The Factur-X format
A PDF your customers read, an XML their accounting software understands.
Updated on May 7, 20261 min readFactur-XPDF/A-3
Factur-X is the preferred format for SME B2B invoicing in France and Europe. Its promise: a single file that speaks to humans and machines alike. Your customers open a perfectly readable PDF; their accounting software reads the embedded XML automatically.
A PDF for legal archival
Under the hood, Factur-X is a PDF/A-3 — a PDF certified for long-term archival — containing an EN16931-compliant XML file and its XMP metadata. OstraOS generates this file at the EN16931 Comfort profile, the B2B European standard.
Why this is powerful
- For you: a single file to issue — no more dual PDF + XML versioning.
- For your customers: they keep receiving an invoice they can read at a glance.
- For their accounting: automatic import in any software that supports EN16931 — and many do.
- For archival: PDF/A-3 compliance from day one, with no later conversion.
Our advice
For most shellfish-farming operations, Factur-X is the right default: compatible with almost every SME and large-account customer, and comfortable for your field team.