ELECTRONIC DATA EXCHANGE

E-invoicing

Companies are striving to digitize data exchange and at the same time meet the requirements of the tax authorities, which are focusing on digital e-invoicing. This requires not only the adaptation of internal processes, but also compliance with legal regulations.

What is it about?

In Europe, and particularly in Germany, there are strict regulations such as EU Directive 2014/55/EU and the German E-Invoicing Act. These regulations require that electronic invoices comply with certain standards. Companies must ensure that their e-invoicing solutions are up to date. The tax authorities are encouraging this in order to close the VAT gap. Electronic invoice exchange enables immediate input tax deduction control. According to the EU Commission and the Federal Ministry of Finance, this could generate over 10 million euros in additional tax revenue in Germany every year.

E-Invoicing Germany - phased introduction B2B & B2G

The Federal Council has approved the Growth Opportunities Act, which paves the way for the gradual introduction of mandatory e-invoicing in accordance with EN 16931 in Germany. From January 2025, it will be mandatory to receive e-invoices in the B2B sector.

Accepted formats & standards according to Directive 2014/55/EU

In the course of digitalization and the convergence of the European Union, it was decided to create uniform standards for electronic data transmission in the invoicing environment:

XRechnung

ZUGFeRD

EDIFACT

The challenges for companies

Dynamic processes and changing systems

The IT landscape is constantly changing due to new solutions in the core ERP or in specialist areas as well as hybrid landscapes (cloud/on-premise). At the same time, the markets are becoming more dynamic and changing business models are a reaction to market competitors, such as the increasing importance of service businesses. This results in the need to adapt business processes. Flexible integration solutions are required in order to adapt to changing process and system landscapes, as rigid integrations are not up to these challenges.

Changing business partners

Frequent changes in business partners due to different influences often require quick and easy onboarding. The rapid integration of business partners with heterogeneous system landscapes and standards is essential here.

Resilient supplier network

Resilient supplier networks are designed to adapt quickly to changes and disruptions to ensure supply chain continuity. Integration solutions play a key role in improving this adaptability by enabling the automatic and efficient exchange of business data between suppliers and their customers. Real-time insight into the status of orders and deliveries is crucial in order to be able to react quickly to unexpected changes or disruptions.

New technologies

Technological progress brings with it a wide range of changes. For investment security in integration solutions, it is important to be future-proof. Examples include hybrid system landscapes and the increasing use of cloud solutions. Exchange formats and standards are also evolving and require rapid adaptation. New technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly finding their way into the business context and should be used for integration. The shortage of skilled workers also makes it necessary for integration solutions to exploit the benefits of new technologies with low resource requirements.

Changing expectations of user experience

User expectations and behavior have changed in the context of media use in both private and professional environments. Examples of this include mobile use and changes in data input, from the classic command line to mouse and voice input.

EDI-ZONE as a solution

Meet the upcoming legal requirements with EDI-ZONE. The EDI system, which is seamlessly integrated into your ERP, is already optimized for the classic requirements of data exchange and conversion and is widely used in various industries. In addition to the legal requirements to implement e-invoicing procedures, you can use EDI-ZONE to drive forward the digitalization of your processes with business partners. In addition to the required invoices, you also have the option of digitizing other document types such as delivery bills, orders and credit notes.

The advantages for companies through e-invoicing

Uniform standards

for electronic data transmission in the invoicing environment as an objective within the EU

E-invoicing as a microservice on EDI solution

for digital invoice processing with business partners and authorities

Full automation of data exchange

through parallel transmission of electronic invoices to customers, suppliers and authorities

Tight ERP process integration

and perfectly coordinated message conversions

Coverage of all transmission models

(Peppol access points, connection to various portals)

Implementation of legal requirements/specifications

for electronic invoicing and invoice receipt in DE in B2G and B2B

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