E-invoicing trends in Europe and worldwide
E-invoicing is gaining popularity not only in Estonia, but also in Europe and further. A recent report published by Bilentis revealed that e-invoicing volumes are forecast to reach 110 billion in 2023. The volume of e-invoies in Europe is forecasted to reach 18 billion, with higher volume growth projected between 2024 and 2028.
The European Commission is preparing a package of measures to modernise the EU VAT system and make cross-border transactions more efficient and secure. These measures are based on real-time digital reporting and e-invoicing, which would help reduce VAT fraud. A single EU-wide e-invoicing and digital reporting system is expected to reduce VAT fraud by €11 billion per year and save businesses €4.1 billion in administrative costs each year. Such a change would also give a significant push to Member States to make B2B e-invoicing mandatory.
Estonia and the Nordic countries are considered leaders when it comes to machine-readable e-invoices in Europe and the world, but e-invoicing is also widespread in other European countries, America, and Asia. The largest e-invoicing volume growth is expected in Asia over the coming years.
How to send international e-invoices?
It is important to note that countries use different e-invoice formats, and the pan-European Peppol network must be used to automatically transfer invoices and data between countries. More than 40 countries are currently members of the network, including 32 European countries, Canada, Australia, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States.
What is Peppol?
The Peppol environment (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) is designed for the international exchange of electronic documents. One of its key functions is to support and facilitate international e-invoicing. Essentially, the Peppol environment translates a local e-invoice formats into a document compliant with the EU e-invoice standard. To send an e-invoice abroad using this solution, the company’s e-invoice operator must have a Peppol interface.
All Finbite customers can exchange e-invoices with their international business partners. In order to send and receive invoices through Peppol, it is necessary to activate the channels in advance.
How to accept e-invoices through the Peppol network?
To accept e-invoices via Peppol you need to log in to Finbite and select General -> Invoice Settings -> Purchase Invoice Settings. From there, select “Allow invoices from PEPPOL” and tick the checkbox, then save. Under settings, you must also check that ‘Do not wish to receive e-invoices’ is unchecked. A PeoppolID is then generated for the company, consisting of the country code (Estonian code is (0191:)) and the company registration code. Based on this code, cross-border partners will be able to send fast, convenient, and secure e-invoices to the company.
How to send e-invoices through the Peppol network?
In order to send invoices using Peppol, you also need to activate the invoice acceptance feature. To send Peppol e-invoices from the Finbite Invoice Center, go to General-> Invoice Settings-> Sales Invoice Settings, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and open Seller Management -> Modify. Activate the Peppol channel and save.
In order to send a Peppol sales invoice via ERP, you need to add the recipient’s PeppolID (at the very end of BuyerParty) to BuyerParty in the xml. For this purpose, we have created an extension:
<Extension extensionId=”PartyEN”>
<InformationContent>PeppolID</InformationContent>
<CustomContent>
<PartyEN>
<PartyId schemeId=”0191″>11890209</PartyId>
<PartyElectronicAddress schemeId=“0191”>11890209</PartyElectronicAddress>
</PartyEN>
</CustomContent>
</Extension>
At the moment, an example recipient PeppolID (0191:11890209) is included in the extension, which should then be replaced with the correct value for real invoices.
Which solution to choose for sending and receiving international e-invoices?
All Finbite packages offer the option of sending and receiving e-invoices through Peppol. There are four packages to choose from: Starter, Lite, Standard, and Premium.
- With the Starter package, you can send and receive up to 5 e-invoices per month, free of charge, regardless of whether they are domestic or international.
- If you want to integrate Finbite with your business or accounting software and get an overview of all your e-invoices, we recommend the Lite package. In addition, you can use digitization, digital archiving, and submit expense reports to your accountant from the convenience of a mobile app.
- The confirmation circle solution will significantly simplify the accountant’s work, making purchase invoice management more secure and reducing the risk of invoice fraud. In addition to the features mentioned above, this solution is available to users of the Standard package.
- For Premium package users, various additional modules, free initial training, and a personal account manager are also available.
