3. Feature-by-Feature Scrutiny (The Catalog Idea's Features)
Date: 30 Sept 2026 · InvoiceBridge (working name) · Back to WHAT-TO-DO-AND-AVOID.md
The catalog row (E6) didn't list features. It named a pattern: "make invoices from a popular small-business tool (Stripe, Paddle, WooCommerce, Xero, Zoho or a vertical ERP) compliant with one e-invoicing mandate, reselling a certified access point's API", plus tax compliance in the Quaderno/TaxJar style. Below are the features that pattern implies, classified.
Categories:
- Table stakes (TS): customers expect it. It earns nothing, but its absence costs you.
- Differentiator (D): a real reason to choose you over the alternatives.
- Distraction (X): built but unlikely to move revenue or retention.
- Liability (L): creates support, compliance, legal or trust risk.
3.1 Classification table
| # | Implied feature | Category | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Support many source tools (Stripe, Paddle, WooCommerce, Xero, Zoho, ERPs) | X / L | Each connector is its own data model, auth flow, app review and support queue. The native options differ by tool: Stripe has Billit, WooCommerce has B2Brouter, PrestaShop has Pennylane, Xero and Zoho build country features themselves. Pick one: Shopify. |
| 2 | Support many mandates | X / L | Each country is a new rulebook, a new language and a new partner. Belgium and Poland are live and crowded. India is mature. One mandate: France. |
| 3 | Resell a certified access point / PA's API | TS (and the right model) | Correct. The partner carries certification, ISO 27001 and the DGFiP link. But it's table stakes, since every competitor does the same. The choice of partner decides your margin. |
| 4 | Become an access point or PA yourself | L | Not in the catalog wording, but it's the obvious "later" temptation. ISO 27001, SecNumCloud-qualified hosting, an audit, and 149 incumbents. Never. |
| 5 | Generate structured invoices (Factur-X / UBL / CII) | TS | Free libraries and every PA do it. Necessary, not a reason to buy. |
| 6 | B2C e-reporting from store orders | D | The under-served half. Sufio lists it as "planned". It recurs every 10 days on the normal regime. This is the lead feature. |
| 7 | Tax calculation (Quaderno/TaxJar style) | L | Computing VAT makes you liable for it. Shopify already has tax settings, and Quaderno sells exactly this. Flag anomalies, never compute. |
| 8 | Tax filing / VAT returns | L | That's the accountant's job, and France is moving to pre-filled VAT returns. Export for the accountant instead. |
| 9 | Receiving supplier e-invoices | TS | Every business must be able to receive since 1 Sept 2026. The partner PA provides the inbox. Show it in the app, but don't build accounts-payable. |
| 10 | Validation before sending | D (when Shopify-specific) | Generic format validation is table stakes. Shopify-specific checks are a differentiator: numbering order, shipping VAT split, missing buyer SIREN on B2B orders, delivery address mention. |
| 11 | Audit trail and status per document | TS | Accountants and auditors will ask. Store PA acknowledgements and rejection reasons. |
| 12 | Legal archiving | L if self-built / TS via partner | French archiving rules apply to invoices. Use the PA's archive or a certified archive partner. Don't claim legal archiving yourself. |
| 13 | "Compliance guaranteed" positioning | L | One rejected e-report or wrong VAT line and the claim becomes a dispute. Promise "transmitted, validated, traceable". |
3.2 Scoreboard
| Category | Count | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Table stakes | 5 | PA resale model, format generation, receiving, audit trail, archive via partner |
| Differentiator | 2 | B2C e-reporting from Shopify orders, Shopify-specific pre-checks |
| Distraction | 2 | Many source tools, many mandates |
| Liability | 4 | Becoming a PA, tax calculation, tax filing, "guaranteed compliant" |
About 15% of the implied pattern is a reason to buy. The rest is table stakes the partner provides, or scope and risk.
3.3 Feature bloat and "building to avoid selling": explicit call-outs
- Many connectors. Five integrations look like a bigger business. They're five half-finished products and five support queues.
- Tax calculation. It feels like adding value. It adds liability and competes with Shopify's own settings and with Quaderno.
- Your own format engine. Writing Factur-X from scratch is interesting engineering. The partner PA already does it, and open-source libraries exist.
- Marketplace connectors in v1. Amazon and Cdiscount sales have deemed-supplier rules. Doing them before Shopify retains is building to avoid selling.
3.4 What a disciplined v1 looks like
Keep: Shopify order sync → B2B/B2C split → Shopify-specific pre-checks → B2C e-reports and B2B e-invoices through one partner PA → status, rejections and audit trail → accountant export. French UI and help. Defer: marketplace exclusion rules, multi-store, accountant dashboard, history backfill. Cut: other platforms, other countries, tax calculation, becoming a PA, self-built archive.