Implement electronic invoicing in a French SME

Implementation follows eight stages, each with an owner and completion evidence. We start with flows: buying a platform before this inventory can leave a sales source outside the process. Approval concerns the complete operating process, rather than simply activating a subscription.

Check identifiers, the issuing entity, recipients and duplicates. Correct the ERP or application feeding other systems. Record who can edit master data and approve changed details. A successful import does not prove the right recipient will receive the right invoice.

SIREN identifies a French business using nine digits; SIRET identifies an establishment using fourteen. We check identifiers, legal names and addresses before imports. Counterparty records must distinguish the sales contact from the regulatory recipient. Ask the platform how the electronic invoicing address is registered in the directory and test its routing.

Each anomaly receives a status: awaiting correction, corrected at source or verified after synchronisation. We recommend closing it only after a fresh import and result check. Retain historical references needed for reconciliation. Deleting a duplicate without reviewing historical invoices can complicate credit-note or previously recorded payment tracking.

Tests should cover exceptions actually present in your business. We recommend retaining the expected outcome, actual response and correction for each scenario.

Indicators to track include rejection rate, unresolved anomalies and invoice handling time. We plan a daily owner, a vendor escalation route and a periodic accounting check. Each indicator has a definition and baseline period.

Scoping lists every source creating an invoice or sales data. We request an inventory of systems, companies and channels: accounting software, industry ERP, till, online store and payment provider. The inventory identifies who retains the data and how it reaches accounting. It forms the basis of the test matrix.

For each flow, we distinguish issuing entity, recipient, country and expected treatment. Received purchases are mapped alongside issued sales. Credit notes, deposits and public-sector invoices are identified separately. A minor activity may require a different process: its small revenue share does not make it disappear.

We then define the decision owner and necessary access. Management owns platform designation; daily operations require an owner. Planning separates receipt already required since 2026 from SME issuing preparation for 2027. We track dependencies rather than promising the same implementation duration for every business.

A process is ready when representative scenarios have run and blocking anomalies are resolved. We recommend recording source system, recipient, generated file and returned response for every test. The test record separates accepted, corrected and open cases. Management can then decide on specific evidence.

Format checks cover Factur-X, UBL or CII according to vendor-confirmed capabilities. Business checks verify data and amounts. Process checks verify receipt and statuses in the finance team’s tools. We retain evidence of each: a valid file alone does not demonstrate actual receipt.

We also ask the operating team to replay a rejection. They must locate the error, correct the right source, rerun processing and retain the outcome. An incident should not depend on one person or an informal conversation. The procedure specifies vendor escalation and accounting verification after correction.

The daily procedure assigns an owner to each rejected invoice and preserves the handling chronology. We recommend an anomaly queue visible to finance, recording invoice, reason, action and status. The team distinguishes technical rejection, commercial dispute and approval delay. These situations require different interventions and contacts.

After launch, we track recurring incidents instead of endlessly correcting symptoms. If a field is missing on every import, the source system needs correction. If a status does not reach the ERP, request connector analysis. Monitoring links anomalies to closing tasks and payment deadlines.

The handover includes training on ordinary cases and exceptions. We deliver the flow map, test record and rejection procedure. The downloadable checklist tracks the eight stages and complements evidence from your environment. We recommend retaining it with configuration documents and support contacts.

Receipt must connect the correct document to the correct entity and purchase approval. We recommend testing a supplier invoice already familiar to accounting, followed by one requiring operational approval. The test checks access rights, the viewable document and the reference used to retrieve the purchase. Transmission alone is not payment approval. Record which team receives each item, who confirms delivery and who approves the expenditure.

The process separates technical status from business decisions. A correctly delivered invoice can still carry a delivery or amount dispute. Staff must know where to record it and how it appears in supplier tracking. We recommend preserving the same reference throughout handling, rather than creating an unlinked second document. Test this distinction explicitly: successful routing and approval to pay must remain independently identifiable in the finance records.

Access should also accommodate absences and closing. An invoice should not become invisible when its approver is unavailable. Define cover, alerts and the person reconciling documents with accounting. We include these points in the receipt procedure and test. Finance retains a view of received, open, blocked and resolved documents. This queue is a practical control for supplier follow-up and helps identify whether the next action belongs to operations, accounting or the vendor.