France's e-invoicing mandate is live, and your invoices are now data
Since September 1, every business in France must be able to receive e-invoices. Large and mid-size companies must issue them through an approved platform.
What happened
France’s e-invoicing reform took effect on September 1, 2026, and the government’s business portal reported it the next day. Every business must now be able to receive electronic invoices. Large companies and mid-size companies (ETIs) must also issue them from that date. SMEs and micro-enterprises must issue from September 1, 2027. Companies must choose an approved platform to issue, receive, and transmit invoices and certain data to the tax authority. Sales to consumers and to foreign customers fall under a separate e-reporting duty.
What it means
An invoice in France is now a structured record that moves between approved platforms, not a PDF in an inbox. That is the input an agent needs. Structured invoices remove the extraction step and give cash application and dispute agents clean fields to work with. The invoice becomes the API.
Why it matters to you
If you sell to French companies, your AR process now runs through a platform you chose and a format the state defines. If you buy from them, AP intake changes too. ERP vendors moved in step. Sage Intacct and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance both list France e-invoicing and e-reporting as generally available.
What to watch
The next date is September 1, 2027, when SMEs and micro-enterprises must start issuing electronic invoices. Watch how many smaller firms choose an approved platform before then. Watch for the first enforcement news from the tax authority, and for strain at the approved platforms as volume grows. Watch other countries too. Each new mandate adds a market where invoices arrive as data.