The electronic invoicing reform is changing the way restaurants manage their administrative tasks. Rather than simply complying with it, you can use it as a lever to save time, secure your VAT, and streamline your accounting.
Preparing for e-invoicing in the restaurant industry means understanding the rules, choosing the right tools, and organizing your workflows now. Here are the essential steps to take to approach the reform with confidence.
The Electronic Invoicing Reform gradually imposes three obligations on all VAT-registered businesses: to receive electronic invoices, to issue them, and to transmit certain transaction data to the authorities.
In practical terms, invoices are no longer sent by email or on paper. They are sent via approved platforms and comply with structured formats that can be read by accounting software.
The government has a clear objective: to combat VAT fraud and simplify tax returns.
For a restaurant owner, this means fewer re-entries, fewer errors, and better visibility into cash flow.
👉 To learn more: Electronic invoicing—how does it affect me?
All restaurants subject to VAT are affected: independent restaurants, franchises, catering services, and multi-site groups.
Even micro-entrepreneurs subject to VAT are included in the scheme.
If you bill business customers, the e-invoicing requirement for restaurants applies directly to you.
In a restaurant, the reform impacts three pillars: cash registers, B2B invoicing, and accounting.
If your tools do not communicate with each other, the reform creates additional work. However, if you automate the flows between your cash register, your approved platform, and your accounting system, you can turn this obligation into a simplification.
Properly preparing for e-invoicing in the restaurant industry therefore involves connecting your tools to avoid any manual re-entry.
👉 To go further: Mandatory electronic invoicing: how to comply before 2026
The reform provides for financial penalties:
But the main risk remains operational: blocked invoices, tensions with suppliers, administrative overload, and late payments.
The reform requires an upgrade of tools. But it also reduces manual data entry, allows payments to be tracked in real time, and provides reliable data.
This is an opportunity to modernize your tools by connecting them to solutions such as Pennylane and to transform the restaurant e-invoicing requirement into a real lever for efficiency.
The cash register plays a central role, as the majority of a restaurant's revenue comes from B2C sales.
An RFE-compatible cash register must:
With a solution like Innovorder, you can automate these reports without any complex manipulation for your teams.
Several pieces of information fall within the scope:
The goal is simple: avoid Excel and any manual re-entry.
An RFE-compatible cash register connects to an Approved Platform, generates invoices in the required format (such as Factur-X), and automatically transmits the required data.
Without this compatibility, you have to export, transform, and import files, which negates the benefits of the reform.
The fund never communicates directly with the tax authorities. It sends its data to the PA, which checks compliance, extracts the required information, and then transmits it to the Public Invoicing Portal (PPF) or other platforms.
The fund remains the point of entry, but the PA is the official contact for the authorities.
An Approved Platform (formerly PDP) is a state-registered entity. It receives, checks, and transmits electronic invoices and ensures their legal archiving.
Only an approved platform can officially transmit your invoices under the 2026 electronic invoicing reform.
Your cash register must be able to integrate with one or more Approved Platforms in order to send the Z report and invoices.
Only registered PAs can send e-invoices as part of the 2026 electronic invoicing reform: some solutions can issue electronic invoices, but are not sufficient on their own to ensure compliance.
Pennylane combines the role of an Approved Platform and an accounting tool. You can centralize your invoices, cash flows, purchases, and sales in a single environment.
When paired with a compatible cash register such as Innovorder, the chain becomes fluid and largely automated: the cash register sends the data, the platform processes it, and the accounting is updated without re-entry.
You gain compliance, visibility, and efficiency.
Preparing your restaurant for e-invoicing is not just about complying with a legal requirement. You are modernizing your management, securing your financial flows, and simplifying your daily routine.
By choosing a compatible cash register and specialized partners such as Innovorder, you can approach the reform methodically and calmly, allowing you to stay focused on what matters most: your team, your customers, and the experience you offer every day.
