Sending e-Invoices

Sending an invoice can take place in many formats: on paper, as a PDF attachment to an email, or as an e-invoice. What makes an e-invoice special is that the invoice data arrives in a structured format. What does this mean? Whereas invoice fields on paper- or PDF invoices need to be read and interpreted first, structured data can automatically be understood by modern Accounts Payable (AP) solutions. One great example for this is the purchase order (PO) number. If the AP solution immediately understands what the invoice’s PO number is, it can automatically match it against an invoice and process the invoice and payment accordingly. This way there is no human interaction required to process the invoice – the AP process can be automated.

To the same degree that paper invoices can have different layouts, e-invoices can have different formats - and new formats are developed every year. A good e-invoice sending solution therefore covers many different e-invoice formats and is able to deliver those to the recipient in the required way. An e-invoice sending solution is typically connected to Accounts Receivable (AR) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, it’s easy to understand it as a pipeline. When creating an e-invoice in your existing AR or ERP system, it still has to be transported, and in many cases the invoice data has to converted in a way that it meets the technical requirements of the recipient.

A good e-invoice sending solution connects seamlessly into your existing AR or ERP setup. To stick with the pipeline image from the previous paragraph. Imagine you expand into a new country or the laws in a country you are active in change in a way that e-invoicing becomes mandatory. You need to meet those external requirements and build the required e-invoice data pipeline. This does not mean that you need to scrap your entire existing sending solution setup – rather you want to identify where you can improve the coverage of your pipelines, and this is exactly where Basware e-invoice sending can help.

Through the Basware Network, Basware’s e-invoice sending solutions integrate into your existing setup. This means that it’s less of a replacement of your existing setup, but more of a power-up. More invoice formats and country compliance requirements are covered. And even better, all your outbound e-invoice traffic from your existing setup can be routed through the Basware Network, meaning that you have a full overview over all e-invoice traffic.

Ensuring global regulatory compliance with worldwide invoicing and tax mandates is a central business challenge for organisations operating in multiple geographies. Regulations around invoice receipt and sending as well as tax compliance vary vastly between countries, and in practice your organisation needs to understand and deal with all local and cross-border requirements. Since compliance in these areas is complex, fragmented, and constantly changing, you need a seasoned partner by your side who has a deep understanding of ongoing global developments.

With over thirty years of regulatory and best practice knowledge from local markets, Basware has a deep understanding of global organisations’ unique and complex compliance requirements. With the support of Basware’s e-invoice sending services, you can achieve your internal and external global compliance management requirements.

We have subscription pricing model for customers who value predictability of costs. The larger the volume commitment, the lower the unit (transaction) cost. Alternatively, we support pay-as-you-go pricing model for customers who prefer following up costs based on actual consumption of units (i.e. transactions per month).