How can you ensure that you comply with EU e-invoicing regulations?

In 2014 the EU voted for the inclusion of Directive 2014/55/EU for e-invoicing (electronic invoicing) in all public administrations. Up until 2021, e-invoicing activities were managed under the Connecting Europe Facilities program, but this was then replaced in 2022 by the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL). EU countries are now obliged to introduce e-invoicing.

Many EU countries have already done so, extending the regulation to B2B and introducing this as national law to make it mandatory for all types of invoices, like Italy (2022/2024), Serbia (2023), Romania (2024), Germany (2025/2026), Poland (2026), Belgium (2026), and France (2026/2027).

Other countries are still in the process of creating a plan for mandatory B2B e-invoice implementation, such as Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia don’t have a B2B e-invoicing mandate in place and are yet to confirm their plans for it.

At the same time, the Portuguese tax administration has established that the declaration of SAF-T accounting files will be mandatory beginning in 2025. SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) is a data file based on the XML standard used internationally for the electronic interchange of fiscal information, so B2B electronic invoicing will become more than necessary at this time.

The United Kingdom and Ukraine are not in the EU. However, Ukraine has already made e-invoicing mandatory since 2015, and the UK is currently in the process of creating a plan for mandatory B2B e-invoice implementation.

Because e-invoicing will be a legal necessity for companies across the EU/Europe, it is vital that states implement these systems in a timely manner. Its implementation in B2B represents a bigger challenge for countries regarding the number of annual transactions. However, aside from the legal requirement, e-invoicing also offers considerable operational and competitive advantages for businesses, including automated VAT collection and fraud reduction.
 

What is e-invoicing and what are the regulations?

E-invoicing involves the electronic exchange of an invoice document between a supplier and a buyer, i.e. the invoice is issued, transmitted, received, and processed electronically.

The EU mandates that e-invoices are issued, transmitted, and received in a structured XML data format, and only in this format, since it allows automatic and electronic processing, as defined in Directive 2014/55/EU. The European standard on e-invoicing enables sellers to send invoices to many customers using one approved format, eliminating the need to adjust it for different trading partners.

The European standard defines the core business terms (elements) of an electronic invoice in a semantic data model (EN 16931-1), includes a list of all business terms that may be used in a compliant invoice, and defines how they are understood and used. Guidelines state the following considerations must be addressed:

• The information exchanged must be relevant to the situation. It needs to include the required information and should leave out what is not.
• The meaning of the information must be understood in the same way by both parties.
• The information must be expressed in a format that both parties understand.
• The information must be exchanged using a method both parties can access.

To ensure parity, e-invoices need to include certain information to be compliant. Much like a paper invoice, this includes key details such as Identification Number, Issue Date, Time of Supply (when the work was done), Supplier's and Customer's name and address, the VAT number, the description of the services/goods, price, and quantity.

Introduction of e-invoicing in the various countries

The adoption of B2B e-invoicing has had a staggered implementation across the different EU states on different dates, as the rules are enshrined in local law. It is important to understand the exact rules in the state or states you operate in, as the local rules or specific operating procedures can differ slightly from the standard EU regulations, even though overall e-invoice compatibility will always be assured.

Here you will find a list of the regulations for all countries that have already introduced e-invoicing for B2B as national law: 

The benefits of e-invoicing

Even though e-invoicing means obligations for companies, it also delivers a number of advantages from which they can benefit.
 

Efficiency, cost savings and liquidity

Reduced paperwork: E-invoicing eliminates the need for physical documents, reducing paper usage and associated storage costs. The manual process of printing and sending is eliminated, reducing printing and postage costs.

Faster invoice delivery and receipt of payment: Automation prevents data entry errors in incoming invoice processing, as the structured format allows the invoice information to be read automatically. This prevents discrepancies and possible payment delays. At the same time, workflow-based approval processes ensure that invoices are posted more quickly. The automated, electronic exchange is also faster than sending by post.

