E-invoicing in France: how coaches can get ready

Good news first: you do not have to sort everything out this month. France’s e-invoicing reform arrives in two stages, and for a coach, a calm run-up is plenty. Before September 2026, the whole thing comes down to one sentence: be able to receive an electronic invoice. Issuing and e-reporting only follow in September 2027. Here is your roadmap, step by step and dated. (Updated 27 June 2026.)

The two dates your preparation hinges on

Your whole run-up organises itself around two dates. From 1 September 2026, every business in France, micro-entrepreneurs included, must be able to receive an electronic invoice. From 1 September 2027, the obligation to issue invoices in an electronic format and to transmit your sales data (e-reporting) extends to small businesses and micro-entreprises.

We explain who is concerned, and why even a coach under the VAT franchise is, in our guide to e-invoicing in France for sports coaches. This article stays on the practical side: what to do, and in what order. And the order matters. Everyone talks about issuing invoices, when the first step, a year earlier, is receiving them. That is where your preparation starts.

Before September 2026: be able to receive

This is the one genuinely time-sensitive task. From 1 September 2026, your own suppliers (equipment, software, insurance, room rental, services) can start sending you their invoices in electronic format. To receive them, you need to be reachable on an approved platform and listed in the central business directory, which acts as the switchboard routing each invoice to the right recipient.

You have nothing to issue yourself at this stage. It comes down to opening an account on an approved platform, or using management software that connects to one, and checking that your SIREN number is correctly listed there. Count on a few minutes once you have picked your solution. The ideal is to settle this before the summer of 2026, so you are not dealing with it in a hurry come the autumn.

Choosing your solution without overthinking it

A point of vocabulary saves a lot of confusion: invoicing software and an approved platform do not do the same job. The software helps you create and track your invoices; the platform (a plateforme agréée) is the official channel they travel through. In practice, a self-employed coach almost never connects to an approved platform directly. You choose a management or invoicing tool that is itself linked to a platform.

Before you commit, check three things with your provider. Is the tool actually connected to an approved platform. Does it handle the structured formats for you, namely Factur-X, UBL and CII, so you never touch them. And does it support e-reporting of your sales to individuals, which is the bulk of a coach’s activity. If you already use software to manage your clients and payments, put these questions to it rather than switching on reflex. Our guide to personal trainer software and CRM walks through what a good tool should cover.

Tidy up your client data now

This is the most useful job, and the calmest to do early. The format of your future invoices depends on the type of each client: an individual falls under e-reporting, a business under a true electronic invoice. The clearer your client list is on that point, the less you will have to think about it in 2027.

Concretely, separate your individual clients from any business clients you have (a gym, a company, a works council, a VAT-registered association). For the latter, collect their SIREN number now, since you will need it to send them an electronic invoice. And keep a clean record of every sale to an individual, session by session or package by package: those are what will feed your e-reporting. As a bonus, it is also the basis for tidy accounts and a calm URSSAF check.

In 2027: issuing and e-reporting

On 1 September 2027 your obligation widens. Three actions are enough to confirm everything works. Issue a test invoice in Factur-X to a business client, if you have one, and check that it goes out through your platform. Make sure e-reporting automatically transmits the data of your sales to individuals. And take the chance to review your mandatory invoice fields, including the VAT statement that changes in 2026: our article on what a coach’s invoice must include covers it.

If your tool is connected to an approved platform, most of these steps happen without you. Converting to the right format and transmitting are the platform’s job, not yours.

What you don’t need to do yet

Worth saying plainly, because the reform tends to worry people more than it changes their day. Until 2027, nothing changes in how you invoice your individual clients. You keep giving them a receipt the way you do today. You also don’t need to learn the technical formats or code anything, which is exactly the platform’s role. And there is no point buying a tool you barely understand in a panic: take the time to choose a solution that covers your real needs.

Your roadmap at a glance

If you remember only one thing, make it this sequence, spread over the coming months:

• Now to summer 2026: choose an approved platform, or software that connects to one, open an account, and confirm you can receive an electronic invoice.
• In parallel, no rush: clean up your client list, separate individuals from businesses, and collect the SIREN of your business clients.
• Ongoing: keep a clean record of every sale to an individual, the raw material of your future e-reporting.
• During 2027: test issuing a Factur-X invoice, check that your e-reporting works, and review your mandatory invoice fields.

The full official calendar is published and kept up to date on impots.gouv.fr, the source to follow since the dates have moved before.

Where Athletis takes this off your plate

With Athletis, this preparation comes down to almost nothing on your side. Your invoices go out in the right format, your e-reporting is handled for you on your sales to individuals, and you never have to open an XML file in your life. Your invoicing, payments and reminders live in one place, with compliance handled in the background.

Until 2027, the best move stays the simplest one: first make sure you can receive an electronic invoice, then keep your sales neatly recorded. When the deadline comes, you just let your tool do the work. If you want to talk it through for your own business, get in touch, or try Athletis today.