Invoice generator for France (facture) in English

How to create an invoice for France

1. Check the region and currency. The editor opens with France defaults: EUR, VAT (TVA) presets and the right date and number format. Change the currency in the settings if you bill in another one.
2. Add your business details. Enter your name, address and N° TVA intracom. and siren / siret. Upload a logo if you have one. Save it as a business profile so you can reuse it next time.
3. Add the client. Fill in the customer’s name and address and their client vat no. where it applies. Saved clients are stored in your browser for next time.
4. Add line items and tax. Describe each item, enter quantity and rate, and choose a VAT (TVA) preset or set your own rate. The totals update as you type, and you can switch between tax-exclusive and tax-inclusive prices.
5. Check the checklist and terms. Open the compliance checklist to see which required fields are still empty, then choose payment terms, add bank details and notes.
6. Pick a template and colour, then export. Choose one of the 15 templates and colour themes, then download the PDF, use Print / Save as PDF, or export a PNG. Everything is created in your browser.

The French facture and the e-invoicing reform

A French facture is both a commercial and a tax document, and French law is strict on its content. The rules come from the Code de commerce (for mandatory commercial mentions, including payment terms and penalties) and the Code général des impôts (for tax mentions). Service-Public’s “Entreprendre” site publishes an up-to-date list, which we link in the sources box.

The e-invoicing reform changes the picture. France is introducing mandatory electronic invoicing for domestic business-to-business transactions, with invoices exchanged through approved platforms and data transmitted to the tax authority. According to the French tax administration, from 1 September 2026 all VAT-liable businesses must be able to receive e-invoices and large and mid-sized businesses must issue them, while small and medium-sized businesses and micro-enterprises must issue from 1 September 2027. The compliant formats are Factur-X (a PDF with embedded data), UBL and CII. An ordinary PDF created in a browser is not a compliant e-invoice for in-scope B2B invoices. This tool can give you a good-looking document, but it cannot connect to a platform. Check impots.gouv.fr for dates and scope, and see our European timeline.

It still makes sense to use an invoice tool for quotes, consumer sales, invoices to foreign customers, or as a human-readable copy. The generator uses French number formatting (1 234,56 €) and day-month-year dates.

Mentions obligatoires: what must be on a French invoice

The core list, with the fields the editor gives you:

• Unique chronological invoice number and issue date
• Seller identity: name, address, SIREN, legal form/share capital for companies
• Seller VAT number (unless invoice ≤ €150 excl. VAT)
• Buyer identity
• Detailed lines: quantity, unit price excl. VAT, VAT rate (or exemption)
• Payment due date, early-payment discount terms ("néant" if none)
• Late-payment penalty rate and €40 recovery indemnity (professional buyers)

• Date of issue and a unique, chronological number, without gaps.
• Seller identity: name or company name, address, legal form, share capital for companies, SIREN (and RCS city for registered companies), and the VAT number if you charge VAT.
• Customer identity and, for B2B, the delivery address if different.
• Date of sale or service, if different from the invoice date.
• Each line: description, quantity, unit price excluding VAT, and the VAT rate, plus any discount.
• Payment due date and any early-payment discount terms, or “néant” (none) if there is no discount.
• Late-payment penalty rate and the fixed €40 recovery indemnity that applies between professionals.

The editor lets you put a clause in the Terms field. A common version: “Late-payment penalties: at the rate of [x]% per year. Fixed recovery indemnity of €40 for costs of collection (art. D.441-5 Code de commerce). No early-payment discount.” Check the current text and the legal minimum rate on Service-Public.

TVA rates and the franchise en base

France’s standard VAT (TVA) rate is 20%. Reduced rates apply to some goods and services: 10% (intermediate, for example some renovation work and restaurant meals), 5.5% (for example many food products and some energy-saving renovation works) and a super-reduced rate of 2.1% for some medicines and press. The list is long and has exceptions, so check the tax authority’s page for your activity before choosing a rate.

Very small businesses can use the franchise en base de TVA: no VAT is charged and none can be reclaimed. The thresholds depend on the activity and have been subject to reform proposals, so read the current figures on Service-Public or impots.gouv.fr before relying on them. If you use the scheme, your invoice must say: “TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI.” The generator prints that wording when you tick the franchise flag.

For services to business customers in other EU countries you normally issue the invoice without French VAT and mention autoliquidation (reverse charge), with both parties’ VAT numbers. See reverse charge explained and the VAT calculator.

A worked example

Camille is a freelance web developer in Lyon, VAT-registered, who works for a French client on a 5-day project at €480 per day, plus €60 for a premium plugin licence.

She adds SIREN, VAT number, due date (30 days), “no early-payment discount”, the late-penalty rate and the €40 indemnity, and her IBAN.

Payment deadlines and late penalties

Between professionals, French law limits payment terms, with the default of 30 days after receipt of goods or performance of the service and a maximum of 60 days from the invoice date, or 45 days end of month, if agreed. Service-Public’s page on payment deadlines and late penalties explains the rules and the sectors with exceptions. The late-payment penalty rate must be stated on the invoice; by default it is based on the European Central Bank’s main refinancing rate plus 10 percentage points, and the contract cannot set it below three times the legal interest rate. As of our October 2026 check this default worked out at around 12.4% a year, but because it moves with the ECB rate, confirm the figure before you quote it.

Alongside interest, professional customers owe a fixed recovery indemnity of €40 per late invoice. These rules do not apply to consumers.

Mistakes to avoid

• Leaving out the late-penalty rate or the €40 indemnity on B2B invoices; there are fines for this.
• Forgetting to state the due date, or “néant” for early-payment discounts.
• Skipping the SIREN or legal form.
• Using the franchise wording while charging VAT, or the other way around.
• Assuming a PDF satisfies the e-invoicing mandate.
• Gaps in invoice numbers; use a credit note (avoir) to cancel.

See also our guide to how long to keep invoices. French law generally expects commercial documents to be kept for ten years, but confirm the period for your case.

Getting paid faster in France

French customers typically pay by SEPA bank transfer (virement), so show your IBAN and BIC, and ask them to quote the invoice number. Give a precise due date, within the legal maximum, and avoid vague terms such as “à réception” if you actually allow 30 days.

If a customer does not pay, the usual order is a friendly reminder, a firm reminder, then a mise en demeure: a formal notice sent by registered letter that sets a deadline and starts the clock on interest. After that, depending on the amount and the situation, a debt-recovery officer (commissaire de justice) or the court’s payment-order procedure (injonction de payer) may be available. Your trade body or the Service-Public pages can tell you which route fits your case, and a lawyer should advise on contested amounts.

When you are new to a client, ask for a deposit (acompte) on larger jobs and show it clearly on the final invoice as already paid. If you are on the VAT franchise, do not forget the franchise wording on each invoice, including deposit invoices.

Glossary

HT / TTC

Hors taxes (excluding VAT) and toutes taxes comprises (including VAT).

SIREN

Nine-digit French business identifier.

Autoliquidation

Reverse charge for VAT.

Factur-X

Hybrid e-invoice: a PDF with embedded structured data.

Avoir

Credit note.

Related topics

• facture modèle
• French invoice template
• franchise en base TVA
• auto-entrepreneur invoice
• Factur-X
• mentions obligatoires
• TVA 20%
• late penalties France
• avoir credit note