E-invoicing in France in 2026: What Is Mandatory and What to Configure in Odoo

Since 1 September 2026, every French company subject to VAT must be able to receive electronic invoices. Issuing them follows the size of the company: from now on for large companies and mid-caps, from 1 September 2027 for SMEs and micro-businesses.

For an Odoo user, the reform is less about the invoice itself than about the data around it: identifiers, formats, and the platform the invoices go through. Here is what is mandatory, and what we check in an Odoo database to be ready.

The calendar: who must do what, and when

• 1 September 2026: every VAT-registered company must be able to receive e-invoices. Large companies and mid-caps (ETI) must also issue them.
• 1 September 2027: SMEs and micro-businesses must issue e-invoices as well.
• E-reporting: transactions that are not domestic B2B invoices (sales to consumers, international transactions) must be reported to the tax administration, on the same calendar as issuing.

In other words, an SME that does not issue e-invoices yet must already be able to receive those of its suppliers who are subject to the obligation.

How an e-invoice travels

Invoices no longer go straight from your Odoo to your customer's mailbox. They go through a Plateforme Agréée (PA, approved platform, formerly called PDP): the seller files the invoice with its platform, and the buyer receives it through its own. A PDF sent by email is not an electronic invoice in the sense of the reform.

Three formats are accepted:

• Factur-X: a readable PDF with the structured XML data embedded in it.
• UBL: an XML file, also used on the Peppol network.
• CII: the other XML standard, the one Factur-X embeds.

To choose a platform, check the official list of approved platforms published by the DGFiP on impots.gouv.fr, then ask the platform how it exchanges with Odoo: API, connector or file upload.

What Odoo already does as standard

• Factur-X is generated natively by Odoo Accounting: the customer invoice PDF can carry the structured XML.
• Supplier invoices in UBL, CII or Factur-X can be imported: Odoo reads the XML and pre-fills the vendor bill.
• Peppol is supported natively from Odoo 17, with the account_peppol module.

Peppol is the network used in Belgium, where B2B e-invoicing through Peppol has been mandatory since 1 January 2026. If you also invoice Belgian customers, read our page on Odoo in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

The points to check in your Odoo

1. Your company: SIREN, SIRET, intra-community VAT number and full address are filled in.
2. Your customers: business customers have their SIREN or SIRET and their VAT number. It is also the field that separates B2B invoices from sales to be reported through e-reporting.
3. Your suppliers: same identifiers, so that incoming invoices are matched with the right partner.
4. The electronic format: depending on the Odoo version, it is set on the sales journal or on the customer form. Check that it produces Factur-X or UBL as expected.
5. Taxes and mentions: VAT codes are right, and the new mentions of the reform are available: customer SIREN, delivery address when it differs, nature of the transaction (goods, services or both), and the option for VAT on debits if you chose it.
6. Reception: decide where supplier invoices arrive in Odoo, who validates them, and how they are matched with purchase orders.
7. The link with your platform: test the exchange on a copy of your database before going live, with real invoices from both sides.

Your Odoo version matters

Odoo 14, 15 and 16 do not have the recent electronic invoicing features: no native Peppol, and fewer formats and controls. Rules and formats will keep changing over the coming years, and adding them to an old version means maintaining code that newer versions already include.

If you are on one of these versions, the reform is a good reason to plan the upgrade now rather than in a hurry. We prepare it with an inventory of your custom modules, then a trial migration on a copy of your database that your users test before the switch. Read how we work: Odoo migration and version upgrades.

Where to start

1. Check which obligation applies to you and when: receiving now, issuing in 2026 or in 2027.
2. Choose your approved platform and ask how it connects to Odoo.
3. Go through the checklist above on your database: identifiers, formats, taxes, reception.
4. Test with a few real invoices on a copy of the database before going live.

❓ FAQ

Does an SME have to issue e-invoices in 2026?

No. SMEs and micro-businesses must issue them from 1 September 2027. But since 1 September 2026, they must be able to receive them.

Is a PDF sent by email still enough?

Not for invoices covered by the reform once the obligation applies to you: the invoice must go through an approved platform, in a structured format.

Is Odoo an approved platform?

Check the official list of approved platforms published by the DGFiP on impots.gouv.fr. The status of a software vendor can change, so rely on that list rather than on a sales brochure.

And in Belgium?

B2B e-invoicing through Peppol has been mandatory in Belgium since 1 January 2026. Odoo supports Peppol natively from version 17.