Our lifestyles have always been indexed to technological possibilities. And what is true for everyday life is even more so for work. Electronic invoicing is therefore one of the essential outcomes of the digitization of society. But what exactly are we talking about when we use this term? Is it compulsory for companies? And above all, how to make it an optimization tool for your business thanks to a dematerialization platform adapted to its needs ? Answers.
What exactly is e-invoicing?
Electronic invoicing is a process for generating, transmitting and receiving invoices in electronic form. Unlike paper invoicing, electronic invoicing does not require printing or mailing. Electronic invoices are sent via secure computer networks and are usually stored in electronic document management systems. Be careful because the term electronic invoice does not designate a document in PDF format, sent by email, but an invoice that has been issued, transmitted and received in a structured format.
Electronic invoices therefore constitute the unsurpassable future of companies, both because they will allow interesting optimizations and because they will eventually become mandatory. Thus, adopting the electronic invoice in 2024 via dematerialization platforms such as Freedz is already get ahead of the law and on competition.
The electronic invoicing obligation and its expiry date
The electronic invoicing obligation is a measure aimed at modernizing and simplifying commercial exchanges between companies. It simply consists of issuing and receiving invoices in electronic format, rather than in paper format. This measure is already mandatory in some countries of the European Union, and it was to be extended to all member countries from 2023. The timetable for implementing this obligation has finally been postponed, and varies according to the size of the companies: large companies should adopt it from 2024medium-sized enterprises in 2025 and small enterprises, as well as micro ones, in 2026.
This measure will reduce administrative costs and simplify procedures for businesses. However, it will require a adaptation of computer systems and employee training. Companies are therefore encouraged to anticipate this obligation and prepare now, so as not to be caught off guard when it comes into force.
Why go through a private player for electronic invoicing?
To implement the obligation of electronic invoicing under the best conditions, France has decided to leave the choice to companies. They can therefore pass either through a public billing portal (PPF), or by a private dematerialization platform partner of the administration (PDP). By default, all companies will be affiliated with the PPF, which will offer a basic service, requiring manual entry.
Private dematerialization platforms, on the contrary, whose skills and security will be validated by an ISO standard and a certification issued by Anssi, will offer all kinds of additional services. They will thus be able to convert the invoices transmitted in multiple formats, check their validity, transmit them to their recipients and offer optimization functionalities such as dashboards, archiving services or generating invoices. You won’t need to know how to send a registered letter via the Internet to stimulate a bad payer anymore!