Managing an online business involves juggling billing, marketing, project management, and training tools. The choice of these resources determines the smoothness of your daily operations as well as your ability to grow your business. With the upcoming reform of electronic invoicing, some selection criteria have changed, and traditional comparisons do not always take them into account.
Electronic invoicing: what the reform changes for your management tools
Have you been using billing software for years without questioning it? The situation has changed. The obligation to issue electronic invoices will take effect on September 1, 2027, for SMEs, micro-enterprises, and small businesses, according to France Num (updated September 23, 2026) and Bpifrance Création (August 28, 2026).
Specifically, your accounting or billing tool will need to be able to connect to a platform approved by the DGFiP. It must also handle structured formats such as Factur-X, UBL, or CII, and transmit the required data to the administration via e-reporting.
This is no longer a technical detail reserved for accountants. If your current solution does not support these formats, you will need to migrate, and migrating in a hurry can be costly in terms of time and errors. Checking the compatibility of your tools with this reform now will prevent operational blockages next year.
Several approved platforms already exist. According to Le Figaro (September 2026), electronic invoicing platforms are already overwhelmed with requests. Anticipating your registration remains the best strategy to avoid waiting in line at the critical moment.
Online resources for entrepreneurs: beyond the list of tools
Generalist comparisons list software names without addressing a decisive point: interoperability. An effective project management tool that does not communicate with your CRM or billing solution creates data silos. You end up spending time re-entering information instead of managing your business.
Before choosing an online resource, ask yourself three practical questions:
- Does this platform export its data in a format compatible with my other tools (open API, native connectors)?
- Will my billing software be able to connect to an approved platform for electronic invoicing by September 2027?
- Does the training or online course I am targeting lead to a skill that can be directly applied in my business, or is it theoretical content without practical application?
Thematic resources gather guides, comparisons, and feedback filtered by sector. This is the case on the Harakiwi site for business, which collects content focused on management and business development.
Online training and content creation: two underestimated levers
Starting a business also means acquiring skills along the way. Online training platforms allow you to learn digital marketing, financial management, or content sales strategy without blocking entire days.
A targeted course of a few hours is better than a generalist training of several weeks. Look for modules that address a specific problem you are facing right now: how to structure an offer, how to automate an email sequence, how to read a simplified balance sheet.
Building an audience before selling
Content creation is not reserved for influencers. For an entrepreneur, regularly publishing on a blog or niche newsletter serves a concrete purpose: building a qualified audience that will become your customer base.
The principle is simple. You share expertise on a specific topic. Interested people subscribe. When you launch a product or service, you do not start from scratch. You already have an audience that knows and trusts you.
This strategy works equally well for selling physical products and digital services. It requires consistency, not a colossal marketing budget.
Choosing an online sales platform suited to your model
Not all sales platforms are created equal according to your business model. Selling handmade creations on a marketplace like Amazon or Etsy does not involve the same constraints as managing your own online store with a tool like PrestaShop or Shopify.
Here are the criteria that make a difference on a daily basis:
- The commissions taken on each sale vary greatly from one platform to another and eat into your margins if you do not factor them into your selling price from the start.
- The ownership of your customer data: on a marketplace, you often do not have access to your buyers’ contact information, which limits your ability to retain them.
- Compatibility with electronic invoicing: your sales platform must be able to generate or transmit invoices in the structured formats required by the reform.
Marketplace or own store: a strategic choice
A marketplace offers immediate audience access. You benefit from existing traffic without investing in SEO. In return, you depend on the platform’s rules, its ranking algorithms, and its commissions.
An own online store requires more work at the start (hosting, SEO, traffic acquisition). However, it gives you complete control over your image, pricing, and customer data. For many entrepreneurs, a combination of both approaches works well: the marketplace for visibility, the store for margin and direct customer relationships.
The choice of your online resources is not just a stack of subscriptions. Each tool must meet a specific need, communicate with others, and remain compatible with the upcoming regulatory obligations. Testing software during its free trial period while checking these three points will save you from painful migrations later on.
