What is e-invoicing?
Einvoicing is the digital comparable version of traditional paper-based invoicing.
We can describe the process as the transfer of an electronic invoice document between a supplier and a buyer. In a few words, an electronic invoice is an invoice that has been issued, transmitted, received and archived in a structured data format (not human-readble) which allows for its automatic and electronic processing. The electronic invoice holds information about the seller, the buyer, and the transaction between them. To enable electronic invoices process, there are systems such as Legalinvoice that can transmit, receive and renders electronic invoices in such extension and can traduce it in human-readable format.
Electronic Invoicing had first application area in the public sector and once the enormous benefits were highlighted, it started to observe success cases in the B2B and B2C sector as well.
EU legislation on eInvoicing, what you need to know
The regulatory landmark about e-invoicing at the European level is the EN 16931 standard created as a result of Directive 2014/55/EU. The EN 16931 standard defines a set of information elements that can be used and generally applicable to the invoice. These features include invoice issuance and delivery, document validation, accounting and VAT reporting aspects, payment and audit.
5 good reasons to choose an e-invoicing solution for your company
Excluding possible regulatory obligations, choosing an electronic invoicing solution enables government and business to significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency:
1. Have an unique online access by all different business areas to purchase and sales invoices
2. Abatement of invoice accounting time
3. Elimination of possible delays and mishaps resulting from the paper forwarding of invoices
4. Reduction of disputes and litigation caused by billing errors
5. Increased integration between invoicing and electronic payments-collections
E-Invoicing to boost your ESG rating?
Not only operational efficiency, electronic invoicing enables the efficiency of the entire system.
Implementing electronic invoicing solutions enables a potential increase in ESG rating. But how? The elimination of paper allows for evident benefits in terms of environmental sustainability. But trusted digital invoicing processes in which every single bit of information can be tracked also has huge impacts on Corporate Governance: efficiency for your business and the entire ecosystem.
