Jeremy Ferrer
Webinar :
Cross-border Purchases and VAT: Optimization Strategies
Tuesday Sept. 10, 2024 at 11 am (France)
Just a few years ago, the electronic invoicing was an unknown word. It was in 2013 that it began to be recognized legally. La electronic invoicing has become mandatory for all public commercial transactions as of 1 January 2020. Although it is not yet recommended in the private sector, it is highly recommended as it has many advantages. Its main advantage is that it is a powerful tool to fight against any form of tax evasion. Note that as of July 2024, the Electronic invoicing will be an obligation for all businesses that are subject to VAT. The implementation will take place until January 2026. La dematerialized invoicing is a boon for businesses in the digital or digital age. Indeed, invoices are essential in the activities of a company. However, their treatment is sometimes complicated and takes a long time. Digitizing this task allows the team to save time, make fewer mistakes, comply with standards and fight fraud. In these few lines, let's take a close look at the advantages ofe-invoicing and how to set it up.
La electronic invoicing is, as its name suggests, a solution that allows you to create a digital bill, dematerialized which will then be issued to its recipient. Unlike the paper bill, it will not be sent to the customer's physical address. It will be sent in dematerialized form through the billing platform. So there is no risk of loss here. Forget the unprocessed bills that pile up on your desk and sometimes get lost. This solution is ideal for optimizing this task, which can quickly become time-consuming and tedious.
The term “e-invoicing” is also used, e-Invoice or e-invoicing To refer to this digital invoicing system and modern.
La electronic bill is not only a trendy solution in big companies. It is true that we are talking about the digitalization trend. However, the stakes are really high. La dematerialization of the invoice has led to a major reform within companies, especially within the accounting department. Recall that the regulations relating to generalization of digital invoicing appears on the 2020 Finance Act. Several tax measures in this Act are aimed at individuals as well as businesses. These have 4 objectives, namely:
- Strengthening the competitiveness of businesses
- The fight against tax evasion
- The possibility of having a global vision of the company's activities
- The ease of VAT declarations
Recall that the fight against tax evasion is a major concern for the authorities. It represents a shortfall of around 30 billion euros for the State, which pushes it to take the necessary measures to reduce the loss. THEelectronic invoicing obligation is one of them.
For domestic B to B, this solution is accompanied by another device, which is “e-reporting”, which will allow the monitoring of payments at the system level.
The format of the invoice is no longer what matters today. Rather, it is its content that is essential. One invoice template in due form must include the following elements:
- The coordinates of the sender and the receiver
- The legal information of the sending and receiving company
- The date of the invoice
- The invoice number
- The names of the products or services provided
- The costs of the products or services provided
- The total costs
- The total including VAT
- The signature of the issuer
According to article 289 of the General Tax Code, the invoice can be sent in various ways:
- Or with an electronic document designed on a platform of your choice provided that the company sets up a regular check of the documents as well as a reliable audit of the invoices issued and received.
- Or with a digital document designed with word processing software and bearing an electronic signature via a recognized platform and following the rules set out concerning the design of such a document.
- Or with a well-structured message whose content and format have been fixed by both parties, a message readable on a computer or mobile device and which can be processed digitally and automatically.
THEelectronic invoicing obligation will only be really effective from the year 2024 for businesses subject to VAT. However, implementing this digital document now can only be beneficial for your business. Here are some of the benefits you can get from dematerialized invoicing :
Invoicing is a mandatory task for businesses. In general, an entire department takes care of it. La dematerialization of the supplier invoice allows you to benefit from a simplified process, whether you are the receiver or the sender of the bill. The platforms of electronic invoicing the most advanced offer a simple interface as well as various functionalities to make the design and processing of the invoice as simple as possible. In addition, since billing is a recurring task, you can use the invoice you have already designed to create a new one. The risks of errors are reduced since everything is done automatically. Les legal information on the invoice are already pre-registered in the platform. They will automatically appear on each invoice created.
THEe-Invoice also has a financial advantage. This solution reduces the cost of invoicing, especially the cost of sending paper invoices. Thanks to it, you can save on the costs of paper, ink, envelopes, envelopes, mailing, not to mention the administrative costs associated with the design of the invoice. In addition, the electronic invoicing allows you to send the invoice more quickly and thus to be paid in a shorter period of time.
According to a study carried out, an electronic invoice issuer saves up to 60% of the cost through the use of a platform ofe-invoicing and process automation.
This advantage is common for all forms of digitalization and system automation solutions. Creating, printing, wrapping, and sending invoices take a lot of time. Time that can be devoted to other tasks that are more important for the advancement of the company. With thee-invoicing, you will have much more time to meet new customers, develop strategies to develop your business... With a simple click, you send your bill and the receiver gets it instantly.
Manually archived invoices can easily be misplaced or stolen, not to mention the considerable amount of time the editing process takes. On the other hand, a electronic invoicing or e-Invoice allows documents to be archived in a single server. Data is centralized and secure. The confidentiality of invoices is maintained. Only persons authorized to consult the documents can do so. Searching for documents in the database is easy and takes less time than when you have to search for archives manually.
