E-invoices with Vertec

E-invoices mean that the invoices are sent to the invoice recipient in a format that is machine-readable and thus allows for automatic, electronic processing.

At Vertec, this is based on the usual Invoicing. Whether as a PDF, as a PDF with integrated XML (ZUGFeRD), as a pure XML file, or structured for an exchange platform (LEDES, Conextrade), it is always the same invoice in Vertec.

Vertec offers the following options for sending invoices electronically:

• Office reports with integrated ZUGFeRD: In Vertec, invoices according to the ZUGFeRD standard can be created via Office report. For this purpose, XML metadata is generated in Office report code and passed to the report mechanism, which integrates the metadata into the PDF. The Invoice with a list of services contains such a ZUGFeRD sample implementation. See more here.

• Additional feature: With the additional feature E-invoice templates, the required templates and scripts are implemented so that e-invoices (ZUGFeRD and XRechnungen) can be created at the push of a button.
   
• LEDES: For the exchange of invoices with platforms in LEDES format, Vertec offers LEDES export, with which customer-specific LEDES templates can be created and invoices can be exported in LEDES format.

Form vs. content

The formal requirements for a valid e-invoice are one thing The real sticking point, however, is the content requirements of your invoice recipients. These can vary depending on the recipient and cannot easily be standardized. Some recipients insist, for example, that the country must be indicated, while others only want to receive an ISO country code. Some want to have a services total shown, while others want a detailed list of services.

This means that what exactly is transmitted electronically and in what form has to be adapted to the specifications of the individual invoice recipients. As soon as you know the requirements of an invoice recipient, you need to reproduce them in the e-invoice, like a customer-specific report template. A good example of what this can look like can be found in LEDES export.

To facilitate this process for e-invoices in general, you can import the additional feature E-invoice templates, which makes it possible to configure e-invoices per invoice recipient.

Mandatory e-invoicing in Germany

The Growth Opportunities Act stipulates an obligation for businesses to dispatch invoices in electronic form as of 01.01.2025, with a 2-year transition period, so therefore from 01.01.2027. See further information in our blog The Obligation of E-invoicing in Germany.

The legislator understands an e-invoice as an invoice that complies with the European standard EN 16931. The formats ZUGFeRD 2.x and XRechnung implemented in the invoice with a list of services comply with this standard.

Modern Office reports have to be used (the old legacy Office reports do not support ZUGFeRD). The ZUGFeRD implementation from the invoice with a list of services can also be easily transferred to other Office reports.

You must then adapt the individual report templates to the specifications of the invoice recipients (see additional feature E-invoice templates).

E-invoices in Switzerland

In 2016, the Swiss Federal Council decided to require suppliers of the Swiss Federal Administration to submit electronic invoices if the contract value exceeds CHF 5,000. However, simple PDF documents are also accepted as e-invoices. You can find further details at www.e-rechnung.admin.ch.

A large number of other companies also work with e-invoices. For instance, more than 23,000 companies are connected to Swisscom’s Conextrade trading platform.

Here you can find a Sample implementation of e-invoices with Conextrade (Switzerland).