E-invoicing vocabulary, explained simply

A dematerialisation operator registered by the French tax authority for a renewable three-year term. Only such a platform can send e-invoices to the client, receive suppliers’ invoices and pass invoice, transaction and payment data to the authority.

For you: Every business chooses at least one approved platform. It can differ from your clients’ and suppliers’ platforms, and you can change it.

Puwapi connects to an approved platform for you, for both issuing and receiving.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

Partner dematerialisation platform: the former French name of the approved platform, still used by many vendors. Both refer to the same player.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

Invoicing or management software that is not registered. It can prepare invoices but can neither send them to clients’ platforms nor receive them on your behalf: it goes through an approved platform.

For you: Ask your software vendor whether it is itself an approved platform, or which one it is connected to.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

The list of businesses subject to VAT and the platform each one receives its invoices through, looked up from its SIREN.

For you: It is how your suppliers know where to send you their invoices.

Puwapi registers your business in the Directory from your settings.

Source: economie.gouv.fr

An invoice issued, sent and received in digital form, carrying a minimum set of structured data and going through an approved platform (article 289 bis of the French general tax code).

For you: An ordinary PDF sent by email, or a scanned paper invoice, is not an e-invoice.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

The three accepted formats: UBL and CII, two structured-data formats, and the mixed format, which combines a structured-data file with a readable image of the invoice.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

A French-German mixed-invoice standard: a PDF a person can read, which also carries the invoice data in XML for automated processing. It is the same standard as ZUGFeRD.

Source: FNFE-MPE

The European semantic standard for e-invoices, published on 16 October 2017. Factur-X is its first implementation.

Source: FNFE-MPE

The exchange of e-invoices between businesses established in France and subject to VAT, for transactions subject to French VAT. The relevant data is extracted from the invoice and passed to the authority by the platform.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

Sending the authority the data on sales that do not go through an e-invoice: sales to consumers or to non-VAT-registered associations, and transactions with foreign businesses.

For you: For a shop selling to consumers, these are daily totals: revenue excluding VAT per VAT rate, and the matching VAT.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

Sending the date and amount collected for transactions where VAT is due on collection, notably services when the business has not opted to pay VAT on invoicing.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

The information added to an e-invoice to report that it has been paid. It is the form payment e-reporting takes when the transaction gave rise to an e-invoice.

Puwapi sends it when the payment comes in.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

Your business client’s SIREN number now appears on the invoice.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

The invoice states whether it covers a sale of goods, a service, or both.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

If the business has chosen to pay VAT on invoicing rather than on collection, the invoice says so.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

The full delivery address, only if it differs from the client’s billing address.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

Since 1 September 2026, every business must be able to receive e-invoices, and large and mid-sized companies issue them. On 1 September 2027, small businesses and micro-businesses issue them too. E-reporting follows the same timeline.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

Every business subject to VAT, whatever its revenue, legal form or tax regime, including under the VAT exemption threshold: micro-entrepreneurs are affected. A business that issues no invoices must still be able to receive them.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)

Transactions exempt from VAT and from invoicing (articles 261 to 261 E of the French general tax code) stay outside: notably healthcare, teaching and training, some property, banking and insurance transactions, and those of non-profit associations.

Source: impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP)