Since September 1, 2026, all businesses subject to VAT must be able to receive electronic invoices. For VSEs and SMEs, the obligation to issue will take effect on September 1, 2027. Approved platform, compatible software, invoices to individuals or internationally: it is not too late to regain control, provided you do not confuse speed with haste.
A PDF invoice slipped into an email keeps the appearance of an invoice. It no longer has quite the status in the new system. This is where the misunderstanding begins for many small businesses: they have dematerialized for a long time, but have not yet switched to electronic invoicing as the administration defines it.
Since September 1, 2026, any French company subject to VAT must be able to receive an electronic invoice via an approved platform. Large companies and mid-sized companies must already issue them. For SMEs, VSEs and microenterprises, the issuance and e-reporting obligation will arrive on September 1, 2027. One year may seem comfortable, it is no longer so when the quotes are established in one tool, the invoices in another, the payments followed in the bank account and the accounting submitted to the firm at the end of the month.
The challenge is therefore not to urgently install yet another software, but to build a reliable circuit between the client, the invoice, the payment and the accounting firm.
“I’m a small business: am I really affected? »
The answer is yes, in most cases. The reform depends neither on turnover nor on the number of employees. It applies to businesses subject to VAT, including when they benefit from the basic exemption and do not charge it to their customers.
The first obligation has already entered into force: being able receive electronic invoices. In practice, this concerns invoices issued by French suppliers subject to VAT, for example a telecom operator, an energy supplier or a large IT service provider.
The second stage, the one that worries managers the most, concerns theemission. From September 1, 2027, an SME or microenterprise must transmit its French B2B invoices in a structured format, via an approved platform. A PDF, even perfectly formatted, will not be enough.
The starting point therefore consists of qualifying its flows: sales to French companies, sales to individuals, customers established outside France, services paid after collection. The rules are not the same. Electronic invoicing covers domestic B2B; B2C sales and international operations, for their part, come under e-reporting, that is to say the transmission of data to the administration.
“We haven’t chosen anything: what is the first decision to make? »
No need to redo the entire accounting organization in a week. On the other hand, we must get out of a gray zone which is becoming costly: the one where no one knows precisely where supplier invoices arrive, who checks their status and how the data reaches the firm.
The first instinct is to check the invoicing software already used. Is it itself an approved platform? Is it connected to an approved platform? Can it manage customer invoices, supplier invoices, credit notes, deposits and payment statuses? It is these questions, much more than the promise of an intuitive interface, which avoid a second migration in a few months.
The company must then designate the person who will run the circuit: the manager in a small structure, the administrative assistant, the financial manager or, in part, the firm. This is not a detail, the reform circulates documents more quickly, but it does not itself resolve data errors, missing purchase orders or commercial disputes.
Finally, the choice must be confirmed on the official list of approved platforms published by the DGFiP. The status of the operator must be checked at the time of subscription, because only approved platforms can ensure all of the transmissions provided for by the reform.
“Should we choose a platform or a real management tool? »
The two approaches meet different needs.
A single platform may be sufficient for a company that already has an ERP or robust business software and above all wants to secure exchange compliance. But many VSEs need more: create a quote, transform it into an invoice, follow a payment, follow up on an outstanding payment, reconcile an expense and send the documents to the firm. In this case, the electronic invoice becomes an opportunity to reduce double entries rather than adding a technical corridor to an already cluttered organization.
The right solution is not the one with the greatest number of features. It is the one that follows the actual path of the invoice in the company. Three environments deserve, in this respect, to be looked at by VSEs and SMEs which start with few tools or wish to simplify their current stack.
Tiime: to connect the manager and his office around the same rooms
Tiime is aimed at entrepreneurs who want to centralize quotes, invoices, purchases and pre-accounting in the same environment, with natural continuity to the accountant. This is particularly relevant when the practice is already equipped or agrees to work in the Tiime ecosystem: billing data can then be synchronized instead of being exported, sent and then re-entered.
The choice makes sense for a service SME, an agency, a local business or a small company which first seeks to make its administration understandable. Tiime indicates that it offers an approved platform directly integrated into its invoicing and management tool. The manager must still check that the cases specific to his activity are covered: deposits, recurring invoices, multi-rate VAT or exchanges with foreign customers.
