Location guide · France
Location guides for 8 cities in France, from Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Flip Retail builds custom ERP, AI agents, web applications and SaaS for businesses in France from Jaipur, India, and delivers remotely.
01 — Compliance
Tax, e-invoicing, data-protection and AI rules that shape an ERP, billing system or AI agent in France. Last reviewed October 2026.
| Indirect tax | VAT (TVA), standard rate 20%Standard rate 20% with reduced rates of 10%, 5.5% and 2.1%; most companies file monthly CA3 returns (small businesses may use the annual simplified regime). The e-invoicing reform adds new mandatory invoice fields (e.g. SIREN, delivery address, goods/services category) that billing software must capture. |
|---|---|
| E-invoicing | Phasing in · Accredited platforms (plateformes agréées, PA) with Factur-X, UBL or CII; e-reportingSince 1 Sep 2026 all French VAT-registered businesses must be able to receive e-invoices through an accredited platform, and large and mid-size companies (GE/ETI) must issue e-invoices and e-report B2C and cross-border transaction data; SMEs and micro-businesses must issue from 1 Sep 2027. Accepted formats are Factur-X, UBL and CII. |
| Data protection | GDPR plus the amended Data Protection Act (Loi Informatique et Libertés, Law No. 78-17)GDPR applies directly, supplemented by the amended Data Protection Act (Loi Informatique et Libertés, Law No. 78-17) and supervised by the CNIL; B2B buyers expect an Art. 28 data processing agreement, a sub-processor list and, in practice, EU/EEA hosting or SCC-covered transfers. |
| AI rules | The EU AI Act applies directly: prohibited AI practices have been banned since 2 Feb 2025, general-purpose AI model rules apply since 2 Aug 2025 and transparency duties (e.g. chatbot disclosure, AI-content labelling) since 2 Aug 2026, while the Digital Omnibus on AI (in force 27 Jul 2026) moved stand-alone high-risk (Annex III) obligations to 2 Dec 2027 and product-embedded high-risk (Annex I) obligations to 2 Aug 2028; France has given coordination of AI market surveillance to the DGCCRF, working with sector regulators such as the CNIL. |
| Systems we migrate from or connect to | Sage, Cegid, EBP, Pennylane, QuickBooks, Odoo, AxonautMasters, ledgers, stock and open balances move across and are reconciled before cutover. |
| Payment rails for web apps and SaaS | Cartes Bancaires (CB), SEPA Credit Transfer and Direct Debit, Stripe, Adyen, PayPal |
| Also worth knowing | Companies must be able to produce a FEC (Fichier des écritures comptables) file on tax audit, and POS or cash software used for consumer sales must meet anti-fraud requirements (e.g. NF525 certification). ERP vendors typically integrate with one or more accredited platforms rather than the tax portal directly. |
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so we confirm current requirements during discovery; your tax adviser should confirm anything that affects filings.
Sources consulted:
02 — Cities
Each guide covers the local economy, the industries we would build for first, and how working with Jaipur fits your hours.
03 — Industries
The industries that come up most across the cities we cover in France.
04 — Services
ERP built around how your business actually trades, not the other way round.
Learn moreProduction AI built on your own data: knowledge assistants, document processing, forecasting and LLM features inside the tools your team already uses.
Learn moreCustom AI agents that do real work inside your business: qualify leads on WhatsApp, read and key documents, take orders, chase payments and update your ERP or CRM, with a person approving anything that matters.
Learn moreCustomer portals, internal tools, dashboards, marketplaces and workflow apps, built with React and Next.js on solid back ends and APIs, and shipped in two-week increments you can use as they are built.
Learn moreFrom MVP to multi-tenant platform: we design, build and run SaaS products with subscription billing, tenant isolation, role-based access and AI features built in.
Learn moreIf it runs on data and touches revenue, we have probably built one before.
Start a conversation05 — FAQ
Yes. Flip Retail is based in Jaipur, India, and works with France businesses remotely. We have no office in France; discovery happens on video calls, you get working software every two weeks, and the engineers who write the code are on the calls.
Yes. Invoicing is built for France's VAT (standard rate 20%). Since 1 Sep 2026 all French VAT-registered businesses must be able to receive e-invoices through an accredited platform, and large and mid-size companies (GE/ETI) must issue e-invoices and e-report B2C and cross-border transaction data; SMEs and micro-businesses must issue from 1 Sep 2027. Accepted formats are Factur-X, UBL and CII. A custom ERP connects to an accredited platform (PA) through its official API or an accredited provider, and we confirm the current requirements in discovery.
GDPR applies directly, supplemented by the amended Data Protection Act (Loi Informatique et Libertés, Law No. 78-17) and supervised by the CNIL; B2B buyers expect an Art. 28 data processing agreement, a sub-processor list and, in practice, EU/EEA hosting or SCC-covered transfers. You choose where the system is hosted, access is role-based, and we work on test or masked data during development wherever possible.
Yes. Masters, ledgers, stock items and opening balances move across and are reconciled with your accountant before cutover, ideally at a year-end or quarter-end.
The EU AI Act applies directly: prohibited AI practices have been banned since 2 Feb 2025, general-purpose AI model rules apply since 2 Aug 2025 and transparency duties (e.g. chatbot disclosure, AI-content labelling) since 2 Aug 2026, while the Digital Omnibus on AI (in force 27 Jul 2026) moved stand-alone high-risk (Annex III) obligations to 2 Dec 2027 and product-embedded high-risk (Annex I) obligations to 2 Aug 2028; France has given coordination of AI market surveillance to the DGCCRF, working with sector regulators such as the CNIL. We design AI agents with logging, human oversight and clear disclosure from the start, which covers most current requirements.
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