How to Receive an E-Invoice as a Small Business: 5 Steps

One Tuesday morning, your wholesaler writes to you: “From now on, our invoices go through a platform. Please send us yours.” You don't have one. You don't even know what it is. And you wonder whether you are already in breach.

You are not alone. Since September 1, 2026, receiving an electronic invoice has been mandatory for every business subject to VAT in France, whatever its size. This article tells you what changes, what you need to do, in what order, and what it really costs. No needless jargon.

Receiving an e-invoice: what is required, and since when

The timeline comes down to three dates. According to the ministerial answer published in the French Official Journal on July 21, 2026:

• September 1, 2026: all businesses subject to VAT must be able to receive electronic invoices.
• September 1, 2027: issuing becomes mandatory for SMEs, very small businesses and micro-businesses. Large companies and mid-sized companies have already been issuing since September 2026, according to Keobiz.

What this means for you. Do you have fewer than 10 employees? Today, receiving is what concerns you. Your suppliers can already send you their invoices through this new channel. Sending your own invoices to your business customers is still a year away.

Two useful clarifications:

• The rule applies to exchanges between French businesses subject to VAT (known as B2B). Invoices to private individuals are not covered by electronic sending.
• A simple PDF sent by email will no longer replace the electronic invoice when the time comes. In the meantime, you can still receive them by email, as long as your suppliers keep sending them.

The reference text remains the impots.gouv.fr website (under maintenance when this article was written). Check the dates there if your case is unusual.

What happens if you do nothing?

According to Keobiz, being unable to receive an electronic invoice can cost €15 per non-compliant invoice, capped at €15,000 per year. For a small business, the main risk is not the fine. It is the mess: supplier invoices you never see arrive, a late payment, a strained relationship with a supplier who keeps chasing you.

In other words: no need to panic, but don't let it drag on.

The 5 steps to be compliant

Set aside an afternoon. You don't need to be a computer person.

Step 1: list your suppliers and your current tools

Grab a sheet of paper. Write down:

• your 10 to 20 main suppliers (materials, rent, insurance, energy, software);
• the place where you keep your invoices today (mailbox, folder on your computer, accounting software, accountant);
• who in the company opens these invoices and pays them.

This small inventory prevents 80% of the surprises.

Step 2: ask your accountant

This is the most worthwhile step. Many accounting firms have already chosen a platform and offer it to their clients. Simply ask: “Which platform do we use to receive electronic invoices, and is it included in your fee?” If the answer is yes, you have completed step 3 without effort.

Step 3: choose an approved platform

The State gave up on building a free public portal for receiving invoices: the ministerial answer recalls that it chose not to build a dedicated portal, on October 15, 2024. You therefore have to go through an approved platform (PA, for “plateforme agréée”). More than 130 platforms have received their final registration, according to the same answer. The official list is on impots.gouv.fr.

How do you choose without getting lost?

• Priority 1: your accountant's platform or your accounting software's. Fewer tools, less re-entry.
• Priority 2: your business bank's platform, if it offers one. The ministerial answer says some offers are included in business bank accounts or in common software.
• Priority 3: a free or low-cost offer if you receive few invoices. The same answer states that free or no-extra-cost offers exist for very small businesses.

Don't sign a long-term contract without reading the price per invoice received, per user and per month.

Step 4: register and tell your suppliers

Once you have chosen a platform, it registers your business in the central directory. Then you need to:

1. check that your SIREN number and your contact details are correct;
2. indicate that you want to receive (and, later, issue);
3. send a message to your main suppliers to tell them which platform you use.

A two-line message is enough: “To receive your electronic invoices, our platform is X. Please update your customer record.”

Step 5: run a test, then organize the flow

Ask a willing supplier to send you a real invoice through the platform. Check that it arrives, and that you know how to read it, approve it and pay it. Then decide who opens it, who checks it, who pays it, and where you file it.

This is where most small businesses lose time. The platform delivers the invoice. It doesn't say who handles it, or when.

What the approved platform does not do for you

Let's be clear. A custom tool does not replace an approved platform. Fiddes does not sell an approved platform and does not claim to be one. You need one to receive (and issue) your electronic invoices, period.

What remains your job, however:

• linking the received invoice to the relevant order or job site;
• knowing which invoices are due this week;
• tracking what each job site or customer really costs you;
• preparing the quote and then the invoice for your own customers, without re-entering the same data three times.

Most platforms handle receiving and sending well. They handle your way of working less well.

When a small tool of your own becomes useful

If you receive 5 invoices a month, a tracking sheet and your accountant's platform are enough. Don't spend anything more.

If you receive dozens of invoices a month, have several job sites or locations, or are worried about issuing your invoices in 2027, a small tool can make sense. It plugs into the way you work: your quotes, your job sites, your invoices to pay, all in one place.

At Fiddes, that is the role of Fiddes Apps:

Hosting and maintenance cost €149 per month, with a 12-month commitment. The price is displayed, the deadline is met, and nothing starts before payment. Money-back guarantee, with 2 rounds of revisions.

For a full comparison with Excel and the software on the market, read our guide to quoting software. To see what a custom tool really costs, read the custom software pricing guide.

A real-life example: a plumbing company with 6 people

Let's take an imaginary case to make it concrete. A plumbing company with 6 people receives invoices from two wholesalers, a van rental company, an insurer and a software vendor. Until now, everything arrived in the manager's mailbox, and she printed them on Fridays.

With the new rule, she follows three simple steps. She asks her accountant which platform he offers. She notifies her two wholesalers, who account for the biggest volumes. She designates one person, her assistant, to open each invoice on Monday morning, compare it with the purchase order, then approve it for payment.

Nothing spectacular. But the manager no longer discovers an unpaid invoice three weeks too late. That is the real goal: lose nothing, pay nothing twice, pay nothing late.

Mistakes to avoid

• Waiting until September 2027. That is the issuing date. Receiving is already mandatory, and your suppliers are starting to get on board.
• Picking the first platform you find. Compare three offers. A per-invoice-received price can climb fast.
• Forgetting to tell your suppliers. The platform exists, but they don't know about it.
• Neglecting what comes next in the flow. An invoice received but never paid on time is still a cash flow problem.