The subject is not only to produce the invoice in the right format, but to know what happens when it is refused, modified, partially paid or transformed into a credit, and this is precisely where coordination with the accounting firm takes over.
Pennylane: when invoicing becomes a building block of the finance function
Pennylane is more suitable for SMEs who wish to make the invoice the entry point for broader financial management. The platform brings together invoicing, purchasing, cash flow and accounting in the same logic of collaboration with the accountant.
This positioning responds to a frequent situation: the company already has an established activity, several people are involved in sales or payments, and the manager no longer wants to wait for the monthly closing to understand his collections. Pennylane presents itself as an approved platform; its interest lies less in simply respecting the regulatory deadline than in the possibility of organizing a more continuous sharing of financial information between the company and its office.
This choice should be studied as a priority if the accounting firm already uses Pennylane or if the company intends to overhaul its finance chain. Conversely, for a professional who issues a few invoices per month and does not wish to transform their entire management environment, the tool may be broader than the immediate need.
Qonto: when the invoice must result immediately in payment
Qonto offers a third entry point: the electronic invoice as an extension of the professional account, payments, expenses and pre-accounting. The interest is concrete for companies seeking to reconcile, in a single space, the customer invoice, collection, supplier invoice and payment.
For a VSE or SME that already uses Qonto as a professional account, the deployment can thus avoid opening a separate tool just to comply with the reform. Qonto indicates that its approved platform makes it possible to receive supplier invoices, issue customer invoices, monitor their status and reconcile them with transactions. Access to the accounting firm or connection to its accounting production software completes the logic.
This approach will be less decisive for a company whose banking, business software and accounting are already solidly integrated elsewhere. But it can be effective for those who have built their management around the professional account and who want to reduce the back and forth between bank, email box and spreadsheet.
“How to choose between the three? »
The choice should not be a battle of logos. We must start from the organization that the company wishes to obtain on September 1, 2027.
| If your priority is… | The path to examine first |
|---|---|
| Simplify administration and work as close as possible to your accountant | Tiime |
| Bring together invoicing, accounting, purchasing and financial management | Pennylane |
| Immediately connect invoices, receipts, payments and professional account | Qonto |
In all three cases, five points must be confirmed before committing: the actual status of approved platform, compatibility with the firm’s software, accepted invoice formats, processing of specific operations and conditions for export or reversibility of data. A solution that works on day one must also allow information to be retrieved if the company changes firms, ERP or platform.
The real work begins after selecting the tool
A business can be technically connected and still be disorganized. It will be if its customer file does not contain the correct identifiers, if no one checks rejected invoices or if the sales teams continue to promise payment terms that the administration never sees.
The catch-up sequence is quite simple: map the flows, clean customer and supplier data, designate a manager, choose the tool, test a few real cases and train the people who invoice or pay. You must then notify your main suppliers and customers, especially when they have several billing addresses or internal validation procedures.
The reform was born from a fiscal objective, in particular the fight against VAT fraud. For small businesses, its most visible effect might be elsewhere, notably in the end of those invoices that disappear into an email box, are paid too late or reappear at closing time. The real issue is therefore not whether the company will have found a platform at the right time. It is to understand whether she will have finally linked her invoice to what it really represents, namely a sale, a receivable and, ideally, a collection.
The 10 questions to ask yourself to choose the right solution
- Is the solution an approved platform, or connected to an approved platform?
- Is it really adapted to the size, volume of invoices and sector of my company?
- Can I issue, receive, correct and archive my invoices from the same tool?
- Does it manage the cases that matter to me: quotes, deposits, credit notes, subscriptions, partial payments or reminders?
- Is it compatible with my accounting software, my ERP, my CRM and my professional account?
- Will my accountant be able to easily access the invoices and data they need?
- Does the tool correctly process my sales to individuals and my international customers, subject to e-reporting?
- What is the real cost: subscription, additional invoices, options, support and support?
- Will the teams be able to use it without multiplying re-entries, Excel exports and errors?
- Can I simply recover my data and invoices if I ever change firms or service providers?
