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路 Frank Laarhoven

An electronic invoice needs an address too

We taught invoices to become digital. Now we also have to teach them where to go. Why SIREN, SIRET and receiving addresses became compliance data.

Colourful illustration of a Paris street scene where postal workers route invoices along winding red, blue and yellow tracks.

We have spent years teaching invoices to become digital. Now we also have to teach them where to go.

That sounds obvious. Until you realise that in the French model, delivering an invoice is no longer equivalent to knowing an email address.

  • The receiving organisation needs to be identifiable.
  • The correct electronic address must be known.
  • The right approved platform must be able to route the invoice.
  • And the directory becomes part of the process.

Email versus parcel network

Think of it as the difference between sending an email and operating an international parcel network. The parcel needs the right destination. The network needs to know the route. And somebody needs to tell you whether it arrived.

That makes master data much more interesting than it used to be. SIREN, SIRET, receiving addresses and entity structures suddenly become operational compliance data.

The invoice can be beautifully formatted and perfectly calculated. But if it goes to the wrong door, nobody is impressed.

Sometimes digital transformation really does come down to knowing the address. 馃槈

Originally published on the itax4apps LinkedIn page on 8 September 2026.