The new electronic invoicing regulation (or "e-invoicing") is coming to France. The reform will affect all French companies for receiving and issuing their VAT-eligible invoices. They must be issued in a structured format and circulate via a Certified Platform (PA).
Discover what's changing, the deadlines, and how to prepare with Spendesk, registered as a Certified Platform (PA).
A Reform benefiting the state and companies
For the State
As part of a fiscal modernization approach, electronic invoicing gives the State more detailed and faster visibility on transactions, enabling:
Strengthening the fight against VAT fraud
Improving VAT collection and management
Access to better quality economic data to inform public policies (inter-company payments, deadlines, sectors)
Standardizing exchanges at the national level for more security and consistency
Converging with European VAT digitalization initiatives (VAT in the Digital Age - ViDA)
For Companies
For businesses, the challenge is not just compliance; electronic invoicing becomes a lever for operational performance, enabling:
Simplifying operations and reducing costs and manual tasks with less data entry, fewer errors, and fewer disputes
Accelerating the order → invoice → payment cycle: fast routing, traceable statuses, reduced approval times
Strengthening upstream VAT compliance and partially automating reporting obligations
Improving data quality and integration (structured formats, better ERP/accounting integration, reliable reporting) by eliminating the need for OCR
Optimizing supplier and customer relationships
Securing archiving and proof, facilitating audit preparation and cond
What the Regulation Requires and by What Deadlines
Your New E-invoicing and E-reporting Obligations
The reform is based on two complementary pillars: e-invoicing on one hand, e-reporting on the other. To manage the obligations related to these two pillars, companies must mandatorily go through a Platform (PA) certified by the tax administration and connected to the PPF (Public Invoicing Portal).
E-invoicing
An electronic invoice refers to the issuance, transmission, reception, and archiving of dematerialized invoices in structured format for domestic B2B operations.
Recognized structured formats include Factur-X (PDF + XML), UBL, CII EN 16931.
What are the obligations related to e-invoicing?
Reception of e-invoices via a receiving PA (PA-R) like Spendesk, involving:
Being able to receive electronic invoices in one of the 3 recognized structured formats
Managing the lifecycle statuses (transmission and processing) of the electronic invoice
Mandatory for all companies from September 1, 2026
Issuance of e-invoices via an issuing PA (PA-E), involving:
Issuing domestic B2B invoices in one of the 3 recognized structured formats
Managing and receiving lifecycle statuses (transmission and processing) of the electronic invoice and sending the mandatory ones to the PPF
Mandatory for large companies and mid-sized companies from September 1, 2026, and for SMEs and micro-enterprises from September 1, 2027
Probative archiving, allowing invoices to be kept while guaranteeing integrity, authenticity, readability, and traceability for the legal duration.
E-reporting
What is e-reporting?
E-reporting is the periodic transmission to the tax administration of summary information on certain transactions that do not go through e-invoicing, via an approved platform. It complements electronic invoicing to provide a near real-time view of a company's taxable activity.
E-reporting concerns:
Data from domestic and international B2C transactions
Data from international B2B transactions
Payment data for certain transactions
The frequency of e-reporting submissions depends on the company's tax regime:
For companies subject to the normal monthly real regime: transaction data must be transmitted per 10-day period and within 10 days.
For companies with a special tax regime, e-reporting is monthly. It must be sent within 7 days from the end of the month.
The calendar corresponds to the deployment milestones for electronic invoice issuance. In other words, large companies and mid-sized companies will be concerned from September 1, 2026, and SMEs and micro-enterprises from September 1, 2027.
Understanding the Lifecycle of an Electronic Invoice
The Complete Lifecycle of an Electronic Invoice
Issuance and transmission from the seller's (supplier's) issuing PA
Reception by the buyer's receiving PA
Invoice processing in the receiving PA and creation of processing statuses
Synchronization of statuses with the issuing PA and the PPF (Public Invoicing Portal)
Probative archiving of invoices by both PAs
Actors in the E-invoicing Lifecycle and Their Roles
Companies:
Choose an issuing PA and a receiving PA
Register with the PPF through their PAs
Issue their customer invoices in one of the 3 recognized structured formats and transmit them from their issuing PA
Receive their supplier invoices in their receiving PA and update their statuses there
Certified Platforms (PA or PDP), like Spendesk, are private intermediaries registered by the French tax administration to operate services related to electronic invoicing regulations (issuance, reception, transmission of statuses and data, archiving).
