cycle replaces your reminders.
• Reversibility: being able to change platform without losing history.

Step 4: update the customer and supplier base

Each customer record must contain the exact SIREN and, if you know it, its platform identifier. Each supplier record must say where you receive: your own platform. A diagnostic Excel file — one line per customer, one per supplier, with SIREN checked on the companies directory — is filled in an afternoon and avoids lost invoices at the switch.

Step 5: organise reception and archiving

Who checks the platform, how often, who validates or refuses an invoice, where it is archived: three lines in a procedure are enough, but they must exist. A received electronic invoice no longer needs printing; it must be kept in its original format. The legal retention period for invoices remains ten years in commercial matters (six years in tax matters).

The Chipie Studio E-invoicing 2026 Kit contains the regulatory memo, the Excel diagnostic and action-plan workbook, an invoice template with the new mentions, the platform-choice guide and a comparison to complete. It is dated and cites its sources; deadlines remain to be confirmed on impots.gouv.fr when you act, and your accountant must validate the VAT option and archiving.