Since 1 September 2026, every business subject to VAT in France must be able to receive its invoices in electronic form. Large companies and mid-sized companies (ETI) must also issue their invoices in this form. SMEs (PME), very small businesses (TPE) and micro-enterprises have until 1 September 2027 to start issuing them. Here is what this means for the cleaning invoices you receive.
What has been mandatory since 1 September
An electronic invoice is not a PDF sent by email. It is a structured file transmitted from one approved platform (plateforme agréée) to another. Each business chooses the platform that receives its invoices, either directly or through its accounting software.
The French State keeps a public directory showing, for each business, the platform that receives its invoices. An invoice can only be routed if its recipient is listed there correctly. If your business has not yet designated its receiving platform, that is the first thing to do.
Four new mandatory details on invoices
The reform adds new mandatory details. For a cleaning service, they work out as follows:
- The customer's SIREN number (the French company identification number). This is what allows the invoice to be routed. Get the SIREN wrong and the invoice goes to the wrong entity or never arrives.
- The delivery address, if it differs from the billing address. For cleaning, this is the address of the site being cleaned. If we work at several of your sites, each invoice will show the site concerned.
- The nature of the transaction. A cleaning service is a supply of services.
- The option to account for VAT on invoices issued rather than on payments received (TVA d'après les débits), where the supplier has chosen it.
Why this is good news for your teams
A structured invoice arrives directly in your accounting software, with the site, the period and the amount already readable. For a business that receives invoices for several sites every month, matching them against the contract and the purchase order becomes simpler. Invoices lost in an email inbox become a thing of the past.
The penalties
The French General Tax Code (Code général des impôts) provides for a fine of €50 per invoice not issued in electronic format, capped at €15,000 per year. A business that has not chosen a receiving platform faces a fine of €500 once a formal notice (mise en demeure) has gone unanswered for three months, then €1,000 for each further three-month period.
What is happening at Atlantis
Atlantis is an SME: we have had to be able to receive electronic invoices from our suppliers since 1 September 2026, and we will issue our own invoices in electronic format by 1 September 2027 at the latest.
To make sure the switch happens without a single invoice being held up, over the coming weeks we will ask you to confirm three pieces of information:
- the exact SIREN number of the entity we invoice;
- the billing address;
- the address of each site we clean, as you would like it to appear on the invoice.
If your accounts department uses a purchase order number or an internal reference, let us know at the same time: we will show it on every invoice.
In summary
- Check that your business has designated a receiving platform and that it is listed in the directory.
- Check the SIREN number each of your contractors holds for you.
- List your site addresses as they should appear on invoices.
- Ask your SME suppliers for their timetable for switching over before September 2027.
This article outlines the general framework of the reform. For advice on your own situation, speak to your chartered accountant (expert-comptable).