Billing the French Public Sector: How BlueRockTEL Handles Chorus Pro Compliance

The Public Sector Opportunity That Most Operators Overlook

The French public sector represents one of the largest and most stable markets for telecom services. Municipalities, regional councils, public hospitals, universities, government agencies, public schools, and administrative bodies all require telecommunications infrastructure — voice lines, internet connectivity, hosted PBX systems, mobile fleets, and increasingly, cloud-based collaboration tools.

Unlike private-sector clients who can churn at the end of a contract, public-sector entities operate on multi-year procurement cycles governed by public tender rules. Once you win a contract, you typically hold it for three to five years, sometimes longer. Payment is reliable because public budgets, while sometimes slow, are backed by government funding. And the sheer number of public entities across France — over 35,000 municipalities alone — means the addressable market is enormous.

Yet many telecom operators and MSP avoid this market entirely. The reason is not technical complexity in delivering the service. It is the invoicing requirement: since January 1, 2020, any company billing a French public entity must submit invoices electronically through Chorus Pro, the government's centralized invoicing portal. This is not optional. It is a legal obligation under Article 153 of the Macron Law and its implementing decrees. Non-compliant invoices are simply rejected.

For operators whose billing systems produce PDF invoices and nothing else, Chorus Pro compliance feels like a barrier. It is not. It is a competitive advantage waiting to be captured — provided your billing platform handles the format natively.

Understanding Chorus Pro Requirements

Chorus Pro is operated by the AIFE (Agence pour l'Informatique Financiere de l'Etat) and serves as the single entry point for all invoices destined for French public entities. The platform accepts invoices in several electronic formats, validates them against a set of mandatory fields, and routes them to the appropriate public entity for processing and payment.

Mandatory Electronic Formats

Chorus Pro accepts invoices in multiple formats, but the most commonly used for automated submission are:

• Factur-X / XML Mixte: A hybrid format that embeds structured XML data inside a PDF document. The human-readable PDF serves as the visual invoice, while the embedded XML contains the machine-readable data that Chorus Pro processes. This format is particularly practical because it satisfies both human reviewers and automated systems.
• UBL Invoice: A purely structured XML format based on the Universal Business Language standard. UBL invoices contain all invoice data in machine-readable form without a visual PDF component. Chorus Pro accepts both minimal and full UBL Invoice profiles.
• XML Structure (CII): The Cross-Industry Invoice format defined by UN/CEFACT. This is another purely structured format used in European electronic invoicing.

Mandatory Fields

Regardless of format, every invoice submitted to Chorus Pro must include specific identifiers:

• SIRET number of both the supplier (your company) and the buyer (the public entity)
• Service code (code service) identifying the department within the public entity that will process the invoice
• Engagement number (numero d'engagement) when the public entity requires purchase order references
• Invoice date, amount, VAT breakdown, and other standard financial fields
• Correct legal entity identification matching the public entity's registration in the Chorus Pro directory

Missing or incorrect fields result in rejection. The invoice bounces back, payment is delayed, and the operator must correct and resubmit — a process that can add weeks to the payment cycle if done manually.

Submission Methods

Invoices can be submitted to Chorus Pro through several channels: manual upload via the web portal (impractical at scale), EDI transmission, or API integration. For operators with more than a handful of public-sector clients, manual upload is not viable. The practical requirement is automated generation of compliant files that can be submitted in bulk.

The Challenge Without Automation

Consider what happens when an operator without native Chorus Pro support wins a contract to serve 30 municipal offices across a department. Each month, 30 invoices must be:

1. Generated in the billing system as standard invoices
2. Exported as PDF
3. Manually converted to a Chorus Pro-compatible XML format using a separate tool or spreadsheet
4. Enriched with SIRET numbers, service codes, and engagement references that may not exist in the billing system's client records
5. Packaged and uploaded to the Chorus Pro portal, either one by one through the web interface or via a separately configured EDI channel
6. Monitored for acceptance or rejection status
7. Corrected and resubmitted in case of rejection

This manual workflow might be tolerable for five clients. At 30, it consumes a significant portion of someone's time each billing cycle. At 100 or more, it requires a dedicated person — whose entire job is converting invoices from one format to another. That is not a productive use of resources, and it scales poorly.

The hidden cost is not just labor. It is the errors that manual conversion introduces: a transposed digit in a SIRET number, a missing service code, an engagement reference that was updated but not propagated to the conversion spreadsheet. Each error means a rejected invoice, a delayed payment, and a frustrated client relationship with a public entity that expects professional, compliant suppliers.

How BlueRockTEL Handles Chorus Pro

BlueRockTEL integrates Chorus Pro invoice generation directly into its billing engine. There is no separate workflow, no manual conversion step, and no third-party tool required. Chorus Pro-compliant files are produced as part of the normal billing production cycle, alongside PDF invoices for your private-sector clients.

Configuration at the Client Level

When you create or edit a client record in BlueRockTEL, you can set the invoice delivery method to "Chorus Pro." This single configuration choice tells the billing engine that invoices for this client should be generated in the Chorus Pro-compatible format instead of (or in addition to) standard PDF.

The client record also stores the mandatory identifiers: the public entity's SIRET number, the service code, and any engagement references. These fields are populated once during client setup and used automatically for every subsequent invoice. If the public entity updates their service code or engagement number, you update it in one place and all future invoices reflect the change.

