France E-Invoicing September 2026: Grande Entreprise Readiness Checklist

France's mandatory B2B e-invoicing begins on 1 September 2026 for grandes entreprises — the largest French businesses. If your company is in scope, you have a hard deadline, and the infrastructure you need to build (Factur-X generation + PDP connectivity) takes several months to implement properly.

This checklist walks you through every step, in the right order.

Are You a Grande Entreprise?

Phase 1 of France's mandate applies to you if your business meets either of these criteria:

Criterion	Threshold
Annual revenue	>€1.5 billion
Number of employees	>5,000

If you meet either criterion, the September 2026 sending and receiving obligation applies to you.

If you are below these thresholds, your deadline is either September 2027 (ETI: €50M–€1.5B revenue or 250–5,000 employees) or September 2028 (all remaining VAT-registered businesses). The checklist still applies — just with a later deadline.

The Checklist

✅ Phase 1: Understand What You're Building (Now)

1.1 Clarify your invoice volumes and flows

Before choosing a PDP or configuring software, map your invoicing landscape:

How many B2B invoices do you issue per month? Per year?
How many B2B invoices do you receive from suppliers?
What ERP or accounting platforms generate your invoices today?
How many legal entities in France are in scope?

This scoping exercise determines whether you need a simple PDP subscription or a full ERP integration project.

1.2 Identify your existing software stack

Your ERP or accounting software will need to generate Factur-X EN 16931 profile invoices. Identify:

Which software currently generates your invoices (SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, Cegid, Sage, etc.)
Whether your current version supports Factur-X generation
Whether you need an upgrade, a module, or a separate middleware layer

Most major ERPs have French mandate modules available. For SAP customers: the French Factur-X module is included in S/4HANA 2023 and later. For Oracle: check Oracle Cloud Financials French localisation. For Dynamics 365: the French e-invoicing feature is in preview.

1.3 Understand the PDP architecture

You need a certified PDP (Partenaire de Dématérialisation Privé) to route your invoices. Key facts:

Only DGFiP-certified PDPs can legally route mandatory French B2B invoices
Your accounting software may offer a bundled PDP — check with your vendor
If your software doesn't include a PDP, you need a separate PDP contract
A PDP handles both outbound (your invoices to customers) and inbound (supplier invoices to you)

✅ Phase 2: Select and Contract Your PDP (By March 2026)

2.1 Evaluate certified PDPs

The DGFiP publishes an official registry of certified PDPs. First-wave certified PDPs (as of April 2026) include:

Cegedim e-Business — strong ERP connectors (SAP, Oracle)
Sage e-invoicing — bundled with Sage 50/100/300
Cegid — native for Cegid ERP users
Yooz — AI-assisted AP automation, strong for invoice receipt processing
Chorus Pro (PPF) — government fallback, free, limited features

Additional platforms — including Peppol access points and EDI providers — are finalising certification.

2.2 Check PDP-ERP connector availability

Before signing a PDP contract, verify there is a native connector between your ERP and the PDP, or that an API integration is feasible within your timeline. A PDP with no SAP connector is useless if you run SAP.

2.3 Confirm archiving is included

French law requires invoices to be archived for 10 years in a legally compliant format (NF Z 42-026 standard). Confirm your PDP includes this — some charge separately.

2.4 Sign the PDP contract

Allow 4–8 weeks for the contract negotiation and onboarding with enterprise-grade PDPs. Don't leave this to June.

✅ Phase 3: Technical Implementation (March–June 2026)

3.1 Configure Factur-X generation in your ERP

Your ERP must generate invoices in Factur-X EN 16931 (Confort) profile or higher. Configuration steps depend on your platform:

SAP S/4HANA: Activate the French Factur-X output type in NACE configuration
Oracle Cloud: Enable French e-invoicing localisation in Oracle Financials
Cegid: Activate PDP connectivity in Cegid settings — this includes Factur-X generation
Sage 50/100: Install French mandate module and connect to Sage's PDP

3.2 Set up PDP connectivity

Your ERP must be able to send invoices to your PDP and receive invoices from it. This typically involves:

API credentials from your PDP
Webhook configuration for delivery status notifications
Incoming invoice processing workflow (automatic import from PDP to ERP)

3.3 Register for incoming invoices

From September 2026, your suppliers (those who are grandes entreprises) will start sending you Factur-X invoices via PDP. You must:

Have a registered PDP capable of receiving invoices
Configure your accounts payable workflow to process incoming Factur-X data
Test receipt of supplier invoices before the mandate goes live

✅ Phase 4: Testing (June–August 2026)

4.1 End-to-end testing with your PDP

Send test invoices from your ERP through your PDP and verify:

The Factur-X XML validates against EN 16931 (use the ecosio validator or your PDP's validation tool)
Invoice data is correctly transmitted to DGFiP
Delivery status notifications (accepted/rejected) are received in your ERP
Invoice metadata (invoice number, amounts, VAT) appears correctly in your PDP dashboard

4.2 Supplier and customer communication

Notify your major B2B suppliers and customers:

What date you are switching to Factur-X invoicing
Which PDP you are using (so they can whitelist it if needed)
How to send you invoices (your PDP routing information)

4.3 Test with a willing customer or supplier

Before full rollout, run a real end-to-end test with one or two customers or suppliers who have already implemented Factur-X. This catches integration issues that sandbox testing misses.

✅ Phase 5: Go Live (1 September 2026)

5.1 Switch outbound invoicing to Factur-X via PDP

On September 1, your outbound invoices must go via your PDP. Do not send PDFs to French B2B customers after this date — they are no longer legally required to accept them from a grande entreprise.

5.2 Monitor the first month closely

The first 4 weeks after go-live typically surface the edge cases that testing missed:

Credit note handling (how corrective invoices work via PDP)
Advance payment invoices
Invoices with multiple VAT rates
Currency conversion for non-EUR invoices

Have a dedicated team (or contact at your PDP's support desk) available to handle issues quickly.

5.3 Establish ongoing operations

Set up:

Regular archive verification (confirm invoices are being stored correctly)
DGFiP reporting monitoring (confirm real-time reports are being accepted)
Token/credential rotation calendar (if your PDP uses API keys)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Waiting for your ERP vendor to "just sort it" Your ERP vendor can provide the Factur-X generation module. They cannot sign a PDP contract on your behalf. You need to do both.

2. Choosing the Minimum or Basic Factur-X profile Only EN 16931 (Confort) and Extended profiles comply with the mandate. Check your software settings.

3. Forgetting the incoming invoice side The mandate requires you to both send and receive. Many businesses focus entirely on outbound and forget to configure their AP workflow for incoming Factur-X.

4. Not communicating with your supply chain Your suppliers need to know how to send you compliant invoices. Large corporates typically publish a supplier communication pack — prepare one.

5. Leaving the PDP contract to July Enterprise PDP onboarding takes weeks. A September deadline with a July start is a risk.

After September 2026: The 2027 and 2028 Mandates

September 2026 is just Phase 1. The mandate extends to:

September 2027: ETI businesses (€50M–€1.5B revenue or 250–5,000 employees)
September 2028: All remaining VAT-registered businesses (PME and micro)

If your supply chain includes ETI and SME suppliers, plan for a wave of supplier onboarding in 2027. Your PDP should have a supplier onboarding portal to help smaller suppliers connect without enterprise-level integration.