How to create a Factur-X invoice
France's e-invoicing reform requires more than emailing a PDF. Here's what Factur-X actually is, when the rules apply, and where InvoiceYou's validated Basic export fits.
What Factur-X actually is
Almost everyone's first reaction to "electronic invoice" is: I already email PDFs, so I'm electronic. Under the European rules, you're not. A PDF is a picture of an invoice. A person has to read it and retype the numbers into an accounting system.
Factur-X solves that without forcing anyone to give up the document they're used to. A Factur-X file is a hybrid: one PDF, which opens and prints and looks exactly like a normal invoice, with a structured XML description of the same invoice embedded inside the file. Your client's bookkeeper sees an invoice. Their software sees machine-readable data (supplier, VAT number, line items, tax breakdown, total due) and can book it without a human retyping anything.
Underneath, the XML follows EN 16931, the European semantic standard for electronic invoicing. That's the part that makes a French invoice legible to a German system, and vice versa. The FNFE-MPE's Factur-X publication describes the hybrid PDF/XML format and its profiles.
The French deadlines that matter
France is phasing the obligation in on two separate tracks (receiving and issuing), and it's worth being clear about which one applies to you now.
| Date | Who | What becomes mandatory |
|---|---|---|
| 1 September 2026 | Every business, any size | Must be able to receive compliant e-invoices |
| 1 September 2026 | Large and mid-sized companies | Must issue compliant e-invoices |
| 1 September 2027 | SMEs and micro-enterprises | Must issue compliant e-invoices |
The French reform's technical base includes Factur-X, UBL and CII. A plain PDF sent by email will not satisfy the requirement once it applies to you. The French tax authority publishes the current external specifications and standards for these formats.
Source: French tax authority implementation timetable, modified 16 January 2026.
The practical read for a freelancer
If you're a sole trader or micro-enterprise in France, your issuing deadline is September 2027, but your clients' receiving capability starts in September 2026, and larger clients start demanding structured invoices as soon as their own systems switch over. In practice the pressure arrives well before your own legal deadline does.
What the Basic profile covers, and what it doesn't
Factur-X defines several profiles, which are essentially levels of detail in the embedded XML, from Minimum (barely more than a total) up through Basic, EN 16931 and Extended.
Basic carries line-item and VAT-breakdown data while remaining simpler than
the higher profiles. Quick Invoice Generator PDF exports Factur-X 1.0 (Basic), spec ID
urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:factur-x.eu:1p0:basic. That export can be
useful when a recipient accepts Basic, and the same format family is called ZUGFeRD in
Germany.
Profile requirements are transaction-specific. In particular, France's current reform specifies EN16931 and EXTENDED-CTC-FR for its minimum exchange base; InvoiceYou's current Basic export is not claimed to satisfy those profiles. See the FNFE-MPE profile definitions and the app's dated validation record.
What your invoice must contain
Structured invoices are stricter than PDFs. A PDF will happily render with a missing country or a blank tax number; the XML will not validate. Before your first export, make sure you have:
- On your company: full legal name, complete postal address including the country, and your VAT or tax identification number.
- On the customer: full legal name and complete billing address, again including the country.
- On the invoice: a unique invoice number, an invoice date, and a currency.
- On every line item: a description, a quantity, a unit price, and an explicit VAT rate, including 0% where that's the correct rate.
That last one catches people out. In a PDF you can leave a tax column blank and nobody objects. In Factur-X, every line needs a rate so the tax breakdown can be computed and reconciled.
Creating a Factur-X invoice on iPhone
Producing a hybrid PDF/XML e-invoice normally means desktop accounting software. It doesn't have to.
In Quick Invoice Generator PDF
- Complete your company record. Settings → your company. Legal name, full address with country, tax number. This is the most common reason an export fails, so do it properly once.
- Complete the customer record. Same again: full legal name, full address, country.
- Build the invoice as normal. Line items with descriptions, quantities, unit prices and a VAT rate on every line.
