France’s electronic invoicing reform does not revolve solely around the Public Invoicing Portal (PPF) and the Approved Platforms (PA, formerly PDP). Between the tax authority and individual businesses, a third category of player will take on a major role: Compatible Solutions (SC — Solutions Compatibles).
Less prominent in the media than Approved Platforms, Compatible Solutions will nonetheless represent the majority of tools used by businesses day to day. Their role is straightforward to understand but complex to implement: ensuring compliance and the smooth flow of invoices , while relying on an Approved Platform for the official connection to the Public Invoicing Portal.
In short: a Compatible Solution is the proximity tool that allows businesses to meet their obligations without having to manage the full regulatory and technical complexity of the e-invoicing reform themselves.
What Is a Compatible Solution?
Unlike an Approved Platform, a Compatible Solution does not communicate directly with the Public Invoicing Portal. It must transit through one or more Approved Platforms, which are the only entities authorised to exchange data with the tax authority.
Two models exist:
The Integrated Compatible Solution
A business software product (ERP, POS, invoicing platform, etc.) embeds the compliance functions directly: format validation, status tracking, flow preparation. In this case, the software itself becomes a Compatible Solution.
The Platform-Type Compatible Solution
A third-party service that aggregates flows from multiple software products and routes them to one or more Approved Platforms. This approach enables shared compliance and provides clients with a single control point.
In both cases, the Compatible Solution acts as a compliance and reliability filter: it converts invoices into the required format, manages status tracking, and ensures that data transmitted via the Approved Platform meets DGFiP requirements.
Functional Requirements for Compatible Solutions
A Compatible Solution is not simply a connector: it must speak all three baseline formats and orchestrate the full set of invoicing and e-reporting flows required by the DGFiP.
Baseline Format Support
A Compatible Solution must be capable of producing, receiving, and processing the three baseline formats defined by the reform:
- UBL (Universal Business Language)
- CII (Cross Industry Invoice)
- Factur-X (hybrid PDF/XML)
These formats, harmonised at European level (EN 16931), form the common language of electronic invoicing. Concretely, this means a Compatible Solution must:
- Validate syntactic and semantic compliance of invoices (baseline standard and extended French rules).
- Convert proprietary formats to a baseline format before transmission.
- Render received invoices in a format usable by the client business.
E-Invoicing (Domestic B2B)
- Flow 2 : invoice issuance in a baseline format (UBL, CII, Factur-X).
- Flow 3 : invoice issuance in another format, with conversion to the baseline before transmission.
Invoice Lifecycle and Status Management
- Flow 6 : acknowledgement management (acceptance, rejection, availability notification).
- Flow 7 : receipt and consolidation of status notifications (invoice deposited, transmitted, rejected, etc.).
E-Reporting (B2C / International B2B)
- Flow 8 : transmission of international or B2C operations, with SIREN/SIRET-level aggregation where required.
- Flow 9 : payment event reporting (relevant for service-based businesses).
- Flow 10 : corrections, cancellations, and periodic submissions, depending on the applicable regime.
Invoicing Directory
- Flow 11 : directory lookup to identify the correct transmission route.
- Flow 12 : publication and update of routing addresses.
Operational and Quality Requirements
Technical compliance is not enough. A Compatible Solution must also demonstrate operational robustness and provide genuine guarantees to its clients.
ISCA: Immutability, Security, Conservation, and Archiving
- Immutability : no invoice may be modified without detection.
- Security : protection against loss, falsification, and unauthorised access.
- Conservation : compliance with legal retention periods without alteration.
- Archiving : legally valid storage, accessible in the event of an audit.
Traceability and Reliable Audit Trail
A Compatible Solution must retain the complete history of each invoice and all its statuses, reliably timestamped. This constitutes the reliable audit trail required by the administration and valuable in the event of a commercial dispute.
Interoperability with Approved Platforms
A Compatible Solution must be able to communicate with multiple Approved Platforms. Interoperability is essential to:
- Guarantee freedom of choice for the client business.
- Ensure traceability of Approved Platform operations.
- Anticipate market evolution.
The most attractive Compatible Solutions will be those offering broad connectivity through standardised connectors and clear governance.
Specific Challenges for Compatible Solutions
Multi-Point-of-Sale Aggregation
A Compatible Solution must group data from multiple points of sale or cash registers by SIREN/SIRET before transmission. This is a complex challenge, requiring aggregation, deduplication, and quality control mechanisms.
Transaction Segmentation
It is essential to correctly distinguish:
- Domestic B2B invoices (e-invoicing),
- International or B2C transactions (e-reporting).
Incorrect classification leads to compliance errors and exposure to penalties.
Edge Cases and Rejections
Some invoices may be validated by the client but rejected by the Public Invoicing Portal via the Approved Platform. The Compatible Solution must handle these situations, inform the user, and propose corrections.
Shared Responsibility
A Compatible Solution does not bear direct fiscal responsibility (which remains with the Approved Platform). It is, however, responsible for the reliability of its own scope and must define its contractual commitments and SLAs clearly.
Strategic Implications for Software Publishers
Commercial Opportunity
Becoming a Compatible Solution means offering integrated compliance and adding value for clients. It allows differentiation in a competitive market.
Independence and Data Ownership
A Compatible Solution retains control of the user experience and business data, without fully delegating to an Approved Platform. This is a strategic lever for maintaining a direct relationship with clients.
Technical and Organisational Challenges
Implementing the flows, managing rejections, handling scale: all of this requires significant investment. DGFiP labelling adds an additional layer of organisational constraints (documentation, governance, proof of compliance).
Interoperability as a Competitive Advantage
Compatible Solutions offering connectivity with multiple Approved Platforms will give their clients valuable strategic freedom: the ability to change PA without changing SC, distribute flows across platforms, and optimise costs. This openness will become a decisive commercial argument.
Conclusion
Compatible Solutions are set to become the backbone of the reform. They will enable businesses to comply with the new requirements while preserving simplicity and proximity.
Their role will be decisive:
- Mastering the technical layer (formats, flows, interoperability).
- Guaranteeing security and traceability.
- Supporting businesses over the long term.
In short, if Approved Platforms are the “motorways” of electronic invoicing, Compatible Solutions are the vehicles: they are what businesses will use every day to navigate the ecosystem with confidence.
Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| B2B | Business to Business: commercial transactions between VAT-registered entities. |
| B2Bi | Business to Business international: cross-border commercial transactions between VAT-registered entities. |
| B2C | Business to Consumer: commercial transactions with a private individual not registered for VAT. |
| DGFiP | Direction Générale des Finances Publiques. The central authority managing the reform, defining the rules, and registering Approved Platforms. |
| e-invoicing | Electronic invoicing data relating to domestic B2B transactions (invoices). |
| e-reporting | Electronic invoicing data relating to international B2Bi and B2C transactions (international invoices, consumer receipts). |