E-Invoicing 2026: The Only Step to Take Before September

On 1 September 2026, a new obligation takes effect for every business established in France and registered for VAT, including sports coaches operating as micro-entrepreneurs. The good news: it is not the one everyone is talking about, and it takes about ten minutes to sort out. You do not have to change anything about the way you invoice your clients. You simply need to be able to receive invoices in electronic format. Here is what that means in practice, what actually waits until 2027, and the step to take before the end of the month.

What takes effect on 1 September 2026

From that date, every business established in France and registered for VAT must be able to receive electronic invoices through an approved platform (plateforme agréée). That is all. There is no second obligation hiding behind it.

Three clarifications that settle most of the worry:

• No size threshold. Micro-enterprise, sole trader, single-member company: the law makes no distinction. A coach working alone is covered exactly like a 300-employee group.
• The VAT exemption scheme changes nothing. This is the most common confusion. A micro-entrepreneur under the franchise en base scheme is registered for VAT, they are simply not liable for it. Those two things are not the same, and it is the first one that matters here.
• It applies even if you only invoice individual clients. The obligation covers the invoices you receive, not the ones you issue. And you already receive plenty: your insurer, your software, your gym, your accountant. The day those suppliers switch to electronic invoicing, you need to be able to receive them.

What "receiving electronically" actually means

An electronic invoice is not a PDF sent by email. It is a structured file, in a standardised format (Factur-X, UBL 2.1 or CII), routed from one approved platform to another. Your supplier submits their invoice to their platform, that platform routes it to yours, and you find it in your interface.

For this routing to work, your business must be identifiable in a central directory by its SIREN number. Your platform registers you there: you have no paperwork to file with the tax authorities yourself.

What does not take effect in 2026

This is where many coaches scare themselves unnecessarily. The obligation to issue your own invoices in electronic format does not apply to you this year.

Micro-enterprises and SMEs share the same date: 1 September 2027. There is no later timetable reserved for the smallest businesses, contrary to what is sometimes written.

Another useful point: a client cannot force you to issue electronically before your own deadline. The tax authorities have stated this explicitly in their practical guide. If a gym or a corporate client asks you for a structured invoice as early as 2026, you are entitled to carry on with your usual method, and payment cannot be withheld on that basis.

If you only invoice individual clients

This is the case for the vast majority of sports coaches, and it deserves clarifying because it is almost always explained badly.

Electronic invoicing only covers transactions between businesses established in France. An invoice addressed to an individual client falls outside the scheme, in 2026, in 2027 and beyond. You will be able to keep sending a PDF by email to your clients indefinitely.

What will concern you from 1 September 2027 is e-reporting: transmitting aggregated data about your activity to the tax authorities, namely your turnover by day and by VAT rate, along with your payments received. No personal data, no document, no recipient. Your clients will never know it exists.

Remember the distinction, it governs everything else: electronic invoicing moves an invoice to your business client; e-reporting is a declaration that goes only to the tax authorities.

The step, in ten minutes

1. Check whether it is already done

Start here — there is a serious chance you are finished after one phone call. If you work with an accountant, or use accounting software or a business bank account, an approved platform may already be linked to your SIREN. Ask the question directly: "am I already connected to an approved platform for receiving invoices?"

2. Otherwise, choose a platform

The tax authorities publish the official list of approved platforms on impots.gouv.fr. Two things to watch when choosing:

• Check that the registration is final, not "provisional". Some platforms still appear on the list with a temporary status.
• Do not look for the free public portal. It existed in early versions of the reform and has since been dropped. Going through an approved platform is now the only route. Many articles online still mention the "PPF" as a free option: that information is out of date.

Several platforms offer a free plan covering reception only, which is more than enough for an independent coach. There is no need to subscribe to a full invoicing suite if your requirement is limited to the 2026 obligation.

3. Confirm your SIREN is registered

Once signed up, ask for confirmation that your SIREN has been entered in the central directory. That is what makes your business reachable. A registration completed but not reflected in the directory does not make you compliant.

What you risk by doing nothing

Failure to use an approved platform does not trigger an immediate fine. The process is graduated: the authorities first issue a formal notice, then apply a €500 fine if the situation is not resolved within three months, then €1,000 per additional quarter.

The authorities have also announced a start-up tolerance: no penalty for a good-faith business that can demonstrate a serious path towards compliance, and an invoice received as a PDF or on paper remains payable and deductible during that phase.

Two caveats, though. This tolerance is neither a postponement nor a suspension — the authorities say so explicitly. And no end date appears in the official texts. Relying on it as a strategy means betting on a deadline nobody knows, to save ten minutes.

Preparing for 2027 without doing it now

You have nothing to build this year for the next deadline. Two habits will save you work a year from now.

Keep your SIREN and legal details up to date. From 2027, your business client's SIREN becomes a mandatory field on your invoices, on top of serving as the routing address. If you invoice gyms, works councils or associations, get into the habit of collecting their SIREN now.

Know how to tell your individual clients from your business clients. These become two different regimes in 2027: electronic invoicing for the latter, e-reporting for the former. If your management tool does not make that distinction today, that is the first thing to put in order.

For mandatory invoice fields, VAT under the micro-enterprise scheme and organising your day-to-day invoicing, our practical invoicing guide for self-employed sports coaches covers the rules currently in force.

Where Ekklo saves you time

Ekklo centralises client invoicing and payments: invoices generated automatically, online payments, reminders, and a clear view of what has been paid and what has not. You keep a sharp picture of your business without juggling tools — which is exactly what you will need the day you have to separate your business flows from your individual-client flows.

We are following the reform closely and will keep our coaches informed as the 2027 deadlines take shape. Create your account and try online invoicing with your first clients.

Key takeaways

• On 1 September 2026, the only obligation is to be able to receive electronic invoices through an approved platform. It applies to every VAT-registered coach, with no size threshold.
• The VAT exemption scheme grants no exemption here: a micro-entrepreneur is VAT-registered, simply not liable.
• The obligation to issue electronically arrives on 1 September 2027 for micro-enterprises and SMEs alike, on the same date. No client can impose it earlier.
• If you only invoice individuals, you will never issue an electronic invoice: e-reporting is what will concern you, from 2027.
• The free public portal has been dropped. You must go through an approved platform, and check that its registration is final.

Frequently asked questions

This article provides general information current as of 18 August 2026 and does not constitute tax advice. The timetable and detailed rules of the reform are published on impots.gouv.fr. For your specific situation, speak to your accountant.