eInvoicing: Top 5 Misconceptions Rundown

Electronic invoicing is one of the hottest topics in finance today — especially in France. It’s no exaggeration to say that 2026 is already shaping up as a turning point for finance teams and financial software providers.

Everyone is talking about PDPs (Plateformes de Dématérialisation Partenaires), PAs (Plateformes Agrées), APIs, and the “end of OCR.” Over 100 players have already registered to become eInvoicing gateways. For many, this feels like the holy grail: one reform that will change everything.

But as with many hot topics, there are plenty of misconceptions. Let’s step back, separate hype from reality, and look at what eInvoicing really means for finance teams, software providers, and the broader financial ecosystem.

Misconception 1: eInvoicing will cover all invoices

It’s tempting to think the French reform will magically centralize all financial information. The reality is more nuanced.

The reform is focused on domestic B2B invoices in France. That’s a big deal, but it leaves many blind spots:

• Intra-EU invoices (e.g. Belgium contractor → French customer)

• Non-EU invoices (e.g. U.S. SaaS providers → French customer)

• Employee expenses (receipts or “B2C invoices” as we call it, paid for by employees and reimbursed by employers)

• Other accounting documents (pay slips, etc.)

➡️ What this means: PDPs/PAs will cover a large share of invoices, but not everything. Finance teams will still need to find missing data across inboxes, receipts, and SaaS billing portals. They will still need aggregation, reconciliation, and analysis tools.

eInvoicing is a great step forward, but it is not the be-all and end-all of the finance function.

Misconception 2: Becoming a PA/PDP is a must-do

In France, every player wants to become their customers’ PA (plateforme agréée), formerly PDP (plateforme de dématérialisation partenaire):

• Accounting software

• ERPs

• Neobanks

• Payment platforms

And it’s easy to see why. Being a PA gives direct access to all issued and received invoices — the gateway to financial data. But here’s the catch: invoices are not just invoices. They contain much more:

• Supplier and customer details

• Bank information and payment terms

• Payment deadlines

• Line-by-line product or service details

➡️ So while becoming a PA is attractive, it’s not the endgame. The true value lies in capturing the entire invoice, then analyzing, enriching, and turning it into actionable knowledge.

Software providers who stop at “being a PA” risk missing the bigger opportunity: transforming financial data into strategic insights.

Misconception 3: eInvoicing means the end of OCR

Another common belief is that since eInvoices will be natively issued in structured formats (like XML), OCR (Optical Character Recognition) will become obsolete.

In theory, yes. In practice, no.

Why?

1. Scope limitations. The reform covers only domestic B2B invoices. Cross-border invoices, expenses, and other financial documents are still outside the perimeter.

2. Regulatory focus. The reform is primarily about fighting VAT fraud, not about line-by-line reconciliation, payment tracking, or supplier management.

➡️ As a result, there will still be a huge volume of financial documents and data not covered by the reform. OCR remains essential to extract and structure that information.

Our belief: eInvoicing won’t kill OCR — it will make it more important. Why? Because once invoices are centralized via PDPs/PAs, the missing data (expenses, foreign invoices, payslips, etc.) will stand out even more, and OCR will be the tool that bridges the gap.

Misconception 4: eInvoicing will reduce the role of finance teams

There’s a fear that with invoices automatically routed and digitized, the finance function will shrink. In reality, the opposite is true.

Yes, automation will remove tedious tasks like manual invoice entry. But that’s only the first step. Finance teams will be needed to:

• Verify data quality across multiple sources

• Reconcile exceptions (e.g. foreign invoices, non-standard documents)

• Provide insights on spend, supplier risk, and cash flow

• Advise on strategic decisions informed by this richer dataset

➡️ Far from making finance professionals obsolete, eInvoicing will free them up for higher-value work.

Misconception 5: Complying is innovating

Many companies view eInvoicing as just another compliance project: check the box, avoid fines, and move on.

But compliance alone won’t create competitive advantage. The real opportunity lies in:

• Integrating eInvoicing data with other financial sources (banking, payments, payroll, SaaS billing portals)

• Using AI and automation to enrich and reconcile data in real time

• Turning invoices into insights that drive better procurement, payments, and forecasting decisions

➡️ In other words: compliance is the baseline. Innovation is what happens when finance teams use eInvoicing as a springboard to transform how they operate.

Final Thoughts

Electronic invoicing is an important reform and a major step toward modernizing finance in France. But let’s not fall for the hype.

• It won’t solve all financial data challenges.

• Becoming a PDP/PA is not an end in itself.

• OCR is here to stay — and may become more important.

• Finance professionals remain essential.

• And compliance should be a foundation, not the finish line.

At its core, the mission of financial software hasn’t changed in 20 years: turn invoices into actionable knowledge. eInvoicing is just one — albeit powerful — part of that bigger journey.