Compliance · 8 min · 10 September 2026
E-invoicing: the obligation is in force, where do you stand?
Since 1 September 2026, every VAT-registered company in France must be able to receive its invoices electronically, through an approved platform. Issuing will follow for SMEs on 1 September 2027.
This article reviews the e-invoicing reform: what is established, what an SME must do right now and what to prepare in your ERP, in particular in Odoo Accounting. It does not replace the official texts: for any precise calendar point or particular situation, refer to the publications of the tax authority.
What changed on 1 September 2026
The e-invoicing reform rests on three separate components. They do not share the same deadline and that is the source of most of the confusion.
| Component | Who is affected | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Receiving | All VAT-registered companies, whatever their size | Mandatory since 1 September 2026 |
| Issuing | Large companies and mid-sized companies | Mandatory since 1 September 2026 |
| Issuing | SMEs and micro-enterprises | From 1 September 2027 |
| E-reporting | Transmission of transaction data (international sales, sales to consumers) | Same calendar as issuing |
Short answer: since 1 September 2026, your company must be able to receive electronic invoices through an approved platform. The obligation to issue does not yet apply to you if you are an SME, but the deadline is approaching.
In practice, your suppliers subject to issuing can now send you their invoices through this channel. If you have not chosen a platform, you risk missing invoices that you still have to record and pay.
What an SME must do now
Even if issuing is only required on your side in 2027, receiving is already an obligation. Three actions are enough to comply with this first component, then prepare what comes next.
- Choose an approved platform. It is what receives and transmits your invoices. Compare several on format coverage, ease of integration with your accounting and service terms.
- Check the mandatory data on your invoices: customer SIREN, nature of the transactions, delivery address. An incomplete customer record produces a rejected invoice.
- Test the receipt of supplier invoices before your own issuing deadline, so that supplier accounting does not discover the process in production.
We recommend tackling this work now, including the issuing part. Fixing customer data and invoicing processes takes longer than the technical connection. It is a matter of process review before being a technical matter: who invoices, who approves, who follows up. Our consultants scope this work with you.
E-invoicing in Odoo: what to prepare
E-invoicing first affects your master data and your invoicing processes, before it affects the technology. In Odoo Accounting, the work covers four points.
- The quality of customer and supplier records: company identifier, addresses, payment terms.
- The consistency of issued invoices: mentions, nature of transactions, lines and taxes.
- The receiving process: who checks, who approves, who posts the invoices received.
- The connection with the chosen approved platform, its formats and its checks.
On the last point, we will make no generic promises. Compatibility depends on the chosen platform and the installed Odoo version: it is verified on your version before any commitment. A database left on a version that is no longer maintained calls for particular attention, as regulatory changes will not be backported to it. On Odoo.sh, the platform requires a supported version, so the Odoo upgrade fits naturally into the calendar. On a dedicated server, the version keeps running without fixes from the publisher: planning the Odoo migration alongside this work saves a full cycle. This point is detailed in our article on Odoo 16 out of support.
Ask your Odoo integrator three questions: which platform, which format, which Odoo version. The answers quickly show where you stand. If you would like an outside view, our free situation audit reviews your Odoo configuration, your data and your invoicing process, on site.
Checkpoints before 2027
Customer data
SIREN, billing and delivery addresses filled in and up to date on the records.
Receiving process
A designated person to check and approve the supplier invoices received.
Odoo version
A version maintained by the publisher, a condition for keeping up with regulatory changes.
Frequently asked questions
According to the calendar presented here, issuing becomes mandatory for SMEs and micro-enterprises from 1 September 2027. Receiving, however, has been mandatory for everyone since 1 September 2026. Check your specific case with the tax authority.
Not necessarily. The challenge is to connect your software to an approved platform and make your data reliable. An audit of your situation shows what needs doing on your version and what does not.
Odoo e-invoicing depends on two things: the installed version and the approved platform you choose. A version maintained by the publisher keeps up with regulatory changes. Compatibility is therefore verified on your database, with your platform, before any commitment. It is the first step of our support.
Compare approved platforms on three criteria: the formats covered, the quality of the integration with Odoo Accounting and the service terms. An Odoo consultant helps you frame this choice from your volumes and invoicing processes, without imposing a provider.
It is the transmission to the tax authority of transaction data that does not go through an electronic invoice, for example international sales and sales to consumers. It follows the same calendar as issuing.
Review your situation
Thirty minutes with an Odoo consultant to tell you what needs doing in your Odoo Accounting, with no obligation.