E-invoicing: Why Audit Your Workflows Before Choosing Your Approved Platform
The e-invoicing reform in France marks a major turning point in modernizing interactions between businesses and the tax authorities.
Following the postponement of the reform and the confirmation of the new timeline, a significant first step had been taken with the DGFiP's publication of a list of platforms applying for registration.
This list aimed to help businesses identify the initial market players and prepare their transition to mandatory e-invoicing.
Since then, the terminology has evolved: we now refer to PA – Approved Platform, and no longer solely as PDP – Partner Dematerialization Platform.
However, the challenge remains the same: every business must anticipate its compliance, choose a suitable platform, and prepare its customer and supplier invoicing workflows.
With DEMATRUST, ICD International supports businesses through this transition with an e-invoicing solution designed to meet regulatory requirements and the business needs of finance, accounting, and IT departments.
A Reform Impacting All Businesses
Mandatory e-invoicing is not only for large businesses.
From September 1, 2026, all VAT-registered businesses will need to be able to receive electronic invoices.
Large businesses and mid-sized companies will also need to issue their electronic invoices by this date.
From September 1, 2027, SMEs, VSEs, and micro-businesses will in turn need to be able to issue their electronic invoices.
This phased approach should not give the impression that small businesses can wait. Receiving electronic invoices will be mandatory from 2026 for all affected businesses.
This requires immediate preparation:
- the choice of an Accredited Platform;
- the quality of customer and supplier data;
- inbound and outbound flows;
- invoice formats;
- connections with ERP and accounting software;
- validation processes;
- status tracking;
- company-specific use cases.
From the list of PDP candidates to Accredited Platforms
During the initial stages of the reform, the DGFiP had published a list of entities applying for registration as PDPs.
This publication did not constitute final registration. However, it allowed companies to identify operators involved in the system and begin comparing available solutions.
Since then, the framework has evolved and the term Accredited Platform has become established.
An AP is an operator registered by the tax administration. It handles the issuance, reception, transmission, and processing of electronic invoices between businesses.
It also plays a central role in transmitting mandatory data to the administration, particularly for e-invoicing and e-reporting.
You can find a complete definition in our glossary: AP – Accredited Platform.
Why choosing the platform is strategic
Choosing an Approved Platform should not be seen as a mere regulatory formality.
This choice will directly impact invoicing, accounting, validation, collection, and IT integration processes.
A platform must be able to meet several requirements:
- receive supplier invoices;
- issue customer invoices;
- manage regulatory formats;
- transmit mandatory data;
- track lifecycle statuses;
- ensure interoperability with other platforms;
- secure exchanges;
- integrate with existing tools;
- support teams through the transition.
The right choice therefore depends on your organization's reality, your volumes, your tools, your validation workflows, and your business use cases.
Audit first, then benchmark
Before comparing platforms, the first step is to conduct an audit of existing invoicing flows.
This audit helps understand how invoices currently circulate within the company and identify friction points to address before transitioning to e-invoicing.
It specifically helps answer essential questions:
- How many customer and supplier invoices are processed each year?
- What formats are currently used?
- What tools are involved in the process?
- Which ERPs, accounting software, or business solutions need to be connected?
- What are the approval workflows?
- What are the exceptions?
- Which customer and supplier data needs to be validated?
- Which processes need to be automated?
- What risks of disruption need to be anticipated?
Without this step, benchmarking platforms risks being too theoretical.
A company might choose a solution that appears compliant on paper but doesn't truly meet its operational constraints.
Key considerations before choosing your Certified Platform
To make the benchmark relevant, the company must analyze several dimensions.
Invoice volumes
A company that processes a few hundred invoices annually does not have the same needs as an organization handling tens of thousands.
Volume impacts the needs for automation, integration, control, and reporting.
Inbound and outbound flows
It's important to distinguish between supplier invoices, customer invoices, credit notes, intercompany flows, international flows, and specific cases.
This mapping helps to better define the project's actual scope.
Existing tools
The platform choice must consider the ERPs, accounting software, purchasing tools, sales management tools, and business solutions already in use.
The goal is to avoid duplicate entries, process disruptions, or overly complex integrations.
Third-party data
The quality of customer and supplier data is crucial.
SIREN, SIRET, intra-community VAT, billing addresses, legal entities, payment terms: incorrect data can lead to rejections or routing errors.
Business use cases
Some companies have more complex processes: multi-entity billing, mandates, subcontracting, co-contracting, factoring, specific validation workflows, or dispute management.
These cases must be identified from the outset to choose a truly suitable solution.
DEMATRUST: an Approved Platform designed for compliance and business needs
With DEMATRUST, ICD International offers a comprehensive solution to support companies in their compliance with the e-invoicing reform.
DEMATRUST enables the centralization, automation, and securing of customer and supplier invoice flows.
The solution covers, in particular:
- e-invoice issuance;
- supplier invoice reception;
- regulatory format management;
- status tracking;
- mandatory data transmission;
- integration with existing systems;
- traceability of exchanges;
- accounting process automation;
- support for business use cases.
DEMATRUST leverages ICD International's historical expertise in EDI, dematerialization, and B2B exchanges.
Support to structure your project
The e-invoicing reform should not be reduced to merely choosing a tool.
It's a cross-functional project involving finance, accounting, tax, IT, purchasing, and sales departments.
To secure the transition, ICD International offers e-invoicing support to analyze flows, identify impacts, define priorities, and build a tailored roadmap.
This approach allows companies to shift from a reactive compliance mindset to one of process optimization.
DEMATRUST Light for VSEs and SMEs
Not all companies have the same needs or resources.
For VSEs and SMEs looking to achieve compliance simply, ICD International offers DEMATRUST Light.
This offering allows businesses to approach the reform with a simple, scalable solution tailored for organizations that want to avoid a complex project.
It addresses the essential needs for receiving, issuing, and ensuring compliance, while enabling companies to gradually mature their processes.
Key takeaways
The publication of the first lists of candidate platforms marked a significant step in preparing for the reform.
Today, companies must go further: choose their Certified Platform, audit their flows, and concretely prepare their organization for mandatory e-invoicing.
Benchmarking platforms should not start with a comparison of isolated features. It must begin with the company's reality: its volumes, tools, data, flows, and use cases.
With DEMATRUST, ICD International supports companies in this transition by combining regulatory compliance, business expertise, and integration with existing systems.
Do you want to prepare your company for the reform? Discover DEMATRUST or speak with our experts via our page electronic invoicing support.
