EDI and e-invoicing: keep your flows, change the circuit
Say that you invoice with an ERP or EDI: the tool recalls the platform’s role in converting your files.
Suggested format
CII
XML alone is enough if nobody reads the invoice on screen.
| UBL EN 16931 | Accepted by every platform |
| CII EN 16931 | Accepted by every platform |
| Factur-X (PDF/A-3 + CII) | Accepted by every platform |
CGI annex IV article 41 septies C (order of 27 July 2026): three base formats.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · Tax code, BOFiP and approved-platform list checked on 25 October 2026
Electronic data interchange, or EDI, has long let businesses exchange orders, delivery notes and invoices in standard formats such as EDIFACT, without paper or retyping. The reform does not ban it, but it changes the circuit. From the business’s issuing date, 1 September 2026 for large and mid-sized companies, 1 September 2027 for the others, an invoice between businesses established in France must go through an approved platform, which sends data to the tax authority. Legacy EDI formats are not part of the base set by the order of 27 July 2026, which keeps UBL, CII and Factur-X. A business wanting to keep its EDI flows must therefore choose a platform that accepts them as input and converts them into a base format, or upgrade its system to produce UBL or CII directly. Also check whether your EDI operator is itself on the list of registered platforms.
What EDI becomes under the reform
The order of 27 July 2026 sets the base formats every platform must accept: UBL, CII and Factur-X. EDIFACT invoice messages are not among them. The decree of the same day does, however, give platforms the job of converting invoices: a platform can therefore receive an EDI message from its customer, turn it into a base format, send it on and extract the data for the tax authority.
| Situation | What changes | What stays |
|---|---|---|
| EDI invoice to a customer established in France | Route through an approved platform | Your format, if the platform converts it |
| Order, delivery note | Nothing | Everything |
| EDI invoice to a foreign customer | Data e-reported | The usual EDI flow |
| Supplier invoice received through EDI | Received via your platform | Integration into your ERP |
Two possible strategies
The first keeps your system as it is: your ERP keeps producing its EDI messages, and an approved platform converts them. It is the quickest, but it makes you dependent on the platform’s conversion abilities. The second upgrades the ERP so that it produces UBL or CII directly. It takes an IT project, but makes later platform changes simpler. Either way, plan real tests with your main customers before your date.
Suggested format
Suggested format
CII
| UBL EN 16931 | Accepted by every platform |
| CII EN 16931 | Accepted by every platform |
| Factur-X (PDF/A-3 + CII) | Accepted by every platform |
Choosing a platform when you use EDI
The criteria shift slightly. Ask for the exact list of EDI messages accepted as input, with their versions. Ask how the platform handles an incomplete message: rejection, error return, manual correction. Check that it handles e-reporting of your foreign sales, often numerous in businesses using EDI. The official list of platforms is the starting point, and the comparison tool lets you filter by status and registration date.
The timetable of an EDI project
An EDI project often involves several hundred partners. Allow time to list the flows, choose the platform, test with a sample of customers, then switch over in waves. The backward plan gives the latest date to start, based on the length you expect.
During the transition, some customers will already issue through platforms and others not yet. Your system must therefore handle both circuits side by side, at least until 1 September 2027.