E-invoicing is no longer a matter of choice for buyers and suppliers. Amid the rollout of new e-invoicing standards — specifically, the move to continuous transaction control (CTC) — e-invoicing is a must-have for B2B.
At the head of this e-invoicing CTC pack is France. Starting with voluntary participation in 2025, France plans to make B2B e-invoicing mandatory by September 2026, following Italy, and in the near future alongside Poland and Romania.
Other countries in the European Union (EU) are following: Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Latvia, to name a few examples.
France’s e-invoicing mandate offers a lens into what’s coming down the pipeline for other countries and measures to take to ensure compliance.
After all, it’s anticipated that all EU countries will operate under the B2B e-invoicing standard by 2030. At the same time, Europe’s Vat in the Digital Age (ViDA) is anticipated to mandate cross-border e-invoicing by 2027.
The good news: with the right e-invoicing solution partner in your corner, complying with France’s e-invoicing standard is easy.
What the rollout of France’s e-invoicing mandate means on a global scale
The e-invoicing CTC mandate for France gradually requires suppliers and buyers to receive and send electronic invoices. The rollout begins with requiring that companies of all sizes be able to receive electronic invoices.
At first, only large companies need to send electronic invoices. This rule then filters down to mid-size and small companies. Finally, it will be required of all buyers and suppliers.
Eventually, the French e-invoicing standard will be to send and receive all domestic invoices as e-invoices and report them.
How? Through a connection with a public invoicing portal (PPF) platform or a partner dematerialization platform (PDP).
The rollout of the French e-invoicing mandate impacts more than just compliance. Equally important is the opportunity for a company to further streamline operations.
You need to know what you need to do to be compliant, but also consider how you can take advantage of this obligation to automate your processes and cut costs.
One example of how France’s new e-invoicing mandate affects workflows
In light of the new e-invoicing CTC standard, buyers and suppliers must revisit their operational workflows and adapt to stay compliant.
As an example, after the reform, even a disputed invoice needs to be registered, with a matching credit note or corrected invoice provided to complete the process flow.
When you need a PDP, what’s important to consider?
We’ve already alluded to the degree of flexibility that PDPs offer in relation to the more standardized offering of the public platform – PPF. It’s important to know what to look for in these solutions from e-invoicing service providers.
Besides confirming that the vendor has applied for PDP status as the French government rolls out this mandate, here are some questions to bring to the table:
- Are processes and integrations reusable across regions?
- How easy is it to connect multiple back offices to the PDP?
- Can the PDP deal with all the formats you need?
- How easily can the PDP manage exceptions?
- Are updates and correction processes provided as part of the service?
Ideally, the e-invoicing solution partner you select offers global standardization, seamless connections with your back office, flexibility, end-to-end automation and visibility, and relief from dealing with technical details.
That’s exactly the kind of quality and service you’ll find with Axway.
Axway is a leader in PDP services and e-invoicing interoperability
As a global solution provider, we’ve been at the forefront of standardization discussions and provide a complete, flexible solution.
Easily integrated with back-office operations, our e-invoicing platform offers a central place to monitor all e-invoicing processes as well as generate and manage lifecycle events. And as of 2024, Axway has completed its application for PDP status and is listed on the French website of PDPs.
In line with our expertise, we give French buyers and suppliers the e-invoicing compliance they need while streamlining EDI and API operations — two big wins at once.