Dematerialization of invoices | 2026 obligation becomes clearer
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2.5 billion invoices are issued every year in France! The dematerialisation of invoicing is therefore a real revolution in organisations. As an architect or design office, you are fully involved. Until now, this has been limited to transactions with public services. But companies are going to have to take a decisive step forward in the next few years with the planned generalisation of electronic invoicing between private companies. Initially set for 1 July 2024, the deadline has finally been pushed back by the government via a decree published last March. This respite of two more years should allow companies to prepare themselves better and ensure a smooth transition to the era of 100% digital invoicing. Let's take a look at this upcoming revolution in the world of invoicing..
Postponement of the electronic invoicing obligation
The government has finally decided to postpone the introduction of compulsory electronic invoicing in the private sector. Initially scheduled for 1 July 2024, this measure has been postponed by two years, according to decree no. 2024-266 published on 25 March.
Large companies and intermediate-sized companies (ETIs) will have to comply from 1 September 2026. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-businesses, the deadline is 1 September 2027. Although the precise reasons for this postponement have not been officially communicated, we can assume that the government wanted to give businesses more time to prepare for this major change.
However, from 1 September 2026, all companies subject to VAT will be obliged to receive electronic invoices from their suppliers and service providers. A test phase under real conditions was underway from January to June 2024 to enable volunteer businesses to experiment with electronic invoicing.
By rolling out the reform in two stages, depending on the size of the organisation, the government seems to be aiming for a more flexible timetable. This gives businesses a little more time to get organised and comply with this new digital obligation. They now have extra time to choose their technical solutions and train their teams.
The purpose and benefits of electronic invoicing
The widespread introduction of electronic invoicing has a number of major objectives for the State. By obliging businesses to send their invoices electronically, the authorities are aiming first and foremost to reduce the costs and environmental impact of printing on paper, saving an estimated 70tons of paper per year. But over and above the savings, this reform should also enable transactions to be traced more effectively, thereby helping to combat tax fraud more effectively.
For businesses themselves, the stakes are high. By going paperless, they will be able to make substantial productivity gains by automating the manual tasks of entering, filing and archiving invoices. The time saved is estimated at 30%! Electronic invoicing will also make it easier to monitor payments and recover unpaid invoices, given that the average time taken to process an invoice is around 9 days, from receipt to payment. Are you an OOTI customer? You already benefit from automatic, simplified invoicing specially designed for architects and design offices.
Another significant benefit for companies is that the dematerialisation of invoice exchanges will give them complete traceability of their sales and purchasing cycle. This gives them greater visibility of their transactions in real time, ensuring more reliable and controlled financial management.
The final major advantage of the system is that electronic invoicing is firmly in line with an ecological approach, significantly reducing paper consumption. For companies concerned about their environmental footprint, this regulatory requirement represents a real opportunity to strengthen their sustainable development policy. And for 75% of companies that have already taken the plunge, paperless invoicing has resulted in improved relations with their customers and suppliers.
Technical solutions for compliance
To issue or receive electronic invoices that comply with the regulations, companies essentially have two technical options to choose from:
- The first is to subscribe to a partner dematerialisation platform (PDP) registered with the tax authorities. These private operators offer turnkey solutions for creating, transmitting and archiving digital invoices.
- The second option is to use the Chorus Pro public portal directly. Developed by the government, this system enables secure electronic invoices to be received and sent. However, its use will probably remain limited to VSEs/SMEs that do not wish to outsource the management of their digital invoicing.
Faced with this dual choice, the most important thing is to think ahead and choose the solution best suited to your needs and your technical and financial capabilities. A partner platform will be essential for large organisations with a high volume of transactions. That's why it's in your interest to start thinking about your e-invoicing strategy now.
What about OOTI ? Want to find out more about electronic invoicing on OOTI ? Try it for free !
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