Electronic invoices, i.e. invoices that are created, sent and received electronically, are on the rise. Since 2011, e-invoices have been treated the same as paper invoices and more and more companies are digitizing their accounting and switching to electronic invoices. It should be noted that there are legal requirements for electronic invoices. The ten key points for electronic invoices from the digital association Bitkom provide good support in fulfilling these. Today we will explain how you can fulfill key points one, three, five and six with GetMyInvoices.
Technology neutrality
The first rule of thumb is that electronic invoices are technology-neutral. This means that technology neutrality and freedom of choice apply to both the format in which the e-invoice is created and the method by which it is transmitted. This means, on the one hand, that GetMyInvoices can automatically retrieve invoices from other solutions and forward them to other applications. The transmission is encrypted - and therefore secure. Secondly, both unstructured PDF invoices and receipts and standard formats such as ZUGFeRD and XRechnung are supported.
Authenticity and integrity
According to the third principle, the authenticity of the origin and the integrity of the content must be guaranteed. This can be ensured by an internal control procedure. GetMyInvoices supports this. For example, if users use GetMyInvoices to digitally archive invoices, they can see in the backend when an invoice was imported from where and what it looks like in order to check whether there is a payment obligation.
Readability
According to the fifth rule, every e-invoice must be legible to the human eye over the entire storage period. GetMyInvoices achieves this by storing the documents in PDF format. This is a long-term stable format that can be easily displayed regardless of the device and operating system used. This means that users of GetMyInvoices have no problem with the legibility of invoices - open the PDF and you’re done.
Electronic archiving
Rule six states that tax-relevant data, including invoices, may be stored in an archive system, provided that they can be evaluated in the same way as if the data were still in the production system. GetMyInvoices fully complies with this requirement, as our invoice management solution allows all evaluations of the data that must be recorded and stored.
In addition, users can also fulfill Bitkom’s other requirements with GetMyInvoices. Here Find out how our invoice management solution implements key point one. The other key points will be discussed in further blog posts.
Conclusion
Switching to e-invoices and GetMyInvoices is worthwhile. This is because electronic invoice processing keeps costs lower than analog invoice processing. In concrete terms, postage, paper, toner, file folders, storage space - and a lot of work - can be saved. Since GetMyInvoices automatically imports the documents and forwards them to other applications, manual data transfers are not necessary. This avoids media disruptions and the error rate is lower. In addition, the processing time for invoices is shortened. They can be paid more quickly and advantages such as discounts can be exploited. In addition, they are available in almost real time in all areas of the company and can be found quickly by tagging them.
