Factur-X is one of the three formats of the French e-invoice, along with UBL and CII: a readable PDF that contains the invoice data in XML. E-reporting is the transmission to the tax authority of data that does not go through an e-invoice, in particular sales abroad and payments for services.
For a recruitment agency or an IT consultancy (ESN), the first is handled by the approved platform (plateforme agréée). The second affects every fee collected.
Article checked on 11 November 2026. General timeline: see our article on mandatory e-invoicing.
Factur-X, UBL and CII: three formats, one content
The three formats carry the same invoice data: seller, client, SIREN number, lines, amounts, VAT, due date. Factur-X also presents it as a PDF for a person to read; UBL and CII are data files only. The reform accepts all three, and the approved platform converts if your client expects a different one.
| Format | What it is | Readable by a person |
|---|---|---|
| Factur-X | PDF containing an XML file | Yes |
| UBL | XML file, international standard | No, not without a tool |
| CII | XML file, United Nations standard | No, not without a tool |
For an agency, the question is therefore not which format to choose, but whether the data you send to your platform is complete. A Factur-X invoice without the client's SIREN number is still rejected.
A PDF with data is not an e-invoice on its own
A Factur-X file sent by email does not meet the issuing obligation. The invoice has to go through an approved platform, which sends it to the client's platform and sends the data to the tax authority. The format is one condition, the platform is another.
E-reporting: what is reported, and when
E-reporting is the transmission to the tax authority, by the approved platform, of two families of data: sales that are not covered by an e-invoice between French companies, and payments for services. It follows the issuing timeline: September 2027 for an SME.
Sales outside e-invoicing
This covers sales to individuals and sales to companies established outside France. For an agency placing a candidate with a client in Geneva or Brussels, or an IT consultancy billing a foreign subsidiary, the invoice remains a conventional invoice, but its data is sent by e-reporting.
Payments for services
A placement fee and a time-and-materials invoice at a daily rate (TJM) are provisions of services. Unless you have opted to pay VAT on invoicing, VAT is due on payment. The tax authority therefore needs the date and amount collected, per VAT rate.
- For a French client, this information travels through the "paid" status of the e-invoice.
- For an individual, it travels through e-reporting of payments.
- For a business client established outside France, the service is generally taxable in the client's country: only the transaction data is reported, not the payment data.
If a client pays in two instalments, two payments are reported. A deposit that has been collected is reported too, for its amount.
What this changes at an agency or an IT consultancy
Matching invoices against payments becomes data that is reported, and no longer just a month-end task. For an agency, this means knowing, invoice by invoice, what has been paid and when, and making sure the approved platform knows it too. For an IT consultancy, the same thing across dozens of monthly invoices.
Three habits help:
- One invoice, one identifiable payment. Ask the client to quote the invoice number in the bank transfer reference.
- Foreign clients flagged on their record, so their invoices follow the right path.
- Payment tracking updated every week, so the "paid" status goes out on time.
In Marvin
Marvin does not produce Factur-X files and does not send anything to the tax authority: that is the role of your approved platform. It prepares the invoice from the placement or the validated CRA (timesheet), tracks payments invoice by invoice and sends reminders, then, for a client established in France, sends the invoice as a draft to Pennylane. In other cases, and for other software, the data can be exported as CSV.
See our invoicing software for recruitment agencies, and to choose the tool that does the transmission, our article on the approved platform.
FAQ
What is Factur-X?
Factur-X is a Franco-German e-invoice format: a PDF that a person can read, containing an XML file that software can read. It is one of the three formats accepted by the French reform, along with UBL and CII, which are XML files only.
Do I have to produce a Factur-X file myself?
No. Your approved platform produces the format expected by your client’s platform from the invoice data. What matters on your side is that this data is complete and correct: SIREN number, transaction category, amounts, VAT rate.
What is e-reporting?
E-reporting is the transmission to the tax authority of data that does not go through an e-invoice between French companies: sales to individuals, sales to clients established abroad, and payment data for services. It goes through the approved platform.
Is a recruitment agency affected by e-reporting?
Yes, for payments: a placement fee is a provision of services, on which VAT is due on payment. The date and amount collected are reported. The agency is also affected for each client established outside France. The timeline follows the issuing timeline.
When does e-reporting apply?
On the same timeline as issuing e-invoices: since 1 September 2026 for large companies and mid-sized companies, and from 1 September 2027 for SMEs, very small businesses and micro-enterprises.