They are interconnected to the Public Invoicing Portal (PPF) and to other PAs.
The PPF (Public Invoicing Portal) is the central public infrastructure of the electronic invoicing system in France; it ensures two key missions:
National directory manager: identifies companies (SIREN/SIRET, company name, address) and their dematerialization platforms to ensure proper invoice routing.
Data concentrator for the State: centralizes and transmits to the administration data from invoices, transactions, payments, and processing statuses.
E-invoicing Lifecycle Statuses
Transmission phase (set by PAs):
Rejected at issuance (issuing PA) ⇒ mandatory and transmitted to PPF
Deposited / Issued (issuing PA) ⇒ mandatory and transmitted to PPF
Rejected (receiving PA) ⇒ mandatory and transmitted to PPF
Received / Made available (receiving PA)
Processing phase (set by the buyer upon reception from the receiving PA):
Refused ⇒ mandatory and transmitted to PPF
Taken in charge
Approved
Partially approved
In dispute
Cancelled (following corrective invoice)
Suspended
Payment transmitted
Financial statuses (set by the supplier upon issuance):
Completed
Collected ⇒ mandatory and transmitted to PPF
How Spendesk Helps You Stay Compliant and Efficient
Spendesk, Much More Than Just a Compliance Tool
Registered PA status (subject to successful PPF interoperability tests taking place for all PAs at the end of 2025), guaranteeing 100% compliance, and white-labeled with the Générix solution, recognized in the market and in the process of final certification by the DGFIP
Recognized expertise: member of the FNFE (National Electronic Invoicing Forum) where public and private actors consult
Investment in the entire procure-to-pay (P2P) flow, not just regulatory compliance
Complete Management of All Types of Electronic Invoices, Integrated with Our Existing Modules
All processing statuses are set by the buyer from the approval workflows of Spendesk modules:
From the AP module: supplier invoices to be paid and credits received via Spendesk's inbox, including standard B2B invoices, credits, advance invoices, and corrective invoices
From the Card module: already paid invoices linked to card payments, issued in the company's name for payments made with both physical cards and virtual cards (recurring subscriptions, single-use or multi-use)
From the Expense Reports module: already paid expense report invoices, issued in the company's name, generating a reimbursement request by an employee from Spendesk
Concrete Benefits of Choosing Spendesk as Your Receiving PA
Effortless compliance, ensuring interoperability with all other PAs and the Public Invoicing Portal (PPF) and native support for the three recognized structured formats (UBL, CII, Factur-X)
Significant operational efficiency gains through centralized management of all invoice types and optimized workflows for assignment, validation, editing of processing statuses, and pre-accounting of invoices
Cost savings: compliance included in our AP module, reduced processing costs, and optimized VAT recovery
Preparing for Compliance as a Company
With Spendesk, even before the reform is implemented, you can centralize all your invoices in a single inbox and take advantage of an optimized workflow to validate, update the status, pre-account, and analyze all your invoices, whether they are subject to the new regulation or not.
We are already handling the Factur-X format and soon the other standard formats!
For Reception
Map your addresses, according to the three possible addressing formats:
SIREN format: the basic address for the organization
SIREN_SIRET or SIREN_SIRET_ROUTING_CODE format: to target a specific establishment or routing code for internal departments (legal department, general services, finance department) or cost centers
SIREN_SUFFIX format: the suffix being the company's choice (e.g., SIREN_EXPENSEREPORT)
Choose one (or more) receiving PA(s), like Spendesk, according to your mapping
Register in the PPF Directory from your receiving PA, starting in 2026
Communicate your electronic address to your suppliers and employees, according to the pre-established mapping
For Issuance
Add the new mandatory mentions on issued invoices
Ensure the ability to issue in one of the three recognized structured formats (UBL, CII, or Factur-X)
Choose an issuing PA
Next steps
Keep getting informed. Spendesk will keep you up-to-date regularly through various types of communication and webinars.
Is it time to manage your supplier invoices via Spendesk and discover our new procurement offering?
If you have any questions, contact your Spendesk account management team!