On 1 September 2027, your invoices change format.

Since 1 September 2026, every company must be able to receive electronic invoices. From 1 September 2027, SMEs and micro-enterprises will also have to issue them1. What changes for an SME with 10 to 50 employees, the cost of delay, and what needs deciding beforehand.

Request a call back The timeline

Up to date as at 1 October 2026, based on the official texts cited at the bottom of the page.

The timeline

Two dates, and yours is the second

  1. 1 September 2026 · already in force

    All companies receive

    Whatever their size, they must be able to receive their suppliers’ electronic invoices, through an approved platform (PA, formerly PDP) they have chosen1.

  2. 1 September 2026 · already in force

    Large companies and mid-sized companies issue

    They issue their invoices in electronic form and send their transaction and payment data to the tax authorities1.

  3. 1 September 2027 · your deadline

    SMEs and micro-enterprises issue

    The same obligation applies to them, with the four new details on the invoice. The timeline stands: no postponement has been decided to date2.

An SME with 10 to 50 employees issues in 2027, except in two cases: if it is a member of a VAT group (assujetti unique)2, or if it exceeds both €50 million in turnover and a €43 million balance sheet total3. It has then been issuing since 2026.

What changes for you

Five concrete changes for an SME

  • An approved platform becomes mandatory. It receives and issues your electronic invoices. The choice is yours: you can use one or several, and change at any time. Your current software can stay if it meets the requirements of the reform and is connected to at least one approved platform4.
  • A PDF sent by email is no longer enough. It is not an electronic invoice5. The invoice travels as structured data (UBL, CII) or in a mixed format, such as Factur-X, that attaches this data to a readable PDF6.
  • Four new details on your invoices. The customer’s SIREN number, the delivery address if it differs from the customer’s address, the nature of the transactions (goods, services, or both), and the option to pay VAT on invoicing (TVA sur les débits) if you have taken it7.
  • E-reporting. Your sales to private individuals and your transactions with other countries are reported to the tax authorities, with no personal data at all for private individuals. So are the payments you receive, when VAT is due on receipt of payment, as is the case for many services8.
  • Your VAT returns are still due. The reform does not abolish them9.

The cost of delay

Fines were raised in 2026

The 2026 Finance Act raised the fine from €15 to €50 per invoice, and created a penalty for companies that cannot receive invoices10.

  • A €50 fine per invoice

    issued outside the electronic format, up to €15,000 a year10.

  • A €500 fine per transmission

    of data not sent to the tax authorities, up to €15,000 a year for each type of data11.

  • A €500 fine, then €1,000

    with no platform to receive invoices: a formal notice first, then a fine for each three-month period as long as nothing changes10.

A first offence that has been remedied is not penalised10. And for the launch phase, the tax authorities say they will not penalise companies “engaged in a serious path to compliance”12. Nothing yet says they will do the same for SMEs in 2027.

What Anthelixa does

The reform changes the format. It does not do the work

Your approved platform receives and issues your invoices. Everything around that remains: checking, approving, matching against the order or quote, filing, and deciding who does what.

The audit of your invoice chain maps who receives, who checks, who approves, and where invoices sit waiting. It tells you what needs to change before September 2027: your approval workflow, your customer records, your invoice templates. If the audit says to act, we build what it recommends, then we run it in your business.

Anthelixa is not an approved platform, and does not sell one. The audit remains independent in its recommendations.

The three audit formats

Before September 2027

What you decide now.

  • Choose your approved platform, or check that your software is connected to one. The official list is published by the tax authorities13.
  • Check that you already receive invoices through it: this has been mandatory since 1 September 2026.
  • Complete your customer records: their SIREN number becomes a mandatory detail.
  • Decide who approves which invoices, and up to what amount.
  • Discuss it with your chartered accountant, and with your main customers and suppliers.

The questions we are asked

Frequently asked questions

From when is e-invoicing mandatory for an SME?

Since 1 September 2026, all companies must be able to receive electronic invoices. SMEs and micro-enterprises must issue them from 1 September 2027, unless they are members of a VAT group (assujetti unique), which has been issuing since 2026.

