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A domestic B2B invoice must not be sent directly to the customer by email. It must go through an approved platform. Bonx can produce Factur-X and uses the Pennylane approved platform to transmit it. If your accounting software already handles electronic invoicing, you can instead have it issue and transmit the invoice.
Downloading Factur-X from Bonx and sending it directly to the customer is not the workflow defined by the French reform. The approved platform transmits it to the customer’s platform and sends the required data to the tax authority.

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Invoices in scope

The French electronic invoicing workflow applies to B2B invoices when:
  • the seller and buyer are VAT-taxable persons established in France;
  • the transaction falls within the scope of French VAT; and
  • French invoicing rules apply.
An invoice involving a customer or supplier established outside France does not follow the French electronic invoicing workflow. Its transaction data may instead have to be sent to the tax authority through e-reporting.
The two workflows below apply to domestic B2B invoices. For a cross-border transaction, keep the invoicing workflow agreed with the customer or supplier and apply the e-reporting rules for that transaction.

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Case 1 — You issue invoices in Bonx

Use this workflow to create, number and issue invoices in Bonx. Bonx then sends their Factur-X to the Pennylane approved platform. You do not need to use Pennylane as your accounting software: in this workflow, Pennylane only handles the regulatory transmission.
1

Create the draft in Bonx

Create the invoice from a sales order or shipment. Complete its addresses, dates, payment details and lines.
2

Request issue

Start validation from the draft. Bonx checks mandatory data, EN 16931 rules and the Factur-X schema.
3

Bonx issues the invoice

Bonx assigns the legal number, freezes the data and generates a PDF/A-3 containing factur-x.xml.
4

Bonx sends Factur-X to Pennylane

The integration automatically sends the document to the Pennylane approved platform.
5

Pennylane routes the invoice

Pennylane sends the invoice to the customer’s platform and the required data to the tax authority.
Bonx retains the issued invoice and its Factur-X. Later changes to the customer, address or bank account do not change the frozen document.
You do not need to be a customer of Pennylane’s accounting software. Access to its approved platform is provided through the Bonx integration. Pennylane documents the automatic import of Factur-X files produced by an ERP and their transmission through the electronic invoicing network.

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Case 2 — Accounting software is connected to an approved platform

Use this workflow when your accounting software handles electronic invoicing. It must be an approved platform or be connected to one. Bonx remains the source of commercial data such as the order, shipment, customer, articles, quantities and prices.
1

Prepare data in Bonx

Record the order and shipments used to invoice the customer.
2

Send data through the integration

Bonx sends an order, shipment or invoice according to the configured connector.
3

Prepare the electronic invoice

Depending on the integration, the accounting software issues the invoice or reuses one already issued in Bonx. It then generates the required electronic format.
4

Transmit through the approved platform

The accounting software submits the document to the approved platform, which sends it to the customer and the tax authority.
The starting record depends on the integration:
  • Pennylane can receive a Bonx order or shipment and create a draft customer invoice. The invoice is then issued in Pennylane.
  • Sage 100 Accounting receives an invoice already issued in Bonx, including its legal number and account and tax mappings. Sage 100 then uses this data in its own workflow.
Set one system as responsible for issue and legal numbering. When the accounting software issues the invoice, enable Validate invoices externally. The validation action is then disabled in Bonx.

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Choose the workflow

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Data required for Factur-X

When Bonx generates Factur-X, provide:
  • Company: legal name, VAT number, establishment address and SIRET when required;
  • Customer: legal name, billing address, VAT number and a 14-digit SIRET for a French address;
  • Payment: payment method or terms and, for a bank transfer, the destination bank account;
  • Lines: description, quantity, unit, price, VAT rate and exemption reason when applicable.
The VAT category, exemption code and exemption reason of each line come from the sales tax rule set in the accounting settings for the customer’s tax regime and the line’s rate (reverse charge, intra-EU supply, export…). Without a rule, a 0% rate is declared exempt. Bonx also generates Factur-X for deposits, balance invoices and credit notes.

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French timetable

  • From 1 September 2026, all VAT-registered businesses must be able to receive electronic invoices. Large and mid-sized companies must also issue them.
  • From 1 September 2027, small and medium-sized businesses must also issue electronic invoices.