France e-invoicing mandate (Sept 2026) — get ready.

France's facturation électronique mandate is the largest single e-invoicing event of 2026. Every VAT-registered business in France will be in scope — phased by company size, not by sector. If you bill French B2B customers from anywhere in the world, this affects you too.

Peppol AP — landing later this year. Guliel generates the Factur-X / Peppol BIS document today. Direct transmission via a certified Plateforme de Dématérialisation Partenaire (PDP) / Peppol AP is what's still in development — Guliel is becoming a Peppol AP later this year, with PDP certification on the same path. Until that ships, customers route the generated document through an existing certified PDP. The September 2026 deadline gives us a clear runway and we'll publish exact PDP-readiness dates on the changelog.

The short version

France is shifting all domestic B2B invoicing to a structured electronic model with mandatory e-reporting to the tax authority (DGFiP). The mandate begins September 2026 for large companies and intermediate-size enterprises (ETI), and phases to SMBs and micro-enterprises through 2027. Receipt obligations apply to all VAT-registered businesses from September 2026 — even the smallest firm has to be able to receive a structured e-invoice from day one.

The architecture uses a Public Invoicing Portal — Portail Public de Facturation (PPF) — alongside a network of certified private platforms called Plateformes de Dématérialisation Partenaires (PDPs). Most PDPs are also Peppol Access Points, so the underlying transport for cross-border traffic is Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 aligned with EN 16931.

Mandate timeline

The schedule, per public DGFiP guidance:

• September 2026 — Reception of structured electronic invoices becomes mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses in France. Every business must be able to receive an e-invoice.
• September 2026 — Issuance becomes mandatory for large companies and intermediate-size enterprises (ETI).
• September 2027 — Issuance becomes mandatory for small and medium enterprises (SMB) and micro-enterprises (TPE).

E-reporting of transaction data to DGFiP (sales not covered by domestic B2B e-invoicing, plus B2C and cross-border) starts in step with each cohort's issuance obligation.

The practical effect for SMBs: even though your issuance deadline is 2027, the reception obligation from September 2026 means your invoicing tool has to be wired up sooner. Suppliers will start sending you structured invoices from late 2026, and you need to process them cleanly.

PPF and the certified partner story

France's model has two channels:

• PPF (Portail Public de Facturation) — the public portal operated under DGFiP. Provides directory services and receives reporting data. The PPF was rescoped in 2024; it acts as a directory and concentrator rather than the primary transmission route for most businesses.
• PDPs (Plateformes de Dématérialisation Partenaires) — certified private platforms that handle the issuance, transmission, format conversion and reporting on behalf of businesses. Each business connects to at least one PDP. Most PDPs are also Peppol Access Points.

Accepted formats include the European standard EN 16931 profiles — Factur-X (a hybrid PDF/A-3 with embedded XML, very close in spirit to German ZUGFeRD), UBL, and CII. Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 is the standard transport for cross-border and for many PDP-to-PDP exchanges.

How Guliel handles it

Honest scope. Guliel produces French-compliant invoices in the formats the PDP network accepts, with the right field set for DGFiP. We are not a PDP ourselves; we work alongside one of your choosing.

What we cover:

• EU VAT invoice content per Article 226 of the VAT Directive — supplier and customer details, French VAT numbers (numéro de TVA intracommunautaire), SIRET where required, sequential invoice number, dates, line items, VAT rates and amounts, totals.
• Factur-X (hybrid PDF/A-3 + XML) for human-readable invoices with structured data embedded.
• Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 / EN 16931 output for transmission via a certified PDP / Access Point.
• Reverse charge (autoliquidation) annotations where applicable.
• Reporting — VAT by jurisdiction, supplier spend, AR aging, and the accountant-handoff bundle that your expert-comptable actually wants.

What we don't cover:

• Operating as a PDP. Issuance, transmission and e-reporting to DGFiP go via a certified PDP of your choice. We produce the compliant document and the structured payload.
• Full French statutory accounting. Guliel is not a substitute for a French chart of accounts or an expert-comptable. Pair us with your accountant or with a full ledger like Xero or QuickBooks if you need that.
• TVA filing. We give you the data; filing the CA3 declaration stays where it should — with your accountant.

See /invoicing for the broader document-compliance picture.

Why French SMBs use Guliel

• Per organisation, not per seat pricing — see /pricing. $20 a month for the Standard tier; €0 to start.
• Multi-country from day one — if your customer base includes France, Belgium, Germany and elsewhere in the EU, the same product issues the right document for each jurisdiction. We support 38+ countries today; more shipping monthly.
• Bidirectional supplier flow — unique in the market. Send orders (bons de commande) to suppliers, those suppliers issue invoices against the order, reconciliation is automatic.
• AI companion + automations — schedule the monthly liasse to your expert-comptable, auto-send reminders, replay any automation from history. The AI builds the automations from natural-language prompts; you don't write workflow rules by hand.

What to do before September 2026

A short, practical list:

1. Confirm your size category. Large, ETI, SMB or micro-enterprise determines your issuance deadline.
2. Choose a PDP. This is the partner that will transmit your invoices and your e-reporting to DGFiP.
3. Make sure your invoicing tool produces Factur-X or EN 16931 / Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 output. Guliel does, today.
4. Get your supplier list updated with SIRET and VAT numbers. The structured format requires them.
5. Pilot at least one supplier-to-buyer round trip before the deadline. Don't wait until September.

FAQ

When does the French e-invoicing mandate start?

September 2026 for large companies and intermediate-size enterprises (ETI). Reception of e-invoices is mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses from September 2026. Issuance for SMBs and micro-enterprises follows in September 2027.

What is the PPF?

The Portail Public de Facturation — the public portal under DGFiP. It provides directory services and receives e-reporting data. Most businesses transmit through a certified private platform (a PDP) rather than directly via PPF.

What is a PDP?

A Plateforme de Dématérialisation Partenaire — a certified private platform that handles issuance, transmission, format conversion and e-reporting on a business's behalf. Each business connects to at least one. Many PDPs are also Peppol Access Points.

Is Guliel a PDP?

No. Guliel produces French-compliant invoices in Factur-X, EN 16931 / Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 formats. Transmission to DGFiP via the PPF goes through your chosen certified PDP. We integrate; we don't operate as a PDP.

Will Guliel handle my TVA return?

No. Guliel handles invoice issuance, expense tracking and reporting. The CA3 (TVA return) is filed by your accountant or via a tax-filing tool. We export the data your expert-comptable needs.

Does this affect non-French businesses billing French customers?

Yes, for the receiving side and for any French establishment. If you have a French entity (SIRET) issuing invoices, you are in scope. Cross-border B2B from outside France to French businesses currently falls under EU VAT rules and ViDA's 2030 cross-border framework, not the domestic French mandate.

Start free at /pricing. Factur-X and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 out of the box.