How to create a Factur-X invoice
France's e-invoicing mandate turns a PDF emailed to a client into something that no longer counts as an invoice. Here's what Factur-X actually is, when it applies to you, and how to produce one.
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 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 accepted formats are Factur-X, UBL 2.1 and CII. A plain PDF sent by email will not satisfy the requirement once it applies to you. Reported penalties run to €50 per non-compliant invoice, capped at €15,000 a year, with a separate €500 penalty per data-reporting failure under the same annual cap.
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.
Profiles: why "Basic" is usually enough
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 is the level that carries real line-item and VAT-breakdown data while
staying manageable, and it's what most small-business invoicing needs. Quick Invoice Generator PDF exports
Factur-X 1.0 (Basic) — spec ID urn:factur-x.eu:1p0:basic.
The same file is a valid ZUGFeRD 2.x document, so it works for German clients too.
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 valid Factur-X file is necessary for the French mandate. It is not sufficient. France also requires compliant invoices to be transmitted through a certified platform — a plateforme de dématérialisation partenaire (PDP) — rather than emailed directly to your client. There are also e-reporting obligations attached.
Quick Invoice Generator PDF generates standards-based Factur-X files. It does not connect to a PDP, 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 correct, validated Factur-X document without buying desktop accounting software, from the device you already have in your hand.
Export a Factur-X invoice from your phone
Factur-X 1.0 (Basic), validated before it leaves the device. No desktop accounting software required.
Free plan: 10 invoices, 3 shares a month · No account · No ads
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.
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?
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. Larger companies begin issuing from September 2026.
Can I just email a Factur-X file to my client?
For the mandate, no. France requires compliant invoices to be transmitted through a certified platform (a plateforme de dématérialisation partenaire, or PDP) rather than sent directly by email. Generating a valid Factur-X file is a necessary step, but it is not the whole obligation. Outside the mandate — for instance to a client who simply prefers structured invoices — emailing it is fine.
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.