Test article 1
The use of electronic invoicing has gotten a lot of attention recently.
But tons of misunderstandings still exist.
With mandatory e-invoicing legislation widely coming into effect across Europe, it’s high time to ensure you’ve separated fact from fiction. Are PDF invoices sufficient? Can we still send them off by email? Are all businesses, including freelancers, expected to use them? We’ll address all these questions (and more) below.
Misconception #1: an electronic invoice is a PDaF sent by email
This seems to be the most common misunderstanding about electronic invoicing.
There are two main errors in this belief. The first misconception is that a PDF invoice is an electronic invoice.
It’s important to understand that an electronic invoice isn’t just a dematerialized or digitized PDF invoice. An electronic invoice must contain what’s called a minimum data set in a structured format.
This means it must be issued, transmitted, and received in a specific format that can guarantee the issuer’s identity and confirm the accuracy of its information.
However, the PDF format isn’t powerful enough to certify this. Markets have different standards and, at the moment, only three formats have been authorized by the French government:
- The hybrid Factur-X format, which we already offer in the Qonto invoicing tool,
- The Cross Industry Invoice (CII) format,
- The Universal Business Language (UBL) format.
With email being phased out, only these designated platforms will be permissible for exchanging invoices with clients and suppliers.
Misconception #2: an electronic invoice is a PDaF sent by email
- The public invoicing portal (PPF), which is the default tool offered by the government,
- Private and partner dematerialization platforms (PDP), connected to each other and to the PPF to allow the exchange of invoices and data,
- Dematerialization operators (OD), a private service (not certified by the tax administration) that acts as an intermediary with the PPF or a PDP.