Electronic invoicing is becoming mandatory in France. Good news: Odoo is now an Accredited Platform. You can therefore activate issuing, receiving and e-reporting without leaving your instance. Here is what changes, and how to set it up step by step.
Electronic invoicing is happening now
The reform applies gradually depending on company size. Three deadlines structure the calendar — and the first one is coming up fast.
The reform calendar at a glance.
In practice: on September 1, 2026, all VAT-liable companies must be able to receive electronic invoices, and large companies and mid-sized companies must also issue them. On September 1, 2027, the obligation to issue and to do e-reporting extends to all companies, including very small businesses and SMEs.
Key takeaway
Even if your obligation to issue only arrives in 2027, you must be able to receive electronic invoices from 2026 if your suppliers are large companies or mid-sized companies. It is therefore better to plan ahead.
Accredited Platform: what are we talking about?
An Accredited Platform (PA, Plateforme Agréée) — also called a Partner Dematerialization Platform (PDP) — is a private provider approved by the State (the DGFiP) to handle mandatory electronic invoicing between companies. Odoo is now one. It automates three actions for you: issuing and receiving invoices, compliance checks, and tax transmission (e-reporting) to the Public Invoicing Portal.
In terms of usage, almost everything stays the same in Odoo: your features and access rights do not change. A few new features simply appear — tracking statuses in list views, a rejection reason pop-up, new fields on the contact form and a menu dedicated to e-reporting.
How an invoice travels: the 5-corner model
An invoice does not go directly from one software to another. It transits through the issuer's and the recipient's accredited platforms, via the interoperability network, while tax data flows in parallel to the authorities.
Issuer and recipient never connect directly: each goes through its own platform.
Activating the Odoo PA, step by step
Since Odoo 18 (and already documented on Odoo 19 Enterprise), activation is done directly in the instance. The process combines installing a module, authenticating the legal representative and electronically signing a mandate.
The activation process, from prerequisites to go-live.
1 - Already on Peppol? Disconnect first
If your company is already registered on the Peppol network through Odoo (identifier of the type 0009:93147306000016), disconnect Peppol before activating the French PA: the two mechanisms do not coexist. Go to Accounting → Configuration → PEPPOL e-invoicing, then click “Disconnect Peppol”.
2 - Install the French PA module
In Apps, search for the l10n_fr_pdp module, displayed under the name “France – E-Invoicing (Approved Platform)”, and activate it. It provides the connector to the Odoo PA and the French configuration screens. Tip: some labels still mention “Peppol”, but this is indeed the connection to the Odoo PA.
3 - Authenticate the legal representative and sign the mandate
An “Activate Electronic Invoicing” button starts the process. You receive a 5-digit code by email (5 attempts, 3 minutes between two resends). You are then redirected to the VIALINK service, which lists the company's legal representatives: select your identity and provide an ID document (JPG/PNG < 12 MB or PDF < 8 MB). Not the legal representative? Send them the authentication URL. Finally comes the electronic signature of the mandate (VIALINK 360 terms of use and signature certificate); signed documents remain available for 30 days.
4 - Register the company and go live
Back in Odoo, enter your identifier (SIREN). Optionally tick Pilot Phase to test, then confirm with Validate Registration (Production) when you are ready.
Pilot phase note (May 2026)The mandate displayed is still a sample document; the final text will be updated by Odoo.
Formats, statuses and hosting
On reception, the PA supports the UBL 2.1, UN/CEFACT CII and Factur-X formats; on issuing, the UBL format. Sending attachments via the PA is not yet supported.
As for the routing identifier, each company has at least one “end-point” (standard SIREN_SIRET format). An Odoo instance manages only one end-point: to manage several, rely on branches or multi-company.
Finally, data transits through a secure server located in France, qualified SecNumCloud. Only transit logs are kept there (UUID, references, issuer/recipient identifiers, document type, possible error); the invoice file is only kept in case of error.
Our recommendations before switching over
- Check your Peppol prerequisites — and disconnect if necessary.
- Schedule the identity verification with an available legal representative (ID document + email).
- Test in the pilot phase before switching to production.
- Audit your partner records: SIRET, VAT number, directory identifier.