- Press and hold the invoice in the invoice list and choose Share e-invoice (Factur-X (ZUGFeRD)).
- If something's missing, the app stops you. Rather than emitting a file that fails validation downstream, it shows exactly what's incomplete and links straight to the company or customer field that needs fixing.
- Share the file. The result is a single PDF with the XML embedded: send it, or hand it to whatever platform you're required to route through.
The ordinary Share PDF option is still there for clients who don't need a structured invoice. Same invoice, two output formats.
Generating the file is not the same as being compliant
Read this part before you rely on it
A technically valid Factur-X Basic file is not proof that the French reform requirements have been met. France's current minimum exchange base uses the EN16931 and EXTENDED-CTC-FR profiles. Covered invoices must also be transmitted through a state-approved platform, a plateforme agréée (PA), rather than emailed directly to your client. There are also e-reporting obligations attached.
Quick Invoice Generator PDF's exporter is tested to produce structurally valid Factur-X Basic files. It does not connect to an approved platform, and it cannot tell you whether your particular business, in your particular country, has met all of its legal and tax obligations. If the mandate applies to you, check how you're required to transmit, and if there's any doubt, ask your accountant.
Where the app does help is the part that's otherwise genuinely awkward: producing a Factur-X Basic document with an exporter that has passed structural checks, without buying desktop accounting software, from the device you already have in your hand. The exact checks and their limits are recorded on the e-invoice validation page.
Official sources
Regulatory and technical claims in this guide were checked against the following primary sources on 28 July 2026:
- French tax authority: implementation timetable
- French tax authority: electronic invoicing and approved platforms
- French tax authority: external specifications and standards
- FNFE-MPE: Factur-X specification, profiles and current publication
- FNFE-MPE: Factur-X implementation and validation resources
See InvoiceYou's dated FNFE-MPE, veraPDF and KoSIT validation evidence →
This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Requirements can change; check the official sources or ask your accountant before relying on them for a filing decision.
Export a Factur-X invoice from your phone
Factur-X 1.0 (Basic), from an exporter that has passed dated structural checks. Confirm the profile and route your transaction requires.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a Factur-X invoice?
A Factur-X invoice is a single PDF file that a human can read normally, with a structured XML representation of the same invoice embedded inside it. Your client sees a familiar-looking invoice; their accounting software reads the XML and books it automatically without anyone retyping the figures. It is built on the European EN 16931 semantic standard. The FNFE-MPE Factur-X publication describes the format and its profiles.
Is Factur-X the same as ZUGFeRD?
Effectively yes. Factur-X is the French name and ZUGFeRD (from version 2.x) is the German name for the same jointly developed hybrid PDF/XML standard. A file produced as Factur-X 1.0 is also a valid ZUGFeRD 2.x file. See the ZUGFeRD guide for the German rules.
When does e-invoicing become mandatory in France?
According to the French tax authority's implementation timetable, from 1 September 2026 every business in France, regardless of size, must be able to receive compliant e-invoices. From 1 September 2027, small and micro-enterprises must also be able to issue them. Large and mid-sized companies begin issuing from September 2026.
Can I just email a Factur-X file to my client?
For invoices covered by the mandate, no. France requires them to be exchanged through a state-approved platform (plateforme agréée, or PA) rather than sent directly by email. The French tax authority explains the platform requirement. A technically valid file is only one part of the obligation, and InvoiceYou's current Basic export is not claimed to meet the reform's EN16931 or EXTENDED-CTC-FR profiles. Outside the mandate (for instance to a client who simply prefers a Basic structured invoice), emailing it may still be acceptable.
What happens if my invoice is missing required data?
The export is blocked rather than silently producing an invalid file. Quick Invoice Generator PDF validates the invoice against the Factur-X Basic profile before exporting, and if something mandatory is missing (a country on an address, a tax identifier, a VAT rate on a line), it tells you which record to fix and takes you straight to it.