On 30 November, the European Commission published a report of expert group’s opinions on e-invoicing. The group was designated to design a European e-invoicing framework which could contribute to the EU’s final decision; with particular interest needed on the requirements of small and medium sized enterprises.

E-invoicing, short for electronic invoicing is the electronic transfer of billing and payment information, via the Internet or other electronic means between the parties – businesses, the public sector, and consumers – involved in commercial transactions.

Compared to paper invoices, e-Invoices may offer huge advantages for companies – they are said to be easier to process, they reach the customer faster and can be stored centrally at very low cost. A recent report predicts potential annual benefits of up to €40 billion across Europe in the business-to-business field alone.

Main benefits of electronic invoicing

• Quicker retrieval of money from customers by reducing the time an invoice or payment is in the post;
• Reduced printing and postage costs;
• Processing is quicker and cheaper, as the information in electronic invoices can be fed directly into a company’s payments and accounting systems;
• Lower storage costs.
• Main obstacles to the wider use of electronic invoicing

E-Invoices are produced in a wide range of formats and according to many different standards. This hinders the smooth transfer of an e-invoice from one part to another and prevents the full benefits and cost savings of e-invoicing from being realised;

• Variation in national rules which govern the validity and acceptability of e-invoices in legal, financial and administrative terms. This makes their use in cross-border transactions within the EU difficult;
• Many potential users have concerns about the security of e-invoicing systems and the potential for misrepresentation and fraud.

The report, which does not necessarily represent the views of the Commission, will be open for consultation until 26 February 2010.