You might have heard about the new rules on facturation électronique - electronic billing - for businesses in France, which come into effect on September 1st, 2026.
You can find the full explanation about it here.
If you are registered under the micro-entrepreneur status, commonly used for small businesses, contractors and freelancers, here's what you need to know about it.
Does it affect me?
Yes.
Confusingly, this change is all about VAT, which micro-entrepreneurs are exempt from, up to a certain ceiling. But despite many micro entrepeneurs not paying VAT at all, they are still covered by this new rule.
The French tax office explains it like this: “Operators benefiting from the VAT exemption scheme are VAT-registered but not liable for VAT, as they do not include VAT on the invoices they issue to their customers and therefore do not pay VAT.”
That’s as clear as mud – but the FAQ section is a lot easier to understand.
“Q: As a micro-entrepreneur or auto-entrepreneur, am I affected by the electronic billing reform? A: Yes, you are affected.”
Start dates
As a micro entrepeneur you do, however, benefit from a more phased-in start period.
From September 1st, 2026, all businesses in France, big or small, must be able to receive electronic invoices.
Crucially, however, micro-enterprises will not have to start issuing electronic invoices until September 1st, 2027.
That means that you can carry on issuing invoices in your current format - whether that's by email, on a Pdf or on paper.
So what do I actually have to do by September 1st?
You just need to be set up to receive electronic billing - even if your business never actually receives invoices.
This means being signed up to a facturation électronique package, which must be on the list of approved companies - find the full list here.
In good news, you might actually already be using one of these services, since they include most of the well-known accounting software packages.
Many banks also offer them - if you have any form of business account, chances are you will have access to an electronic billing system.
If you don't have access to any of these systems, you will need to pick one from the list of approved companies and sign up to it, and maybe pay a fee if the company charges one.
Listed: Free services for freelancers and small businesses
For now, that's all you have to do. But some time between now and September 1st 2027 you will have to switch to the electronic billing system to send your invoices.
Once you have signed up to the system, you use it to send your invoices, and it is the responsibility of the platform to pass any necessary information to VAT authorities. Your responsibility starts and ends with sending the invoice.
I already send my invoices by email, is that good enough?
Unfortunately no, for the purposes of facturation électronique. Bills must be created and sent via a plateforme agréée – that is, a company accredited by the French state to create these types of bills, in the correct format, with all the correct information in the right order.
In addition, the following information will have to be added to invoices issued from September 1st 2026 for large companies and medium-sized companies:
- the SIREN number of the customer;
- the delivery address of the goods, where different from the billing address;
- the information that the transactions giving rise to an invoice consist exclusively of supplies of goods or services or consist of those two categories of transactions;
- the payment of VAT on debits, where the supplier has opted for it.
Micro-entrepreneurs will have to include this information on their bills, where necessary, from September 1st, 2027.
Do you have a recommendation for an electronic billing platform? Please share it in the comments section below to help your fellow micro entrepreneurs!
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