Electronic invoicing in France: It's no longer tomorrow – it's now!

The French e-invoicing reform is taking shape! Representing more than just a regulatory requirement, the upcoming reform provides a valuable opportunity for businesses to modernise their processes, streamline their transactions and optimise their VAT management. Here’s what you need to know for 2025.

Why this reform?

Led by the French Tax Administration (DGFiP), this reform aims to:

• Combat VAT fraud;
• Shorten payment delays;
• Improve business productivity;
• Facilitate tax audits and VAT collection;
• Harmonise formats and processes at the European level.

To achieve these goals, all French businesses subject to VAT will be required to issue and receive electronic invoices through approved platforms by 2026–2027.

A revised timeline

The obligation will be introduced progressively, depending on company size.

This timeline applies to all VAT-registered businesses (excluding foreign companies):

Our advice: don’t wait until 2027 to become compliant. The complexity of data flows and the variety of formats and compliance challenges require early preparation.

Plan ahead to mitigate risks

Businesses that fail to prepare in advance risk:

• invoice rejections due to non-compliance;
• payment delays caused by poor interoperability;
• hidden costs from last-minute system changes;
• greater complexity during tax audits.

This is not just a regulatory matter – it’s also an operational and strategic issue.

Why is good support a key factor?

This reform presents a significant opportunity to digitise the entire invoicing process. However, it requires you to:

• Understand the business implications;
• Manage ERP interconnections;
• Anticipate impacts on inbound and outbound flows;
• Ensure long-term compliance.

As a certified Sage PDP (Partner Dematerialisation Platform) partner, we will support you at every stage.

• Audit of your IT maturity and current processes;
• Selection of the most suitable formats for your activity (Factur-X, UBL, CII, etc.);
• Integration with Sage ERP or third-party solutions;
• Ensuring compliance with French and international requirements (Peppol, archiving and e-reporting).

Our approach is based on dual expertise: a mastery of regulatory requirements and an in-depth knowledge of industry-specific ERP environments.

A company-wide impact

E-invoicing reform has a company-wide impact, far from being just an administrative burden or an IT project.

It will affect:

• Your procurement and sales processes;
• Your supplier and customer relationships;
• Your tax and accounting obligations.

This change will affect more than just accounting teams. It will also affect:

• Finance departments in terms of managing cash flow and reporting;
• IT departments, in terms of systems interconnection (ERP, DMS, third-party portals);
• Procurement and sales teams, who must adapt to new issuance and reception processes;
• Legal and compliance teams, who must ensure document compliance with regard to archiving, lifecycle and proof.

In short, this is a cross-functional project that demands a structured approach and robust change management.

It is therefore urgent to incorporate this reform into your 2025–2026 roadmaps.

A new flow architecture: PDP, PPF and the central directory

The era of direct invoice exchange between suppliers and customers is over! It is being replaced by a structured system built around three key entities:

1. The PPF (Public Invoicing Portal):

This is a government-run platform that acts as the central repository for e-invoicing and e-reporting data. It verifies compliance, centralises data and transmits it to the tax authorities.

2. PDPs (Partner Dematerialisation Platforms):

These are private providers authorised to exchange electronic invoices with other PDPs and the PPF. They are required to:

• Handle standardised formats;
• Guarantee interoperability (including PDP switching).

They are responsible for sending, receiving, format conversion and traceability, and sometimes archiving. Although archiving is not mandatory for PDPs, it is strategically important for businesses.

As a Sage PDP partner, we guarantee native interoperability with the Sage ecosystem and can support you with business, technical and regulatory matters.

3. The central directory

This is a directory, managed by the DGFiP, identifies PDPs and lists all VAT-registered companies, their VAT IDs, and their associated PDPs. It is essential for correct invoice routing.

Directory functions:

• Identify the correct recipient;
• Route flows to the right PDP;
• Ensure continuity of exchange even if a provider changes.

Pilot phases are ongoing, particularly with regard to the directory (via API) and scaling the PDP for exchanges with the PPF.

Two distinct types of flows

E-invoicing

This covers domestic B2B invoices. These must be transmitted in a structured electronic format via the PDP or the PPF (Factur-X, UBL, CII).

E-reporting

Covers:

• B2C transactions;
• International B2B exchanges;
• Certain payment data.

These are sent to the administration via the PPF every 10 days in a standardised format.

Key choices ahead regarding formats, compliance and security

PDPs must be able to process the three standard formats:

• Factur-X (a Franco-German hybrid PDF/XML format);
• UBL (used notably by Peppol);
• CII (the UN/CEFACT international standard).

Flows must follow a lifecycle involving validation, technical rejection and dispute resolution. This makes auditing and dispute resolution more efficient.

By choosing Sage X3, you can be confident of immediate compliance with the Factur-X format.

Conclusion

Electronic invoicing is a tool for driving change, not a burden.
With the right tools, methods and partners, it can transform your business by boosting efficiency, security and performance.

Contact our experts today for a personalised assessment and take the first step towards a successful transition.

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And what about tomorrow? European harmonisation and interoperability.

The French reform is part of a wider European movement. Initiatives such as Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) aim to standardise exchanges between member states. France is playing an active role, with AFNOR and DGFiP leading working groups.

While some countries, such as Germany, Italy and Poland, have made significant progress, others are just beginning their transition. For international groups, adopting a centralised yet flexible approach is becoming essential.

Read our dedicated article on Electronic Invoicing in Europe to find out more.