What exactly is an electronic invoice?
An electronic invoice, also called "e-invoice," is an invoice issued, sent and received in an electronic format. To create an electronic invoice, you use structured data based on the computer language UBL (Universal Business Language), the standard format for e-invoicing in Belgium. A pdf document is therefore not an electronic invoice.
This structured data consists of fields that can be automatically recognized and processed by banking and accounting packages. Thus, the processing of electronic invoices happens automatically and the administrative burden for accountants and business owners is drastically reduced.
Benefits at a glance
Discover how electronic invoicing makes the lives of accountants and business owners so much easier.
- Easy: you don't need any prior knowledge or training to send electronic invoices, you can get started right away!
- Automatic: the data (dates) in your invoice are read and processed automatically. No more manual operations are required.
- Fast: whether it's sending sales invoices or approving and paying incoming invoices, thanks to automatic flow everything happens much faster. And who doesn't like to see that, a faster paid invoice?
- Reliable: less manual handling also means less chance of errors (in the account number, communication, etc.). So you can be sure that you are using the correct data and that your invoice will not get lost in transit. Because a remarkable number of sent e-mails do not reach the recipient
- Secure: electronic invoices have the same legal validity as paper invoices. Moreover, the exchange of invoices is secure because they are encrypted files readable by the various accounting systems.
- Cheaper: no paper, no stamps, no physical transport, no extra time or staff to manually type things over or check them... electronic invoicing is cheaper and more sustainable.
- You are already meeting the future legal obligation.
