The European Commission defines e-invoicing as the exchange of an electronic invoice document between a supplier and a buyer. In practice, it means sending, receiving, processing and paying invoices in a fully digital, automated way.
Unlike a PDF or a scanned image, an e-invoice uses a structured, machine-readable format such as XML. Descriptions, quantities and prices are embedded as data, so ERP and invoicing systems can read them without manual handling. A structured e-invoice is usually accompanied by an invoice image, a visualisation of the content.
Formats vary by country, like SI-UBL in the Netherlands, Svefaktura in Sweden and Finvoice in Finland, but the EU standard EN 16931 ensures interoperability, so the core data can be understood across systems and borders.
Beware of look-alikes: a PDF or JPG sent by email is not an e-invoice, and neither is a paper invoice scanned with OCR and keyed in by hand. A PDF is essentially a photograph of an invoice.
Think of the postal service. The sender creates the invoice in their invoicing software and sends it into the e-invoicing network. The operators act as mailmen: the sender's operator converts the invoice into a format the recipient's system understands and delivers it securely, automatically and in minutes.
Time. Printing, posting and manual data entry disappear, and the time from invoice receipt to payment shrinks.
Cost. Less paper and postage saves money and spares the environment, and repetitive work becomes time for value-adding tasks.
Accuracy. Automation removes the typos and misplaced decimals that lead to credit invoices, supplier calls and manual fixes.
Security. Fake PDF invoices sent by email are a common fraud. An e-invoice carries an ID, usually an electronic address, plus identifiers such as GLN or Peppol ID, proving who the issuer is.
Compliance. More companies now require e-invoices, and in the public sector the law demands a structured electronic format that can be processed automatically. PDFs do not qualify.
Choose a supplier that fits your size and needs, and check how it integrates with your financial system. For one solution covering both incoming and outgoing invoices, integrated with your ERP, Inexchange is of course a good option.
Inform suppliers and customers about the switch. Many systems can also scan paper invoices and process them digitally.
Train everyone who handles invoices in the new process.
Evaluate after a while: what could work better, and which features are you not using yet
Costs vary by provider: per transaction, included in a subscription, or free up to a certain volume. E-invoicing is already mandatory in parts of the world and adoption keeps growing, which makes it a strategic decision for any business that wants to stay competitive.