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Electronic invoicing and WooCommerce: how to get compliant before September 2027

Updated: October 2026 · ~7 min read

For the vast majority of small online stores, the deadline that matters is 1 September 2027: that is the date on which SMEs and micro-businesses will have to issue their business-to-business invoices in electronic format. Here is what that means for a WooCommerce store and how to get ready with confidence.

Contents 1. The timeline: issuing from 1 September 2027 2. Where do you fit? The business-size categories 3. What "issuing an electronic invoice" involves 4. The approved platform: your gateway 5. E-reporting: declaring your B2C and international sales 6. Step-by-step compliance for WooCommerce 7. Why you should start now Official sources

1. The timeline: issuing from 1 September 2027

The reform (2024 Finance Act, Law No. 2023-1322, Article 91) sets out two main obligations: receiving electronic invoices, and issuing your own. The reception requirement applies to all VAT-liable businesses as of 1 September 2026. Issuing, on the other hand, is phased in:

The same 2027 date also applies to the e-reporting obligation for these businesses. So if you run a modest-sized WooCommerce store, the 2027 deadline is the one that concerns you for issuing — but don't forget that you must already be able to receive invoices from 2026 (see our guide on reception).

2. Where do you fit? The business-size categories

The reform relies on the official statistical categories (defined by Decree No. 2008-1354, published by INSEE). For issuing, the 2027 deadline targets SMEs and micro-businesses:

The term "TPE" (very small business) is not an official category of the reform: depending on their figures, very small businesses fall under either the micro-business or the SME (PME) category, and are therefore covered by the 1 September 2027 deadline.

3. What "issuing an electronic invoice" involves

Issuing an electronic invoice does not mean attaching a PDF to an email. It means producing an invoice in a structured format, compliant with the European standard EN 16931, in one of the three core formats: CII, UBL, or the Factur-X mixed format (a human-readable PDF with embedded XML data). For a small store, Factur-X is often the simplest: the customer receives a readable invoice, and the machine reads the data.

The invoice must also include the mandatory details, including certain new details introduced by the reform, along with reliable identifiers (SIREN/SIRET, VAT). Compliant software handles this for you based on the order's information.

4. The approved platform (PA, formerly PDP): your gateway

Business-to-business invoices pass through approved platforms (PA, formerly PDP) — the official term that replaced "partner dematerialisation platform" (PDP). These are private operators approved and supervised by the State. The Public Invoicing Portal (PPF) no longer acts as a free issuing platform: it has been refocused on the directory (invoice routing) and the data concentrator feeding the tax administration. To issue invoices, you will therefore need to go through an approved platform (PA) listed on the official list published by the DGFiP.

5. E-reporting: declaring your B2C and international sales

Mandatory electronic invoicing only covers transactions between businesses established in France and liable for VAT (domestic B2B). Your sales to consumers (B2C) and your transactions with businesses established abroad do not fall within this framework: they are covered by e-reporting, i.e. the transmission to the tax administration of certain transaction data.

The frequency of e-reporting depends on your VAT regime. According to the Official Public Finance Bulletin (BOFiP):

If there are no transactions during a period, no transmission is expected. For a store that sells mainly to consumers, e-reporting is therefore a central point of compliance.

6. Step-by-step compliance for WooCommerce

7. Why you should start now

Even though issuing is only mandatory in September 2027 for small structures, three reasons argue for getting ahead: you must in any case be able to receive from 2026; producing compliant invoices requires cleaning up your data (identifiers, VAT rates); and testing calmly is better than discovering a problem at the last minute. You can start generating invoices in Factur-X format today, without waiting.

Using WooCommerce? Factella is a free extension that generates compliant Factur-X invoices (PDF/A-3 + XML EN 16931, validated with the FNFE-MPE tool) from your orders, and can transmit them to an approved platform (PA) such as SUPER PDP using your own account. Its Pro plan adds one-click connection and automatic B2C e-reporting.

Official sources

This article is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal or tax advice. The dates and arrangements are governed by the regulations in force and may change; check your own situation with the tax administration or your chartered accountant.