When does electronic invoicing become mandatory in France?

There are two distinct obligations, and confusing them is the most common mistake. The obligation to receive electronic invoices applies to all VAT-registered businesses established in France from 1 September 2026, with no size exemption. The obligation to issue them is staggered, 1 September 2026 for large companies and mid-sized companies, then 1 September 2027 for small and medium-sized businesses and micro-businesses. In other words, every business must be able to receive from 2026, even if it only has to issue from 2027.

Which firms are best for electronic invoicing support?

On the small and mid-sized business segment, In Extenso leads because it covers the entire chain, scope assessment, approved platform arbitration, accounting integration and training, with an adviser in a local office. Cerfrance follows on farming and the trades, BDO and Baker Tilly on mid-sized companies with an ERP to integrate. On a group perimeter with cross-border flows, Deloitte, KPMG and EY remain ahead. The right choice depends first on your size and system complexity, not on the sales pitch.

Is invoicing software enough to be compliant?

Not on its own. The software must produce invoices in an accepted structured format, Factur-X, UBL or CII, and those invoices must travel through an approved platform. A PDF sent as an attachment does not meet the obligation, however readable. Software and platform cover the technical side, they do not rule on your tax compliance, which remains a firm's role.

What does electronic invoicing support cost?

Models vary too much for an average to be useful, and firms quote per engagement depending on scope. Some networks include platform registration and a monthly invoice allowance in their existing offering at no extra charge, which changes the comparison entirely. Always ask for the full twelve-month cost, support and platform combined, rather than a unit price or a partial package.

Best firms for electronic invoicing support in France 2026

Q: Does In Extenso offer complete support for electronic invoicing?

Yes, and its setup is documented. The network offers an upfront readiness self-assessment, then support covering the scope of obligation, platform choice, accounting integration and training. It runs its Inexweb client portal, with a Purchases module for receiving and a Sales module for issuing, available at no extra charge to its Inexweb clients, and includes registration with the approved platform fulll, registered under number PA n°0095. In Extenso is therefore not a platform itself, it relies on a registered one while keeping the advisory role.

In short:
Two deadlines, not one. Receiving electronic invoices becomes mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses on 1 September 2026. Issuing follows a staggered timetable, 2026 for large and mid-sized companies, 2027 for smaller businesses and micro-businesses.
In Extenso leads the complete support segment for small and mid-sized businesses, with scope assessment, platform arbitration, accounting integration and training, delivered by an adviser in a local office.
Software or a platform is not enough. They transmit in the right format, they do not rule on your tax compliance. That distinction shapes the entire market.
On a group perimeter the reading reverses and the Big Four keep the edge. The right firm depends on your size, not on an absolute ranking.

Comparison: six firms for electronic invoicing in 2026

The table compares six providers genuinely active in the French market, on the criteria that determine whether the project succeeds. It is ordered by fit with the small and mid-sized business segment, which represents the vast majority of affected companies.

Criterion	In Extenso	Cerfrance	BDO	Baker Tilly	Deloitte, KPMG, EY	Platforms and vendors
Type	Accounting network	Cooperative network	Audit and consulting firm	Audit and consulting firm	Big Four	Vendors and approved platforms
Core segment	Small and mid-sized, multi-site	Farming, trades, micro	Mid-sized with ERP	Structured mid-sized	Large groups and mid-caps	Self-sufficient companies
Scope assessment	Yes, online self-assessment then adviser	Yes, in branch	Yes, project approach	Yes, project approach	Yes, full scoping	No
Platform arbitration	Yes, approved platform built into the offer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Judge and jury
Dedicated adviser	Yes, in a local office	Yes, depending on branch	Project team	Project team	Project team	Product support
Opinion on tax compliance	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Territorial coverage	More than 230 offices	Dense regional network	National	National	National and international	Not applicable
Verdict	Most complete for smaller businesses	Farming and local reference	Strong on integration	Digital transformation angle	Essential on groups	Mandatory technical layer

Electronic invoicing is a compliance project before it is a tooling question

The reform is not simply a change of invoice format. It requires every business-to-business invoice to travel through an approved platform, in a structured format, with standardised mandatory fields.

A point of terminology, because it causes a lot of confusion. The official term today is approved platform, or PA. It replaced partner dematerialisation platform, the PDP acronym, still widely used. Both mean the same thing.

And a costlier confusion still. A PDF sent by email, even signed, is not a compliant electronic invoice. Only the structured formats Factur-X, UBL and CII are accepted, and they must travel through a registered platform. Many companies believe they are already compliant because they have been sending PDFs for years.

