The verdict in three sentences
If your Dutch company bills French clients from an in-house application, France's reform means those clients will increasingly expect invoices through an accredited platform (formerly PDP) or the Peppol network instead of PDFs by e-mail. The work typically costs 6,000 to 20,000 EUR for the API connector, plus 50 to 400 EUR per month in platform fees, over 6 to 10 weeks. Whether you are legally in scope depends on your French VAT footprint, so the first step is a one-hour check with your tax advisor, not a development sprint.
Who is in scope and when
The French mandate covers B2B invoices between taxable persons established in France. A Dutch company with a French subsidiary or fixed establishment is directly in scope. A company with no French establishment, only a French VAT number, mainly faces e-reporting obligations on certain transactions and commercial pressure from French buyers who want every supplier invoice in the same pipeline. Belgium already mandated Peppol B2B e-invoicing on 1 January 2026, and the EU ViDA package plans structured invoices for intra-EU trade from July 2030.
| Deadline | Who | Obligation | Impact on your application |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sept 2026 | All French-established companies | Receive e-invoices | Import supplier invoices from the platform |
| 1 Sept 2026 | Large companies and mid-caps | Issue + e-reporting | Structured export of every sales invoice |
| 1 Sept 2027 | SMEs and micro-businesses | Issue + e-reporting | Generate Factur-X, UBL or CII, send via API |
| Ongoing | All in scope | Lifecycle statuses (submitted, rejected, paid) | Feed statuses back into the app |
| Issuing penalty | All in scope | 15 EUR per non-compliant invoice, capped at 15,000 EUR per year | Automatic pre-send validation |
| E-reporting penalty | All in scope | 250 EUR per missing transmission, capped at 15,000 EUR per year | Transmission log |
The most underestimated item is the paid status: for services, French VAT becomes due on payment and the platform expects that information. A billing app that does not track payments will need to pull it from the bank or accounting system.
Three formats, three ways to produce them
| Format | Nature | Strength | Limit | Development effort (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factur-X | Human-readable PDF + embedded XML | Smooth transition | Demanding PDF/A-3 generation | 8 to 15 days |
| UBL 2.1 | Pure XML, Peppol standard | Interoperable across Europe, already common in NL | Not human-readable without a viewer | 6 to 12 days |
| CII (UN/CEFACT) | Pure XML | Close to the EN 16931 semantic model | Less common among vendors | 6 to 12 days |
| Platform pivot format | Proprietary JSON | Fastest to integrate | Vendor lock-in | 3 to 6 days |
| Mandatory fields mapping | SIREN, delivery address, transaction type | Prevents rejections | Client data clean-up | 3 to 8 days |
For a Dutch company, UBL via Peppol is often the natural choice, because you may already use it for Dutch public-sector clients. Many French accredited platforms are also Peppol access points, so one connector can serve France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Full budget: connector, subscription and testing
| Item | Small company (under 500 invoices per month) | Structured company (500 to 5,000 invoices per month) |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping and platform selection | 1,000 to 2,000 EUR | 2,000 to 3,500 EUR |
| Issue + receive connector | 3,500 to 8,000 EUR | 8,000 to 13,000 EUR |
| Lifecycle statuses and e-reporting | 1,000 to 2,500 EUR | 2,500 to 4,500 EUR |
| Testing with real invoices | 500 to 1,500 EUR | 1,500 to 2,500 EUR |
| Total project (2026 estimate) | 6,000 to 14,000 EUR | 14,000 to 20,000 EUR |
| Platform or access point subscription | 50 to 150 EUR per month | 150 to 400 EUR per month |
| Timeline | 6 to 8 weeks | 8 to 10 weeks |
These are market estimates for a custom integration. If your application is too old to adapt, rebuilding the billing module falls within Kolonell's simple custom application range, 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA (3,810 to 6,100 EUR), to weigh against maintaining code nobody fully understands any more.
Mini case study
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Sanne, CFO of a horticultural exporter in Amsterdam with a French sales subsidiary, issues 1,200 invoices per month from an app built in 2018. Option A: move to an off-the-shelf tool at 9 EUR per user per month for 25 users, 2,700 EUR per year, and lose the volume-pricing rules specific to flower auctions. Option B: a Peppol/UBL connector at 12,000 EUR and a platform at 180 EUR per month, 2,160 EUR per year. Over three years, option B costs 18,480 EUR against 8,100 EUR, but keeps automatic volume discounts that, by her estimate, save 4 hours of manual checks per week, about 600 hours over three years. At 40 EUR per loaded hour, that is 24,000 EUR of time preserved: the integration pays back in year two.
FAQ
Is a Dutch company without a French establishment legally required to e-invoice?
Generally not for issuing, but it may have e-reporting duties if registered for French VAT, and French clients will push for structured invoices. Budget 1 hour of tax advice, around 200 to 400 EUR, before committing to development.
Can Peppol alone cover France?
In most cases yes, if your access point is also a French accredited platform or connected to one. Check that it handles French lifecycle statuses, which add roughly 2 to 4 days of work.
What does an accredited platform cost per month?
As a 2026 estimate, from 50 EUR for a few hundred invoices to 400 EUR for several thousand, often with per-invoice pricing above a bundle. Confirm API access is included in the entry plan.
What about invoices to private customers or non-French companies?
They stay outside French e-invoicing but may fall under e-reporting if French VAT applies. The connector must route each invoice into 2 flows, usually 2 to 4 extra development days.
How much testing is enough?
At least 50 real test invoices covering credit notes, deposits and multiple VAT rates. That is where around 80% of rejections seen in pilot phases come from.
Let's scope your project. Send us your invoice volume, your app's technology and your French VAT situation: we price the connector, the platform and the test plan. 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.
