Electronic Invoicing: 44 Use Cases Businesses Must Prepare for Before September 2026

Electronic invoicing is changing the way businesses create, send, receive, and process invoices. For companies operating in France, the upcoming electronic invoicing reform represents an important step toward modernizing financial administration and improving tax reporting.

However, preparing for this change involves more than selecting an approved electronic invoicing platform. Businesses must also understand how their different invoicing activities will work under the new digital framework.

Some companies issue simple sales invoices, while others handle advance payments, multiple purchase orders, several deliveries, employee expenses, third-party payments, and self-billing arrangements.

These different situations are known as electronic invoicing use cases.

France's AFNOR XP Z12-014 standard identifies 44 business-to-business invoicing use cases to help companies and approved platforms manage different commercial situations consistently.

For business owners and finance managers, identifying the relevant use cases and checking platform capabilities should be a priority when preparing for electronic invoicing.

1. Understanding Electronic Invoicing Use Cases

An electronic invoicing use case describes a particular business situation and explains how the invoice and its supporting information should be handled within the electronic invoicing system.

A standard invoice may contain basic information such as:

• Seller and buyer details.

• Invoice number and date.

• Description of products or services.

• Quantity and unit price.

• VAT rate and tax amount.

• Total amount payable.

• Payment terms.

However, some business transactions require additional information.

For example, a company receiving several deliveries against one purchase order may need to include specific order and delivery references on individual invoice lines.

Similarly, an advance invoice must be linked correctly to the final invoice so that the amounts already paid are properly accounted for.

Electronic invoicing standards provide a common structure for handling these situations.

The objective is to make information understandable and exchangeable between businesses, accounting software, and approved platforms.

2. Why Businesses Must Prepare Before September 1, 2026

France is implementing mandatory electronic invoicing in stages.

The key deadlines are:

September 1, 2026

• All VAT-registered businesses must be able to receive electronic invoices through the required approved platform system.

• Large companies and intermediate-sized enterprises (ETIs) must also issue electronic invoices.

September 1, 2027

• SMEs, very small businesses, and micro-enterprises must begin issuing electronic invoices under the reform.

This transition requires businesses to review their invoicing systems and ensure that their financial processes can handle the relevant electronic transactions.

Waiting until the last moment can create unnecessary problems, especially for companies with complicated billing arrangements.

Management should therefore identify its invoicing requirements early and involve accounting, finance, IT, sales, and purchasing teams in the preparation process.

3. Understanding the 44 Electronic Invoicing Use Cases

The AFNOR XP Z12-014 standard provides a framework covering 44 business-to-business invoicing situations.

These scenarios reflect the different ways companies conduct commercial transactions.

Some apply to almost every business, while others are relevant only to particular industries or business arrangements.

Important examples include the following.

A. Standard Sales Invoices

This is the most common invoicing situation.

A business sells products or provides services to another VAT-registered business and issues an invoice containing the required information.

The electronic invoicing system must transmit the invoice in an accepted structured format.

B. Advance Payment Invoices

Some businesses request partial payment before completing a service or delivering products.

For example, a construction company may request a 30% advance payment before beginning a project.

The advance invoice must contain the appropriate information and be correctly linked to the final invoice.

This helps ensure that the amount already received is taken into account when the final balance is calculated.

C. Final Invoices

A final invoice records the total amount due after considering any advance payments or previous invoices.

It is important to maintain a clear relationship between the advance invoice and the final invoice.

Incorrect references or inconsistent VAT treatment can create accounting and tax reporting problems.

D. Invoices Covering Multiple Purchase Orders

A supplier may provide several products or services under different purchase orders but issue one consolidated invoice.

In such cases, the relevant purchase order references must be included in the appropriate structured invoice data.

This allows the buyer's accounting system to identify which purchases are being billed.

E. Invoices Covering Multiple Deliveries

A supplier may deliver goods several times before issuing a single invoice.

The invoice must contain the necessary delivery references so that the buyer can verify the quantities and products received.

This is particularly important for manufacturers, wholesalers, and distribution companies.

F. Self-Billing Arrangements

In certain commercial relationships, the buyer prepares an invoice on behalf of the supplier.

This is known as self-billing.

The parties must establish an appropriate agreement and ensure that the electronic invoice identifies the relevant roles correctly.

The electronic invoicing platform must also support the required information and transmission process.

G. Third-Party Payments

Sometimes, the person paying an invoice is not the same as the customer receiving the goods or services.

For example, a third party may settle an invoice on behalf of a customer.

The invoicing process must identify the relevant parties and their roles correctly to maintain accurate accounting records.

H. Employee Expense Reports

Businesses often reimburse employees for expenses incurred while performing their professional duties.

Certain expense-related transactions require specific treatment within the electronic invoicing framework.

Companies should review how employee expenses, supporting documents, VAT information, and accounting entries are handled by their systems.

I. Marketplace Transactions

Online marketplaces can involve several parties, including sellers, buyers, marketplace operators, and payment service providers.

The business must understand who is responsible for issuing invoices and how the relevant parties are identified.

