E-invoicing for micro-enterprises: are you in the category?
Headcount, turnover, balance sheet: the tool checks whether you are a micro-enterprise under the 2008 decree and gives your issuing date.
Your category
Micro-enterprise
Issuing mandatory on 1 September 2027; receiving for everyone on 1 September 2026.
| Micro | < 10 staff and turnover or balance sheet ≤ €2,000,000 |
| SME | < 250 staff and turnover ≤ €50,000,000 or balance sheet ≤ €43,000,000 |
| ETI | < 5,000 staff and turnover ≤ €1,500,000,000 or balance sheet ≤ €2,000,000,000 |
Article 3 of decree no. 2008-1354. The category used for e-invoicing is the one on 1 January 2025.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · Tax code, BOFiP and approved-platform list checked on 25 October 2026
The word micro-enterprise means two things in France that should not be confused. Under the decree of 18 December 2008, used by the e-invoicing reform, a micro-enterprise is a business with fewer than 10 staff whose annual turnover or balance sheet total does not exceed 2 million euros. In tax and social security terms, the micro-entreprise regime is the one for sole traders (auto-entrepreneurs), with much lower turnover ceilings. Every tax-regime micro-business is a micro-enterprise under the decree, but not the other way round: a limited company with eight employees and 1.5 million euros of turnover is a micro-enterprise too. For all of them the timetable is the same: receiving e-invoices since 1 September 2026, issuing and e-reporting from 1 September 2027, like SMEs. The category used is the one on 1 January 2025, based on the last financial year closed before that date. In practice, the distinction matters mostly to confirm that you are not a mid-sized company, which issues a year earlier.
The 2008 decree thresholds
The reform sets no thresholds of its own: it refers to article 51 of the Economy Modernisation Act and its implementing decree no. 2008-1354. The categories nest from smallest to largest.
| Category | Headcount | Financial test | Issuing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro-enterprise | under 10 | Turnover or balance sheet ≤ €2,000,000 | 1 September 2027 |
| SME | under 250 | Turnover ≤ €50,000,000 or balance sheet ≤ €43,000,000 | 1 September 2027 |
| ETI and large companies | above | above | 1 September 2026 |
The 2024 Finance Act sets when the calculation is made: the category is assessed on 1 January 2025, from the last financial year closed before that date, or failing that the first one closed after it. It is a single snapshot: growing or shrinking after that date does not change your timetable.
Micro in tax terms, micro under the decree
The micro-entreprise tax regime, used by sole traders, relies on income-tax turnover ceilings of its own. It plays no part in the e-invoicing timetable. What matters for the reform is the decree’s statistical category. A sole trader under the micro regime is always a micro-enterprise under the decree; a small company can be one too. The specific case of sole traders, VAT exemption and two-monthly e-reporting included, is covered on the micro-entrepreneur page.
E-invoices mandatory for issuing from
E-invoices mandatory for issuing from
1 September 2027
| Size category | Micro-enterprise |
| Receive e-invoices | 1 September 2026 |
| Issue e-invoices | 1 September 2027 |
| Sales e-reporting (consumers, abroad) | 1 September 2027 · 1 send a month |
What a micro-enterprise must do, and when
Receive, first. Since 1 September 2026, suppliers that are large companies or ETIs already send you e-invoices, and your approved platform must take them in. Issue, next, from 1 September 2027, for business customers established in France. Report, finally, on the same date: sales to consumers and abroad, and payments received if you sell services. How often depends on your VAT regime; the e-reporting calculator gives it.
Points to watch
A micro-enterprise rarely has an accounts department, and it is often the accountant or the invoicing software that provides access to a platform. Check that the chosen operator appears on the official list under its name, and that the offer also covers e-reporting. Think about archiving too: e-invoices received and issued are kept in their original format.