Is a PDF sent by email an electronic invoice?

No. A PDF invoice sent by email is not an electronic invoice within the meaning of the reform. An electronic invoice goes through an approved platform, as structured data (UBL, CII) or in a mixed format that attaches this data to a PDF.

Which approved platform should I choose?

The choice is yours: you can use one or several, and change at any time. The official list is published on impots.gouv.fr. Your current software may be enough if it is connected to at least one approved platform.

What are the penalties if I am not ready?

A fine of €50 per invoice not issued in electronic form, and of €500 per missing data transmission. Each fine is capped at €15,000 a year. With no platform to receive invoices: a formal notice, then a fine of €500, then of €1,000 for each three-month period. A first offence that has been remedied is not penalised.

Has e-invoicing been postponed for SMEs?

No. The legal timeline stands. The law still allows a postponement by decree, until 1 December 2027 at the latest, but no decree has been issued to date.

What are the new mandatory details on an invoice?

The customer’s SIREN number, the delivery address if it differs from the customer’s address, the nature of the transactions (supplies of goods, supplies of services, or both), and the statement “Option pour le paiement de la taxe d’après les débits” (option to pay VAT on invoicing) if you have chosen it.

Do free approved platforms exist?

Yes. According to the tax authorities, as at 1 August 2026, more than ten of the 150 approved platforms offered a free service, or one at no extra cost, for the essential needs of the smallest businesses14.

Is Anthelixa an approved platform?

No, and we do not sell any. The audit helps you prepare your invoice chain before September 2027, and it remains independent in its recommendations.

Thirty minutes to know where you stand

We will call you back: thirty minutes, free of charge, to look at your invoice chain before September 2027. If an audit is worthwhile for you, you set the date together. If not, we will tell you.

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Sources

  1. impots.gouv.fr, À partir de quand suis-je concerné par la réforme de la facturation électronique ? (in French), page updated on 16 January 2026. ↑ ↑ ↑
  2. Law no. 2022-1157 of 16 August 2022, article 26, version in force since 21 February 2026 (Légifrance, in French). The same article still allows a postponement by decree, until 1 December 2027 at the latest: none has been issued. ↑ ↑
  3. Decree no. 2008-1354 of 18 December 2008, article 3 (Légifrance, in French). Size is assessed for each company (SIREN), on the last financial year closed before 1 January 2025. ↑
  4. impots.gouv.fr, Je découvre la facturation électronique (in French), frequently asked questions, version of 1 September 2026 (questions 2.1, 2.3 and 3.4). ↑
  5. impots.gouv.fr, Est-ce qu'une facture envoyée par mail est une facture électronique ? (in French), page updated on 16 January 2026. ↑
  6. impots.gouv.fr, Je découvre la facturation électronique (in French), page updated on 26 May 2026. The mixed format is described in article 41 septies C of Annex IV to the French General Tax Code (code général des impôts). ↑
  7. Entreprendre Service Public, Mentions obligatoires sur une facture (in French), checked on 11 August 2026. ↑
  8. impots.gouv.fr, information sheets Transmission des données de transaction and Transmission des données de paiement (in French), updated in June 2026. ↑
  9. impots.gouv.fr, Avec la réforme de la facturation électronique, dois-je encore déposer des déclarations de TVA ? (in French), page updated on 16 January 2026. ↑
  10. General Tax Code, article 1737, III, IV bis and V, version in force since 21 February 2026, resulting from the 2026 Finance Act (Légifrance, in French). Before this Act, the fine was €15 per invoice. ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑
  11. General Tax Code, article 1788 D, version in force since 21 February 2026 (Légifrance, in French). One cap for transaction data, another for payment data. ↑
  12. DGFiP, Facturation électronique : guide pratique de démarrage au 1er septembre 2026 (in French), July 2026, page 2. ↑
  13. impots.gouv.fr, Je consulte la liste des plateformes agréées (in French), page updated on 22 September 2026. ↑
  14. impots.gouv.fr, Tout savoir sur la facturation électronique (in French), frequently asked questions, figures as at 1 August 2026. ↑
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