Coping with the XML era: the ins and outs of e-invoicing

The world of invoicing has already evolved quite a bit. The paper era is more or less over. The great majority of companies already receive invoices in PDF form. But now it is already time for the next step: e-invoicing. Here, invoices arrive in XML format. How exactly does that work? What are the advantages of this? And how do you handle e-invoicing as an organization?

Incoming invoices: complex picture of formats and channels

E-invoicing is increasingly in the spotlight. As soon as your suppliers start sending XML invoices, you automatically have to deal with it as a company. You have to deal with them. And you process e-invoices differently than, say, PDF invoices. For the last, you need a smart recognition solution that automatically recognizes the invoice data and prepares the entry. An XML file does not involve recognition, but interpretation. All data of a certain supplier that are in text on the invoice – from IBAN number to G account number – can be found in the XML file, which is digitally processed. That may sound simple, but the practice is more complicated. You see, there are different standards, such as UBL and DICO. Within those, there are also multiple versions. And XML invoices flow in through all sorts of channels – from e-mail to portals and platforms such as Peppol. Your financial system must be able to process any XML invoice, regardless of such things as the standard used and the channel of receipt. In addition, almost every company also receives invoices in other formats, such as PDF, which you also want to process unambiguously. To complete the complex picture: many suppliers send an e-mail with an XML file as well as a PDF invoice. The XML file usually contains only the basic information you need to create a booking proposal in your ERP system (think the number of items purchased and prices including and excluding VAT). But often you need some other data for your records. These are on the formatted PDF invoice. However, you have to get those from your mail into your ERP system!

XML: regular invoice in a different (more efficient) package

Many companies have a “forced” introduction to e-invoicing through their suppliers. These decide at some point to start working with XML invoices. Depending on the industry in which you operate, this may or may not be mandatory. In the construction industry, for example, you see that many suppliers still only work with the DICO standard and therefore deliver documents in XML format. And organizations doing business with the central government or municipalities are required to process XML documents through the Peppol network. The ultimate goal of e-invoicing is to make the process automatic. As a result, you work more efficiently and securely. But the reality is that as a company you have to deal with a hybrid flow of incoming invoices. Not all suppliers send XML invoices. And you have to be able to deal with the great diversity within XML. If you digitize the processing process and make it uniform, you benefit from many advantages. You save a lot of time, work more efficiently, maintain the overview and pay invoices faster. Moreover, you process invoices more accurately because the data from your supplier is delivered directly using XML. In fact, an e-invoice is just a regular invoice in a different guise, getting information from point A to point B in a more efficient way. The point is that you want to store all “invoice jackets” on the same hangers in the same closet. In other words, you want to process all invoices uniformly, regardless of suppliers, invoice format and channel of receipt. The question is: how do you do that?

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Total solution: the solution for the ‘hybrid reception structure’

Ideally, you would agree on a standard structure for how to book an invoice. But given the “hybrid receipt structure” that financial accounting departments face, that’s impossible for now.

E-invoicing: how exactly does it work?

Benefits

Process each XML file uniformly
Automatic rule recognition
Fiatting in the workflow

Designing your process smarter?

Do you want to properly coordinate the diverse flow of purchase invoices and achieve uniform processing? Then you need a good system for purchase invoice processing and formatting. A total solution that can handle all invoice formats and gives a signal in case of deviating (e-)invoices. Want to know more?

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