E-invoicing made easy: How to make your invoicing processes stress-free and fit for the future.

A new era of invoicing is about to begin in many European countries: electronic invoicing – or e-invoicing for short – is becoming increasingly mandatory. What may initially sound like a technical challenge can be seamlessly integrated into existing processes with the right system.

The goal: your employees create invoices as usual – the system automatically ensures that they comply with legal e-invoicing standards. No extra work, no additional steps, no complicated changes.

The background:

Since 2020, EU Directive 2014/55/EU has required public contracting authorities within the EU to accept electronic invoices in a structured format. This laid the foundation for uniform, digital and interoperable invoicing processes in the European single market.

While the directive originally applied to the B2G (business-to-government) sector, many countries are now extending the obligation to B2B (business-to-business) transactions, including Germany, France, Poland and Italy.

The goal:

• Greater efficiency and transparency in invoice processing

• Automated processes and less paper

• Standardisation through the European standard EN 16931 (e.g. via the PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 format)

Germany as an example: Mandatory e-invoicing from 2025

From 1 January 2025, Germany will follow the EU-wide trend: From this date onwards, companies must be able to receive electronic invoices sent by other domestic companies.

Issuing structured e-invoices will become mandatory for large companies (turnover > € 800,000) from 2027, and for all companies in the domestic B2B sector from 2028. Paper or pure PDF invoices will then only be permitted in exceptional cases.

This creates a clear need for action on the part of companies – but there is no cause for concern: with the right solution, the transition will be easy and smooth.

How a modern e-invoicing process works – without any additional effort

Ideally, a modern e-invoicing system should integrate fully into your existing finance and ERP processes.

Microsoft Dynamics FSCM provides you with the tools to meet this need in an integrated manner, i.e. as part of a regular customer billing process, but with a broader scope that includes the creation of e-invoices and their communication/transmission in the expected XML format.

Flexibility with regard to national requirements

The basic idea is to standardise processes and structures within the European Union (EU). Although governments assume common e-invoicing structures, some countries require different or additional information to be included, which necessitates additional fields or data.

The EU standard EN 16931 therefore specifies uniform core fields for e-invoices – which must be expanded in some countries.

An example: In the European format PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0, certain fields such as ‘AdditionalAccountID’ from the sections ‘AccountingSupplierParty’ and ‘AccountingCustomerParty’ are optional. In Austria, however, they are required for invoices to public contracting authorities (e.g. via Bundesbeschaffung GmbH – BBG).

F&O enables companies to decide whether a field should be included and which data field from the system should be used. In our example, the two fields were mapped to the following ‘Table.Field’: ‘CompanyInfo.TaxRepresentative' and ‘Customer.GovernmentId', as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 1. Electronic reporting format designer showing tag ‘AdditionalAccountID’, from section ‘AccountingSupplierParty’, mapped to ‘CompanyInfo.TaxRepresentative’

Figure 2. Electronic reporting format designer showing tag ’AdditionalAccountID‘, from section ‘AccountingCustomerParty’, mapped to ’Customer.GovernmentId’

Automation: Once set up, everything runs automatically

Once you have maintained the relevant e-invoice fields in your master data (e.g. customer data, company information, shown in Figures 3. and 4.), the system takes care of the rest: when creating the invoice, all information is automatically transferred to the correct XML format without any additional steps being necessary.

Figure 3. Invoice recipient's BBG partner number setup at Customer card level

Figure 4. Biller's BBG partner number setup at Legal Entity card level

Adjustments can be made at any time as needed – without having to modify the source code.

Figure 5. Result in XML file ready for submission

This turns a legal obligation into an automated process that makes your workflows even more efficient.

The F&O workspace for electronic reporting offers maximum flexibility here:

• Additional fields can be easily added.

• The assignment between system data and e-invoice fields can be adjusted without programming to adapt the process to the company's data structures.

• Changes in legal requirements can be quickly implemented.

This means you remain legally compliant – yet flexible if national requirements change.

In other words, your employees create invoices as usual – while in the background, the system automatically ensures that:

• the invoice is generated in the correct XML format (e.g. PEPPOL / EN 16931),

• country-specific mandatory fields are filled in correctly, and

• electronic transmission to the recipient's system is carried out in accordance with the rules.

Typical concerns – and how they can be easily addressed

Concern	Response
‘That sounds complicated – we'll have to learn everything from scratch.’	Modern e-invoicing systems are fully integrated. Your employees can issue invoices as before.
‘What happens if laws change?’	Cloud-based systems automatically take care of updates – legal changes are implemented without interrupting your processes.
‘We still have time – why do it now?’	Early implementation gives you planning security, reduces risk and avoids bottlenecks shortly before the deadline.

How to get started – step by step

1. Take stock: Check whether your systems can receive and send e-invoices.

2. Check requirements: Which formats are used in your country (e.g. PEPPOL, XRechnung, FatturaPA, etc.)?

3. Activate the e-invoicing   : Choose a solution that is EN 16931-compliant and flexibly customisable.

4. Mapping & test phase: Link your existing data fields to the e-invoice fields and test sample invoices.

5. Training & go-live: Your employees remain in the familiar process – only the technology in the background changes.

6. Maintenance & updates: Legal adjustments are functionally implemented – without any additional effort from a technical perspective.

Conclusion: E-invoicing – not an obstacle, but an opportunity

The mandatory introduction of e-invoicing is not a bureaucratic obstacle, but an opportunity to modernise your processes.

With an integrated and flexible system, you can:

• Maintain your existing processes,

• Act in a timely and legally compliant manner,

• eliminate manual steps,

• reduce errors and

• implement future changes without any problems.
  

Get started now – and make your invoicing processes ready for the future. Because what is voluntary today will be mandatory tomorrow – and with the right system, that means no effort, no stress, no risk.