Date: 30 Sept 2026 · InvoiceBridge (working name) · Back to WHAT-TO-DO-AND-AVOID.md
These are the features the wedge would be asked for, each classified with the same honesty as doc 03. Being in demand doesn't mean you should build it. Several are already done well by the partner PA or by free tools.
Legend: TS = Table stakes, D = Differentiator, X = Distraction, L = Liability. Priority: P0 = v1, P1 = next, P2 = later, — = don't build.
4.1 Getting data out of Shopify
| Feature | Demand signal | Category | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| Order, refund and credit-note sync (webhooks plus nightly reconciliation) | Every merchant | TS | P0 | Refunds and partial refunds are where reports go wrong. Reconcile nightly, not just on webhooks. |
| B2B/B2C classification (SIREN or VAT number on the order, company name, customer tag) | High. It decides which duty applies. | D | P0 | Default rules plus a manual override. Unclassified orders go to a review queue, never silently to B2C. |
| Checkout field for buyer SIREN / VAT number | High for B2B sellers | TS | P0 | Needed for the new mandatory mention. Shopify B2B and checkout extensions can hold it. |
| Invoice numbering in issue order | Raised on the Shopify forum | D | P0 | Shopify order numbers don't follow issue order. Issue your own continuous sequence per store. |
| History backfill (import the last 12 months) | Medium | TS | P1 | Useful for accountants and for testing. Sell as an add-on. |
4.2 Compliance output
| Feature | Category | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| B2C e-reporting (daily totals by VAT rate, sent on the regime's schedule: every 10 days, monthly or every 2 months) | D | P0 | The lead feature. Sufio lists it as "planned". |
| B2B e-invoices (Factur-X / UBL / CII through the partner PA) | TS | P0 | Every competitor has it. It must work first time. |
| The four new mandatory mentions (buyer SIREN, transaction type, VAT-on-collection option, delivery address) | TS | P0 | Mandatory since 1 Sept 2026 for those in scope. |
| Cross-border and OSS splits (sales to other EU countries reported by destination) | D | P1 | Many French Shopify stores sell EU-wide. Get it right after domestic works. |
| Payment-data reporting (services taxed on collection) | TS | P2 | Mostly service businesses, which are rare on Shopify. |
| Marketplace flow exclusion (Amazon, Cdiscount, Etsy deemed-supplier sales) | D / L | P2 | Double-declaring VAT is the risk. Only for merchants who sync marketplaces into Shopify. |
| Receiving inbox (supplier e-invoices from the PA, shown in-app) | TS | P1 | The PA holds it. Show status and let the accountant download. Don't build accounts payable. |
4.3 Checks that prevent bad reports (your real product)
| Feature | Category | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| Shipping VAT check (20% applied to shipping on mixed-rate baskets) | D | P0 | A forum developer measured 0–8% VAT over-declared. It's a money outcome you can show in the first week. |
| Pre-send validation against format rules, with a French error message and a fix link | D | P0 | "Missing SIREN on order #1043. Add it here." |
| Rejection alerts (PA or DGFiP rejection, by email, with a deadline) | TS | P0 | Silence is the worst failure. |
| Monthly compliance summary for the merchant and the accountant | D | P1 | The retention email: "3 reports sent, 0 rejections, 2 orders fixed." |
| VAT recomputation / automatic correction | L | — | Flag it, don't fix it. Recomputing tax makes you the tax engine. |
4.4 Accountants and agencies (the channel)
| Feature | Category | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| Read-only accountant dashboard across clients | D | P1 | Free for accountants. It makes them recommend you. |
| Export for accounting tools (FEC-style journal export, CSV for Pennylane, Sage, Cegid) | TS | P1 | Accountants won't adopt a tool that makes month-end harder. |
| Agency / partner referral links | TS | P2 | 20% recurring for 12 months. |
| Multi-client billing for accountants | X | — | Accountants rarely pay for clients' apps. Keep billing on the merchant. |
4.5 Trust and operations
| Feature | Category | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| Status page and per-document audit trail | TS | P0 | Every transmission, acknowledgement and rejection stored. |
| EU hosting, DPA, subprocessor list | TS | P0 | French buyers and accountants ask first. |
| Legal archive via partner | TS | P1 | Use the PA's archive or a certified archive provider. Don't claim it yourself. |
| French help center and email support | TS | P0 | English-only is a trust failure in this market. |
| Phone support | X | — | It breaks the hours budget. Offer booked 15-minute onboarding calls only on Plus. |
4.6 Scope creep to refuse
| Feature | Category | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| WooCommerce or PrestaShop version | X | — before $3k MRR | PrestaShop has Pennylane. WooCommerce has B2Brouter and several plugins. |
| Belgium, Poland, Germany or Spain | X | — | Other mandates, other languages. Germany is DocPress's lane. |
| Tax calculation or VAT returns | L | — | Quaderno's and the accountant's job. |
| AI "compliance assistant" chat | X / L | — | It will confidently state wrong tax rules. |
| Own PA or Peppol access point | L | — | See doc 03. |
| Invoice design editor | X | — | Sufio's strength. Not your fight. |
4.7 Net effect
Of about 35 features, about 8 are real differentiators, and about 12 belong in v1. The differentiators all share one trait: they're specific to Shopify's data and France's rules. Anything generic, the partner PA or a free tool already does.