Improved cash flow: E-invoicing shortens the time from invoicing to payment and therefore increases liquidity. The automation of invoice creation, dispatch, and payment reconciliation enables shorter payment cycles, resulting in improved cash flows and lower financing costs.
 

Security and Compliance

Secure transmission: Encryption, verified electronic signatures and secure transmission protocols ensure a high level of security and confidentiality of invoices, reducing the risk of fraud and unauthorised access.

Enhanced compliance: Compliance with local tax regulations and accounting standards is ensured, reducing the risk of fines and penalties for non-compliance.
 

Transparency, analytics, and reporting

Increased visibility: As e-invoicing provides real-time access to invoice status and financial data, it also aids in better decision-making and financial planning.

Improved data management: Centralized storage of electronic invoices makes it easier to manage and retrieve historical data for audits and analysis.
 

Sustainability

Reduced environmental impact: E-invoicing reduces the environmental impact associated with paper production, printing, and transportation.
 

Implementing e-invoicing – how Konica Minolta can help you meet the regulations

Ensuring your business is ready to meet the applicable B2B e-invoicing regulations in your region can seem daunting to the uninitiated. Konica Minolta's expert team has a full understanding of the legal, practical, business, and technical considerations in your country and is very experienced in working with SMEs to find the right solutions for the business and employees.

As an expert manufacturer, supplier, and developer of business technology solutions, Konica Minolta can deliver a number of tools that will help you to easily and cost-effectively transition your business operations to meet current and upcoming e-invoicing regulations, ensuring you get the right solutions to match your needs.

This includes the document management solution M-Files, which enables companies to streamline and automate their business processes. As part of this solution, M-Files can also support the creation and dispatch of e-invoices. M-Files can automatically generate and format invoices based on predetermined templates and data, which enables invoices to be sent quickly and securely to customers via various channels, such as e-mail or EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). M-Files supports the XML format prescribed by the EU. The solution can be integrated with other applications and systems to store and update the database for invoicing.

In addition, the Document Navigator solution allows accounting departments to create XML files from electronic invoices in PDF format that are fully compliant with EN 16931-1 and Directive 2014/55/EU. Document Navigator extracts the XML file from the PDF document rather

than converting it, which ensures the original PDF remains as well, so both documents can be stored for reference or use. The XML file created complies with the protocols ZUGFeRD in Germany and FacturX in France (which is identical to ZUGFeRD 2.1.1). If other countries require the support of a country-specific protocol like RO_CIUS in Romania, Italian CIUS in Italy, and Peppol in Belgium and Poland, Document Navigator can develop this. Document Navigator can also add a level of automation whereby as soon as the PDF file enters into a monitored watch folder the XML file is created. Using a dedicated workflow both the XML and PDF files can be delivered in another system (such as ERP, attachment to email, or a database, etc.) for further use or sharing.
 

The power of e-invoicing at trading company EAST Grain

Konica Minolta has assisted EAST Grain, which operates in Hungary and Romania, with an electronic invoicing solution that became mandatory in Romania in 2024 and required integration between the company’s own ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and the National Tax Administration Agency system. M-Files and DocuSign were chosen as the solutions for this.

The document management solution provides advanced storage, search, and retrieval capabilities with all documents related to a client interconnected, thus enabling EAST Grain's overview of all documents. Documents are automatically assigned a registration number, circulate through pre-defined workflows and users are notified of their tasks.

The DocuSign e-signature solution is integrated into the document management application to electronically sign documents with business partners. Users can use predefined signature templates, names, and initials, and have the ability to upload and customize their own signatures to the platform and save different signature variants. By integrating e-signatures into the document management platform, users can perform all the necessary operations within the same solution, from storing a document, modifying it when necessary, sending it to approval workflows and e-signing.

Konica Minolta also developed an e-invoice module that provides the link between the ERP application, the National Tax Administration Agency system, and the M-Files document management solution.

As a result, the company has automated and simplified its workflows, reduced the time spent on document processing, and increased its efficiency, as well as ensuring it fully covers the legal requirements for electronic invoicing.