The verdict in three sentences
Since 1 September 2026, all VAT-registered companies in France must receive supplier invoices electronically, and large and mid-sized companies must also issue them; SMEs and micro-businesses will issue from 1 September 2027. For a B2B e-commerce merchant, including a Berlin seller with a French entity or French customers, the job is to connect the site, the ERP and an approved platform (PA, formerly PDP) to produce Factur-X or UBL invoices and send e-reporting data. Realistic budget: 5,000 to 20,000 EUR excl. VAT for integration and 50 to 500 EUR a month for the subscription, compared with a 15 EUR fine per non-compliant invoice.
The timeline and concrete obligations
| Obligation | Large and mid-sized companies | SMEs and micro-businesses | What it changes for a B2B site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving e-invoices | 1 September 2026 | 1 September 2026 | pick a PA and connect it to accounting |
| Issuing e-invoices | 1 September 2026 | 1 September 2027 | every B2B order generates a structured invoice |
| E-reporting of B2C and export sales | 1 September 2026 | 1 September 2027 | transmission of transactions not covered |
| E-reporting of payment data | 1 September 2026 | 1 September 2027 | collection date for services |
| Accepted formats | Factur-X, UBL, CII | Factur-X, UBL, CII | a plain PDF is no longer a valid B2B invoice |
| New mandatory fields | customer SIREN, operation category, delivery address | same | fields to add to the checkout |
A B2B e-commerce site is affected twice: it issues invoices to business customers (e-invoicing flow) and receipts to consumers or foreign customers (e-reporting flow). Both go through the same approved platform. For German companies, the logic is close to the German mandate (reception since January 2025, issuing phased in 2027 and 2028), so one EN 16931 compliant setup can serve both countries.
What an approved platform costs
Pricing varies with invoice volume and included services (legally valid archiving, matching, reminders). 2026 orders of magnitude:
| Profile | Invoices per month | PA subscription | Cost per invoice beyond plan | 10-year archiving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small B2B merchant | under 200 | 50 to 90 EUR/month | 0.20 to 0.40 EUR | often included |
| Distribution SME | 200 to 1,000 | 90 to 200 EUR/month | 0.10 to 0.25 EUR | included or 20 EUR/month |
| Multichannel mid-size company | 1,000 to 5,000 | 200 to 500 EUR/month | 0.05 to 0.15 EUR | included |
| Key account | over 5,000 | on quote, 500 EUR and up | under 0.05 EUR | included |
| ERP-embedded solution | variable | included in ERP licence or +30 to 80 EUR/month | per vendor | per vendor |
The PA choice depends mostly on its API quality: a store issuing 600 invoices a month cannot rely on manual file uploads.
Site integration: line-by-line estimate
| Item | Shopify or PrestaShop with connector | Custom site or Medusa | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit of flows and mandatory fields | 1,000 EUR | 1,500 to 2,500 EUR | B2B, B2C, export mapping |
| SIREN and operation category at checkout | 800 EUR | 1,500 to 2,500 EUR | SIREN check via Sirene API |
| Factur-X or UBL generation | 1,200 EUR (module) | 3,000 to 6,000 EUR | EN 16931 compliance |
| API connection to approved platform | 1,000 EUR | 2,500 to 4,500 EUR | sending, statuses, rejections |
| B2C, export and payment e-reporting | 500 EUR | 1,500 to 2,500 EUR | daily aggregation |
| Supplier invoice reception to accounting | 500 EUR | 500 to 1,000 EUR | often handled in the ERP |
| Testing and acceptance | 0 to 1,000 EUR | 500 to 1,000 EUR | real invoice samples |
| Total excl. VAT | 5,000 to 6,000 EUR | 11,000 to 20,000 EUR |
Three traps recur: poorly structured credit notes (partial returns, retroactive discounts), deposits not linked to the final invoice, and status lifecycles (submitted, rejected, paid) not fed back into the back office.
Mini case study
Nathalie, CFO of a B2B laboratory supplies merchant near Lyon, issues 900 invoices a month and makes 7 million euros in revenue. Her site runs on Medusa, connected to a Sage ERP.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
- Custom integration: 14,000 EUR excl. VAT.
- Approved platform: 180 EUR a month, 2,160 EUR a year.
- Risk avoided: with a 5% non-compliance rate without tooling, 45 invoices a month × 15 EUR = 675 EUR a month, 8,100 EUR a year of potential fines, capped at 15,000 EUR a year.
- Productivity gain: manual sending and tracking took the accounting team 25 hours a month, cut to 5 hours. At a 35 EUR loaded hourly cost, that is 8,400 EUR a year.
Outcome: about 16,500 EUR a year of avoided risk and saved time for 16,160 EUR in year one. The project pays back in 12 months, then returns 14,000 EUR net a year.
FAQ
Is the free public invoicing portal enough?
The public portal handles the directory and data concentration, but it does not process invoice issuing and receiving for companies. You must go through an approved platform, and more than 90 are registered in 2026.
What is the penalty for non-compliance?
The fine is 15 EUR per invoice not issued electronically, capped at 15,000 EUR a year, and 250 EUR per e-reporting failure. A first offence can be waived if corrected within 30 days.
Factur-X or UBL?
Factur-X is a readable PDF embedding an XML file, handy for customers still used to PDFs. UBL is pure XML and more common in European exchanges, including Germany's XRechnung ecosystem. Most PAs accept both and convert when needed.
Are consumer sales affected?
Not by e-invoicing, but yes by e-reporting: total B2C sales and VAT are sent in aggregate, usually every 10 days or monthly depending on your VAT regime.
How long should we plan?
Plan 6 to 10 weeks from audit to go-live, plus one month running in parallel with the current system to monitor rejections.
Let's scope your project. We connect your B2B e-commerce site to an approved platform, Factur-X, UBL and e-reporting, for 5,000 to 20,000 EUR excl. VAT with go-live in 6 to 10 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