It's easy to make calculation or typing errors when invoices are designed manually. However, in this type of document, a single small error can be fatal for all accounting. La electronic invoicing gives you the opportunity to get rid of these mistakes. The platforms ofThe e-invoice usually include a calculator that allows you to calculate VAT without errors. Automating information is also beneficial because you no longer have to re-enter information on each invoice.
There is more and more talk about sustainable development in all sectors nowadays. By implementing an approach towards digitalization and dematerialization of the invoice, businesses are part of this concept. Skip toe-Invoice significantly reduces the carbon footprint in everything The billing process. In reality, you reduce all your consumption and expenses: paper, ink, electricity, travel... With electronic invoices, you do not need transport, so the CO2 emission is decidedly reduced.
The fact that you use electronic invoices also has advantages for your customers. The process is becoming simpler as well as the processing of documents. Thanks to the electronic invoicing, your employees can consult them at any time and archive them securely. It also allows them to pay you as quickly as possible. In the event that they claim an error on the invoice, you can make the change as soon as possible and return the invoice immediately.
The interest of the electronic invoicing is also palpable in terms of accounting. Indeed, it is common to integrate this system into this service in order to automate the accounting process. All this, without the regular intervention of a human being, which leads to an enormous saving of time and a gain in human resources.
THEe-Invoice is probably among the most used digital solutions in businesses today. In general, it is the first step towards digitalization in a society. In addition, billing systems and platforms are evolving, allowing businesses to use them for the long term.
The evolution of platform design digital invoices is impressive. There are more and more tools that allow this to be done in a simple and secure way on the web. However, not all solutions offer the same functionality and efficiency. This is why it is essential to take into account these few criteria of choice to find the best electronic invoicing software.
By opting for a solution ofe-invoicing, each company has its own goals. Thus, first of all, you must determine whether you want to opt for simple or fiscal dematerialization. Indeed, they are two very distinct things. The first, as its name suggests, consists in the transformation of a paper invoice into a digital one. The aim here is to make the storage and archiving of documents easier. For this, it is not necessary to use a complex dematerialization platform, a simple software or online word processing tool is sufficient.
On the other hand, for the second, you will have to turn to an advanced platform of dematerialization of invoicing. In this case, the invoice is authenticated in two ways. Either by using an electronic signature, or by using the EDI standard (Electronic Data Interchange).
The interoperability of the solution you choose with the tool used by your accounting department is also a determining criterion. The process must be synchronized to allow a certain fluidity in the procedures. The electronic invoicing software that you choose must therefore integrate the API. For accountants, it is possible to opt for an integrated system that allows invoices to be generated, managed and recorded at the same time. They can also opt for a system specially dedicated to the management of digital invoices.
The issue of accessibility is very important, if you want your customers to easily integrate the system into their process. Because if you want better billing optimization, you are obliged to ask your customers to integrate the platform.
Data security is critical. Billing data is strategic for businesses. If they are not secure, it could become a disaster for them. The solution ofe-invoicing of your choice must therefore integrate a good data security system. So, before deciding, find out who hosts the data, how the data transmitted via the platform is checked, how the legal notices are checked, how the data is archived...
Saas mode implies that the solution may not be installed on company servers, while on-premise mode requires this. The latter could be more difficult to implement and requires the use of an internal technician in the company. This could generate additional costs. Even though it's a trendy solution, Saas is winning.
Cost is always a key factor in choosing a product or service. Whichever mode you choose for your electronic invoicing solution, the price of this one depends on a few criteria. For example, we are talking about the volume of invoices that you will have to process with the platform or the functionalities you will need. Even the scope of your project has a role to play in defining the cost of the platform. Of course, it is common to always negotiate the price with the designer.
Although the volume of invoices you process throughout the year cannot be precisely determined, you can still calculate an average. In fact, this remains a decisive criterion of choice when deciding on the electronic invoicing software that you need. In terms of features, they're also important. Of course, the basic ones must be included in the platform, such as the automatic extraction of metadata or the classification of invoices. Some platforms offer advanced features that live up to their price. You must establish your needs before opting for this or that platform. For example, a more advanced tool would offer two ways to archive invoices: simple or with probative value. Other models would offer the possibility of integrating a section for customer support... The question of format is also a parameter that should not be overlooked. You should know that currently, you have the choice between 3 different formats: PDF, PDF/A or EDI (EDIFACT format). Determine your needs and choose the solution that best fits them.
A lot of people in your business are going to have to use the new tool. It is essential to choose a system that is easy to implement to avoid confusion during its use. The interface should be simple and accessible. Also, make sure that the solution ofe-invoicing Choose has a mobile version so that it can be accessed wherever you go. Moreover, it is also one of the great advantages of such a system. It allows you to edit and manage all your invoices from anywhere.
To enable sustainable activity within your company, it is essential to choose a scalable system that allows you to comply with legal obligations relating to billing and accounting. It is true that compliance can be restrictive. However, the most important thing is the implementation of digital transformation in standards. Control of the process of electronic invoicing benefits the company that is strategically moving into the digital age.
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