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The electronic invoicing reform will begin in France in 2026, and its rollout will affect other countries, such as Belgium. In this article, learn everything you need to know about the key deadlines for French companies, as well as the Peppol alternative, which simplifies international invoicing workflows.
What is the purpose of electronic invoicing?
The transition to electronic invoicing is a major priority for French authorities. The requirement for electronic invoicing is expected to address several issues:
- Combating VAT Fraud
- To facilitate easier settlements and shorter payment terms among economic actors
- Simplify the mandatory VAT reporting procedures
- Improve real-time insights into business operations .
These objectives are the same for all European countries and even on a global scale.
Is a PDF invoice the same as an electronic invoice?
A PDF invoice is not an electronic invoice: it is simply a file that can be exchanged but does not contain structured data.
Conversely, an electronic invoice consists of structured data in UBL format (data only) or Factur-x format ( data plus a PDF preview).
Structured data is what enables technical platforms to read and process electronic invoices.
What is the Peppol network?
You may have already heard of Peppol.
It is the acronym for Pan-European Public Procurement. It refers to a secure European network that allows organizations to exchange electronic invoices.
Nearly 50 countries are part of the Peppol network.
To join this network, each country must have designated a Peppol authority. This is often a national organization that oversees how data flows are organized within the network. This organization may be private or public, depending on the tax administration and government of each country.
How does Peppol work?
This diagram illustrates the flow of electronic billing data within the Peppol network.
Each stakeholder has secure access points to the Peppol network, which ensures that invoices are delivered from the sender to the recipient’s accounting department.
This is what’s called a 4-corner diagram.
What is the difference between Peppol and an Approved Platform?
In France, there is an alternative for electronic invoicing: the Approved Platform (PA).
Historically, there was Chorus, a public portal for submitting invoices when the customer is a government agency or public organization. The French e-invoicing project was intended to build on this foundation by developing a comprehensive directory of all French companies. Initially, therefore, the goal was to create the Public Invoicing Portal (PPF). Its role was to receive invoices and serve as a free portal for French companies.
Since the project had fallen behind schedule, it was decided in October 2024 to refocus the PPF on its core function as a directory of VAT-registered businesses. In addition, Authorized Platforms are organizations—much like Peppol—that provide a secure portal for receiving and sending invoices in electronic format.
The OD (Electronic Invoicing Operators), which had planned to partner with the PPF to send and receive their invoices, were thus forced to adjust their strategy. The Authorized Platforms had to implement native interoperability among themselves.
The structure of this system is now very similar to the Peppol system.
The difference: In Peppol, the directory is shared and known to every equivalent of the French PDP.
As of today, the list of Approved Platforms on the official website for electronic invoicing in France.
Invoices from suppliers and buyers are processed through the PPF, the Public Invoicing Portal. Originally designed as an interconnected portal, the PPF has been scaled back in its new version to a business directory.
E-invoicing applies to the purchase and sale of goods and/or services between businesses established in France that are subject to VAT.
E-reporting is a supplementary tool that allows you to track and analyze invoice flows as well as collected VAT. Each company will thus be able to generate a monthly e-report to submit to the tax authorities as needed. This is the very purpose of electronic invoicing: to monitor and eliminate VAT fraud.
The Peppol project is more advanced and extends beyond Europe (to the United States, for example): it’s a particularly useful system if you have subsidiaries across the Atlantic.
What is the current projected timeline for electronic invoicing in France?
The timeline for implementing electronic billing has already been postponed several times. Here is the current version:
- Invoice Issuance
- September 1, 2026, for large and medium-sized companies
- September 1, 2027, for small and medium-sized businesses and microbusinesses
- Receipt of electronic invoices: September 1, 2026, for all businesses
Important Information for Belgium
The implementation of electronic invoicing in Belgium began in January 2026. E-reporting will follow in January 2028.
This means that the VSActivity and VSPortage solutions are already ready for electronic invoicing in France as well as in all member countries of the Peppol network.
France is also part of the Peppol network
As of July 8, 2025, the DGFiP is officially the Peppol Authority for France. In this context, the French government defines the specific requirements and exercises jurisdiction over the technical standards applicable to service providers and the use of the Peppol network. It is within this framework that it issues the “Approved Platform” certification for electronic invoicing in France.
VSA and VSP are ready for electronic billing
Integrated into the Veryswing Approved Platform, which is also Peppol-certified, our VSActivity and VSPortage software solutions enable the export of sales invoices and credit memos in the required formats:
- UBL (for Peppol and for PDP if the platform is compatible)
- Factur-X (for PDP)
Do you have companies abroad (Belgium, Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, Northern Europe, etc.) and have you already signed up for a Peppol platform?
With vsa and vsp, you’re already set up for electronic invoicing by subscribing to the e-invoicing add-on.
And with our ERP systems, you also have access to these features:
- Signing of PDF sales invoices and credit memos (non-editable)
- Provision of invoice templates for multiple countries in various languages
- Handling Dual VAT in Canada
- QR Code Management for Switzerland
Our management software’s ISO 27001 certification ensures the security of your data.
Veryswing is on track to meet the major European (January 2026) and French (September 2026) deadlines.