Native File Generation

During the billing production cycle, BlueRockTEL generates a .tar.gz archive containing the Chorus Pro-compliant XML invoices for all clients configured with the Chorus Pro delivery method. This archive is ready for submission to the Chorus Pro portal or EDI channel without any intermediate processing.

The supported output formats include:

• XML Mixte: The hybrid PDF+XML format where structured data is embedded within the invoice document. This is the most widely used format for Chorus Pro submissions because it provides both human-readable and machine-readable content in a single file.
• UBL Invoice (minimal profile): A lightweight structured XML format suitable for straightforward invoicing scenarios without complex line-item breakdowns.

Individual .xml files can also be extracted from the archive for operators who prefer to submit in XML Structure or full UBL Invoice format. The underlying data is the same; only the packaging differs. For more details on how BlueRockTEL handles invoice formats, see working with invoices.

Seamless Integration With Your Existing Workflow

The critical advantage is that Chorus Pro invoice generation does not create a parallel workflow. You do not need to run a separate billing process for public-sector clients. When you launch your billing production, BlueRockTEL processes all folders in the batch — generating PDF invoices for private-sector clients and Chorus Pro-compliant files for public-sector clients in the same run.

Pre-production review works identically for both types. You can review draft invoices for your public-sector clients in pre-production, verify amounts and line items, make adjustments if needed, and then run production. The only difference is the output format.

This also means that all of BlueRockTEL's billing features — multi-batch scheduling, CDR rating, recurring charges, one-time billing, credit notes — work with Chorus Pro clients exactly as they do with any other client. There are no feature limitations or workarounds required.

The Strategic Advantage

Enter a Market That Competitors Avoid

Every operator who avoids the public sector because of Chorus Pro compliance is leaving revenue on the table. Public tenders for telecom services regularly go undersubscribed because potential bidders lack the invoicing capability. By handling Chorus Pro natively, you can bid on these contracts with confidence, knowing that compliance is handled automatically.

Scale Without Adding Overhead

The operational cost of serving one public-sector client versus one hundred public-sector clients is essentially the same. Once the client record is configured with the correct delivery method and identifiers, every subsequent billing cycle produces compliant invoices automatically. There is no per-invoice manual effort, no scaling bottleneck, and no need for additional staff as your public-sector client base grows.

Serve Government Contracts That Require Electronic Invoicing Compliance

Many public procurement frameworks now include electronic invoicing compliance as a qualification criterion. If your billing system cannot produce Chorus Pro-compatible output, you are disqualified from the tender before anyone evaluates your service quality or pricing. Native Chorus Pro support removes this barrier entirely.

Maintain a Single Billing Workflow

Operating two billing processes — one for private-sector clients and one for public-sector clients — is inefficient and error-prone. With BlueRockTEL, you maintain a single workflow. The billing engine determines the output format based on each client's configuration, producing the correct format automatically. Your team works in one system, follows one process, and manages one set of client records.

Practical Considerations for Getting Started

Preparing Client Records

Before your first Chorus Pro billing run, ensure that each public-sector client record includes the required identifiers. The SIRET number is essential — it is the unique identifier that Chorus Pro uses to route the invoice to the correct entity. The service code identifies the specific department or budget line within the public entity. If the entity requires engagement references, those should be recorded as well.

These identifiers are typically provided by the public entity during the contract setup or onboarding phase. If you are responding to a public tender, the tender documents usually specify the SIRET, service code, and any engagement requirements.

Testing With Pre-Production

Before submitting your first batch of Chorus Pro invoices, run a pre-production cycle and review the generated files. Verify that the XML structure is correct, that all mandatory fields are populated, and that the amounts match your expectations. BlueRockTEL's pre-production mode lets you iterate on the configuration without generating final invoices, so you can refine your setup with zero risk.

Combining With SEPA Direct Debit

Many public entities authorize SEPA direct debit for recurring telecom charges. If your public-sector clients pay via direct debit, you can combine Chorus Pro invoice generation with SEPA direct debit mandate management in BlueRockTEL. The invoice is submitted through Chorus Pro for compliance, while payment is collected via the SEPA direct debit file generated in the same billing cycle. Both processes run in parallel, fully automated. Read more about SEPA automation on our blog.

Staying Current With Format Evolution

European electronic invoicing standards continue to evolve. The EN 16931 standard defines the semantic data model for electronic invoices across the EU, and Chorus Pro's accepted formats align with this standard. BlueRockTEL's development roadmap tracks these regulatory changes, ensuring that format compliance is maintained as requirements evolve.

Ready to Serve the Public Sector?

Chorus Pro compliance is built into every BlueRockTEL instance. Explore the platform features or contact us to see how it works with your billing workflow.

A Competitive Edge, Not a Compliance Burden

The narrative around Chorus Pro is often framed as a burden — another regulatory hoop to jump through. But for operators who handle it well, it is precisely the opposite. It is a barrier to entry that keeps less-prepared competitors out of a lucrative, stable market. Every public-sector contract you win because a competitor could not handle the invoicing requirement is revenue that came to you by default.

Chorus Pro compliance should not be a barrier to serving the public sector. With BlueRockTEL, it is just a configuration choice — one that opens the door to thousands of public entities across France, each one a potential long-term client with reliable payment and multi-year contract terms.