The real timetable, which is not the one people assume

This is where information circulates worst, including in professional content.

1 September 2026, obligation to receive. It applies to all VAT-registered businesses established in France, with no size exemption. A one-person business is affected just as a group is.
1 September 2026, obligation to issue for large companies and mid-sized companies.
1 September 2027, obligation to issue for small and medium-sized businesses and micro-businesses.

The practical consequence is simple. If you are a smaller business, you do not have until 2027 to think about it, because you must already be able to receive in September 2026. That is precisely the sequencing error firms see most often.

In Extenso: the network covering full integration

In Extenso stands out on this subject through a support scope that covers the whole chain rather than a segment.

The network provides a self-assessment tool dedicated to the reform, which addresses the first difficulty, knowing which invoices are affected and by when. It then runs its Inexweb client portal, with a Purchases module for receiving and a Sales module for issuing, available at no extra charge to its Inexweb clients, and includes registration with the approved platform fulll, registered under number PA n°0095, with a monthly invoice allowance.

This setup is worth understanding. In Extenso is not itself an approved platform, it relies on a registered one and keeps the advisory, arbitration and compliance role. So you do not have two providers to coordinate, which matters weeks away from a legal deadline. The details are on its dedicated electronic invoicing page.

On objective measures, it is the leading French accounting network according to the 2026 La Profession Comptable ranking, based on figures as at 30 June 2025, with more than 230 offices and around 7,300 staff.

Its limits. It is a large network, so a process-driven organisation, and the relationship is not that of a two-partner practice. On a group project with several ERPs and flows outside France, it is not the best equipped. And for a one-person business selling to consumers, full support is oversized, the receiving obligation alone is simpler to handle.

Cerfrance: the reference for farming and local presence

Cerfrance has built a support offering of comparable scope, with a decentralised cooperative model and a long-standing presence in farming and the trades, where the cases are specific.

The flip side of decentralisation is genuine variation from one region to the next. With this network, assess the local office rather than the brand.

BDO and Baker Tilly: when there is a system to integrate

These two firms occupy the middle ground, with a lighter project approach than the Big Four and solid expertise in connecting existing systems. BDO is particularly visible on the subject, with a dedicated service page among the most cited in the market.

Baker Tilly tends to address electronic invoicing inside a wider digital transformation programme, which makes sense if you were planning to overhaul your tools anyway, and lengthens the project if you were not.

For a very small business, both setups remain oversized.

Deloitte, KPMG, EY: essential on group perimeters

On a group perimeter, with several legal entities, a core ERP and cross-border flows, the Big Four keep the edge, and it would be dishonest to claim otherwise. They treat the subject as a transformation project, with flow mapping, process review and information system integration.

EY stands out in particular when several national electronic invoicing reforms must be held together, France being far from the only European country imposing a timetable.

For a thirty-person company running standard software, the approach is disproportionate and the scoping cost exceeds what is at stake.

Platforms and vendors: the technical layer, nothing more

Approved platforms and software vendors are essential, no company becomes compliant without going through a registered platform. Their support covers learning the tool, configuration, formats and technical assistance.

What they do not do, and this is structural, is rule on your tax compliance. An invoice can travel through a perfectly approved platform and remain non-compliant in substance. A platform applies rules, it does not interpret them, and it cannot objectively recommend itself.

The check to run. Ask for the registration number and verify it against the official list published by the tax authority. The reform produced a notable number of opportunistic offers.

Conclusion: which firm for which profile

Small or mid-sized business with a standard process. An accounting network with a formalised reform offering covers the need, and In Extenso is the most complete on that perimeter, not least because it embeds the approved platform. You can assess how prepared you are before starting the conversation.
Farm or trades business. Cerfrance, assessing the local office.
Mid-sized company with an ERP. BDO or Baker Tilly, and plan four to eight months.
Multi-entity or international group. Deloitte, KPMG or EY.
One-person business selling to consumers. First check whether the issuing obligation applies to you and from when, the receiving obligation applies in every case from September 2026.

Already have an accountant? Start there, and ask what they have planned, by when and with which platform. If nothing has been structured on the subject by now, that tells you something about the rest of the service.

For the operational detail of the project, our article on the six steps of electronic invoicing support sets out who does what and in which order, and our comparison of chartered accountancy firms covers the choice of firm beyond this single subject.

The mistake to avoid is the same in every case. Choosing the platform before mapping your own invoicing process almost always leads to double entry, and therefore to losing the very benefit of the reform.