What information must be included on your invoice? [+ conforming model]

Are you responsible for invoicing in your company or on your own account, and would you like to know what information must appear on your invoice?

This commercial document must include certain essential information, in order to comply with the constraints on form and content laid down by official texts such as the French Commercial Code.

Here are the legal requirements that you must not omit at any cost, so as not to get into trouble with the law if you have a disagreement with one of your customers. As a bonus, you can download a template to ensure that your invoices comply with the law!

See all software Billing and Invoicing

General information required on all invoices

Among the obligations linked to invoicing, you need to know exactly what general information must be included on all your invoices. Here are the details:

Issue date

This is the date on which you issue the invoice.

If the date of the sale or service is different from the invoice date, it must also appear on the invoice (in the description).

Numbering

This is a unique invoice number, i.e. it is unique to each invoice document issued. You must choose a chronological sequence that must be continuous, in other words a consecutive and uninterrupted series of numbers, in order to identify all the invoices issued.

Opt for numbering by year (2021-01) or by month (2021-01-01), and include the word "Invoice", which is also compulsory. This title followed by its number must appear on all the pages that make up an invoice.

☝️Le number of the corresponding purchase order must also be mentioned, where applicable, a requirement that has been in force since 1 October 2019.

Buyer identification

This includes all information relating to the identity of the buyer or customer:

• customer name or company name,
• precise address,
• invoicing address (if different),
• intra-Community VAT number.

Seller identification

This includes all information identifying the seller or service provider:

• full name of the seller or company name,
• company name (with SIREN or SIRET number),
• registration number in the Trade and Companies Register (RCS) for a trader,
• trade register number (RM) for a craftsman,
• address of the company's registered office,
• legal form (SAS, SASU, SARL, EURL, SA, etc.),
• amount of share capital,
• individual VAT identification number (if the amount exceeds €150).

Description of the product or service

You must give details of the goods sold or services provided. You must indicate

• the precise name of each service or good sold,
• their respective quantities
• the unit price excluding VAT,
• any price increases, if applicable,
• the date of sale (which corresponds to the actual day on which the service was provided).

Indication of amounts and VAT

Each line detailing a product or service must also include information on :

• the amount (excluding VAT),
• the applicable VAT rate (20%, 10%, 5%, etc.), for each line if different rates apply,
• the price reduction, discount or rebate, if any, acquired at the date of the sale or service and directly linked to this transaction,
• the total amount including VAT.

The totals of all the amounts must also be shown:

• the total amount to be paid exclusive of VAT,
• the total amount of VAT,
• the total amount of the invoice including all taxes (TTC).

💡If you have any doubts about the details relating to your customer, don't hesitate to contact them so that you can draw up an accurate and valid invoice.

Mandatory information in specific cases

Mandatory information for professionals

As a professional (excluding microentrepreneurs), if you issue an invoice for goods or services supplied to a professional customer, you must include the following information:

• the terms of payment,
• the due date for payment or the payment deadline, i.e. the date by which payment of the invoice must be received;
• discount terms (in the event of early payment),
• the rate of penalties payable (in the event of non-payment by the customer on the required payment date),
• the fixed indemnity for collection costs in the event of late payment, amounting to €40,
• legal information relating to VAT.

Mandatory information on a micro-business invoice

If you are a micro-entrepreneur (formerly known as an auto-entrepreneur), you are exempt from basic VAT, and must include the words " TVA non applicable, article 293 B du CGI" (VAT not applicable, article 293 B of the General Tax Code) on your invoices.

Simplified mandatory information for small amounts

As a vendor or service provider, you are exempt from certain compulsory statements if the amount of the invoice, excluding VAT, is less than or equal to €150, such as :

• your individual VAT identification number,
• references to the provisions of the General Tax Code or the European Directive specifying that the transaction qualifies for exemption.

☝️Notons however, these simplifications do not apply to exempt intra-Community supplies, intra-Community services or supplies of goods under the distance selling scheme.

Other examples of special compulsory information

Depending on the nature of the services rendered or goods sold, or in very specific cases, the invoice must include other specific information:

• for tradespeople, traders registered with the RCS and microentrepreneurs subject to the obligation to take out professional insurance: details of the insurance taken out, the insurer's contact details and the geographical area covered by the insurance;
• for building tradespeople: details of ten-year professional insurance (contract reference, contact details of the insurer and guarantor, geographical coverage);
• for members of an approved management centre or an approved association: the words "Accepting payment of sums due by cheque and/or bank card as a member of an approved management centre";
• for tenant-managers or authorised managers: a reference to this status;
• for EIRLs: the name of the manager, the name used to carry on the business, accompanied by the words "entrepreneur individuel à responsabilité limitée" or the sign EIRL.

What penalties apply?

If your company fails to comply with these obligations, it is liable to a fine of €15 for each missing or incorrect statement on an invoice.

☝️À Note that any fine may not exceed a certain ceiling, set at 1/4 of the amount of the invoice.

For a natural person, the fine may be as high as €75,000, and for a legal entity it may be as high as €375,000.

See all software Billing and Invoicing

Simplify your invoicing with the right tools

✅ To produce a compliant invoice easily and avoid penalties, download this invoice template. Immediately usable, compliant and customisable, it already contains all the necessary fields, which you can fill in with your own information.

⚒️ To take things a step further, and to facilitate your entire invoicing process while ensuring that all the legal information appears on your documents, why not equip yourself with invoicing software? Such a tool guarantees you :

• automatically-generated, compliant numbering
• your estimates can be converted into invoices in just a few clicks,
• compliance with compulsory information, to be completed once, with data saved for each customer,
• VAT rates are taken into account, whether or not you are subject to VAT,
• export your data directly into your accounts,
• integration with your existing business tools, etc.

In short, you'll save precious time by automating a host of tasks, and you'll be able to secure the entire invoicing process - legally and with complete peace of mind!

Finally, whether you use e-invoices or paper documents, never forget to keep these accounting documents for 10 years, and to make back-ups of your electronic documents.