J. Construction Industry Invoices

Construction businesses may have more complicated invoicing arrangements involving subcontractors, project references, and third-party validation.

Their electronic invoicing systems must accommodate the relevant information required for these transactions.

K. Agricultural Self-Billing

Agricultural businesses may use specific self-billing arrangements in which buyers prepare invoices on behalf of producers.

The updated standard includes a specific bidirectional self-billing scenario for the agricultural sector.

These examples demonstrate why businesses should not assume that every electronic invoicing platform supports every type of transaction.

4. How Electronic Invoicing Standards Affect Business Operations

The AFNOR standardization framework provides technical guidance for implementing electronic invoicing.

Three important standards are particularly relevant:

• XP Z12-012: Addresses electronic invoice formats and related requirements.

• XP Z12-013: Covers application programming interfaces (APIs) used for system communication.

• XP Z12-014: Describes business-to-business invoicing use cases.

Together, these standards help establish consistent methods for exchanging invoice information.

They also help software providers and approved platforms understand how different business transactions should be processed.

For companies, this means that invoicing software must generate structured information that complies with the relevant requirements.

A PDF invoice alone may not satisfy the electronic invoicing requirements.

Businesses should check whether their systems can generate supported formats such as Factur-X, UBL, or CII, according to the applicable technical specifications.

5. Why Choosing an Approved Platform Is Not Enough

One of the biggest mistakes businesses can make is choosing an approved electronic invoicing platform simply because it appears on the official list.

Platform approval confirms that the provider meets the relevant regulatory requirements.

However, it does not necessarily mean that the platform supports every business-specific invoicing situation.

For example, a company may regularly handle:

• Multiple purchase orders.

• Multiple deliveries.

• Advance and final invoices.

• Third-party payments.

• Self-billing transactions.

• Industry-specific tax arrangements.

If the selected platform cannot process these transactions correctly, the business may need additional software configuration or integration.

In some cases, the invoicing software may need to enrich the information before sending it to the platform.

Therefore, businesses should evaluate platform capabilities according to their actual invoicing requirements rather than choosing a provider based only on regulatory approval.

6. How to Identify the Right Use Cases for Your Business

Before selecting an approved platform, management should conduct a detailed review of existing invoicing activities.

The following approach can help.

Step 1: Review Your Current Invoicing Processes

Identify how the company creates and receives invoices.

Consider customer billing, supplier invoices, advance payments, credit notes, employee expenses, and other financial transactions.

Step 2: Identify Special Business Transactions

Check whether the company regularly handles multiple orders, multiple deliveries, third-party payments, self-billing, or industry-specific transactions.

These activities may require additional invoice information.

Step 3: Map Each Transaction to a Relevant Use Case

Work with your accounting team or external accountant to identify which use cases apply to your business.

Create a list of common and exceptional invoicing situations.

Step 4: Review Your Existing Software

Check whether your current invoicing or ERP software can generate the required structured data.

Ask the software provider about compatibility with the applicable AFNOR standards.

Step 5: Evaluate Approved Platforms

Prepare a list of your business requirements and ask potential providers to demonstrate how their platforms handle each relevant situation.

Do not rely only on general marketing statements.

Step 6: Test Real Business Scenarios

Before implementation, test sample transactions.

For example, create an advance invoice, a final invoice, a consolidated supplier invoice, and an invoice involving a third-party payment.

Check whether the information is correctly generated, transmitted, and processed.

Step 7: Train Your Employees

Ensure that accounting, sales, purchasing, and administrative employees understand the new procedures.

Proper training reduces errors and helps the company adapt to digital invoicing.

7. The Important Role of Accountants and Finance Managers

Chartered accountants and finance professionals can play an important role in the transition.

They understand how invoices affect accounting records, VAT reporting, customer accounts, supplier accounts, and financial statements.

Their involvement can help businesses identify problems before implementing a new platform.

For example, an accountant can review whether advance payments are correctly recorded, whether invoice references are consistent, and whether VAT information is handled properly.

Finance managers should also coordinate with IT and software providers to ensure that the selected system supports the company's operational requirements.

This collaboration is particularly important for businesses with complicated purchasing, sales, and payment processes.

Conclusion

Electronic invoicing is not simply a change in the way businesses exchange invoices. It is a broader transformation of financial processes, accounting systems, and business administration.

The 44 use cases identified under the AFNOR XP Z12-014 standard demonstrate that companies must consider more than standard sales invoices when preparing for the French electronic invoicing reform.

Advance payments, multiple purchase orders, several deliveries, self-billing, employee expenses, third-party payments, and industry-specific transactions may all require particular attention.

For business leaders, the priority should be to identify the invoicing situations that apply to their organization and verify that their software and approved platform can manage them correctly.

Working with accountants, software providers, and finance teams can make the transition easier and help businesses build a reliable digital invoicing system.

Disclaimer: This article provides general educational information about electronic invoicing in France. Technical standards and regulatory requirements may change. Businesses should consult the French tax administration, relevant AFNOR documentation, and qualified accounting or technology professionals for implementation guidance.