What is the difference between Factur-X and UBL?

Factur-X is hybrid: a human-readable PDF with XML attached inside. UBL is pure XML, unreadable without a tool. Both are valid structured formats; Factur-X suits exchanges between small businesses, UBL dominates internationally through the Peppol network.

Is EN 16931 an invoice format?

No. EN 16931 is the European standard defining which information an invoice must carry and which calculation rules it must satisfy. Formats like Factur-X and UBL are different ways of writing an invoice compliant with that standard. Confusingly, EN 16931 is also the name of the richest Factur-X profile.

What is the difference between e-invoicing and e-reporting?

E-invoicing covers invoices between businesses established in France: the document itself travels through a platform. E-reporting covers other transactions, notably consumer sales: transaction data is transmitted, not the invoice.

Is a digitally signed PDF an electronic invoice?

No, not under the reform. An electronic signature guarantees authenticity but does not make the data machine-readable. A structured format is required: Factur-X, UBL or CII.

Factur-X, UBL, PDP, e-reporting: the e-invoicing glossary

Why this glossary

The e-invoicing reform has produced an acronym soup in which almost everyone confuses at least two terms. That confusion is expensive: it makes people buy useless tools, or wait when they should act.

Each term below fits in one sentence, followed by what it does not mean.

Formats

Factur-X

What it is: a hybrid invoice format — a single PDF holding both the readable invoice and the same data as XML attached inside.

What it isn't: not software, not a platform, not a certification. It's a file format.

ZUGFeRD

What it is: the German name of the same format. Since version 2.0, ZUGFeRD and Factur-X are technically identical.

What it isn't: a competing format. It's the same one with another label.

UBL

What it is: *Universal Business Language*, a pure XML invoice format, widespread internationally and across the Peppol network.

What it isn't: human-readable without a tool. That's the main difference from Factur-X.

CII

What it is: *Cross Industry Invoice*, the XML syntax defined by UN/CEFACT. It is the XML that Factur-X embeds in its PDF.

What it isn't: a competitor to Factur-X — it's its content.

PDF/A-3

What it is: a standardised PDF variant designed for long-term archiving that allows embedded attachments. It is the envelope of a Factur-X file.

What it isn't: an invoice format. It's a document format.

The standard

EN 16931

What it is: the European standard defining the semantic model of an electronic invoice — which information it must carry and which calculation rules it must satisfy.

What it isn't: a file format. EN 16931 says *what* to put in the invoice; Factur-X and UBL say *how* to write it. It is also the name of the richest Factur-X profile, which adds to the confusion.

Profile

What it is: how rich a Factur-X file is — MINIMUM, BASIC WL, BASIC, EN 16931, EXTENDED, from lightest to fullest.

What it isn't: a marketing option. Too light a profile is not a complete tax invoice.

Players and transport

PDP — accredited partner platform

What it is: a private operator registered by the administration, authorised to issue, receive and transmit electronic invoices and extract their data for the tax authority.

What it isn't: your invoicing software, unless it has explicitly obtained that status. Generating the format and carrying the invoice are two distinct jobs.

PPF — public invoicing portal

What it is: the central public scheme, essentially a directory: it knows which platform to route an invoice to for a given company.

What it isn't: the pipe all your invoices go through. Its role was narrowed: transport runs through the accredited platforms.

Chorus Pro

What it is: the portal through which invoices addressed to the State and public bodies have travelled for years.

What it isn't: the B2B reform scheme. If you only invoice private companies, Chorus Pro does not concern you.

Peppol

What it is: an international network for exchanging business documents, widely used in Northern Europe, mostly built on UBL.

What it isn't: the French scheme.

The obligations

E-invoicing

What it is: the obligation to issue and receive structured invoices between businesses established in France, through a platform.

What it isn't: emailing a PDF. An ordinary PDF is not an electronic invoice under the reform.

E-reporting

What it is: transmitting to the administration the data of transactions outside e-invoicing — typically your consumer sales and some international operations.

What it isn't: sending invoices. Aggregated transaction data is transmitted, not the document.

Summary table

Term	Category	In one line
Factur-X	Format	PDF + XML in a single file
ZUGFeRD	Format	The German name for Factur-X
UBL	Format	Pure XML invoice
CII	Syntax	The XML embedded in Factur-X
PDF/A-3	Container	The archivable PDF carrying the attachment
EN 16931	Standard	What the invoice must contain
PDP	Player	The accredited private platform that carries
PPF	Player	The public directory that routes
Chorus Pro	Portal	Public sector only
E-invoicing	Obligation	Structured B2B invoices
E-reporting	Obligation	B2C sales data

Not to be confused with the AI invoice: an invoice generated by artificial intelligence from a typed or spoken sentence. It can perfectly well be issued in Factur-X format.

What to remember

Three distinctions settle 90% of the misunderstandings:

Format ≠ platform. Producing Factur-X connects you to nothing; being connected produces no invoices.

Standard ≠ format. EN 16931 says what; Factur-X says how.

Public ≠ private. Chorus Pro is the State. The 2026 reform is private B2B.