E-Invoicing: Obligation to issue electronic invoices

Following the adoption of the Growth Act in March 2024, e-invoicing will become mandatory in the B2B sector. The changeover is to take place gradually, but all companies must be able to receive electronic invoices from January 2025. For more details, read our blog post.

The Growth Act passed in March 2024 stipulates that all companies in the B2B sector must switch their invoicing to e-invoicing. This means that invoices will no longer be issued in paper form, but in an electronic format and processed electronically. The European standard for electronic invoices is the EN 16931 format.

When does the e-invoicing obligation apply?

The changeover to electronic invoicing is to take place gradually. The following deadlines have been set:

From January 2025: All companies in the B2B sector are obliged to be able to receive electronic invoices.
From January 2027: Companies with an annual turnover of more than 800,000.00 euros must issue electronic invoices.
From January 2028: All companies must send electronic B2B invoices.
Small-value invoices (up to EUR 250) can still be sent in paper form.
A particular challenge here is that no centralized national platform is planned for the exchange of e-invoices. This means that each company is responsible for the exchange of electronic invoices itself.

Important: An invoice sent by email in PDF format will therefore no longer be considered an electronic invoice from 2025, but may still be issued by all invoice issuers until the end of 2026 and by invoice issuers with a maximum turnover of EUR 800,000.00 until the end of 2027 with the consent of the recipient.

B2G e-invoices in Germany

From April 18, 2020, the federal states must support electronic invoicing in accordance with European Directive 2014/55/EU.
Each federal state must regulate its own implementation of the European directive by means of a legal ordinance that defines communication systems, formats and access points. The connection via Peppol must be offered in any case.
Rhineland-Palatinate already obliged suppliers to issue electronic invoices on January 1, 2024.
Hessen will oblige suppliers to issue electronic invoices in April 2024.

Tips & Tricks

We have put together a few tips and tricks for you which, from our experience, will make the introduction of e-invoicing easier:

Early planning: start early with the implementation and allow sufficient time for the changeover and tests - implementation partners are becoming scarce!
Develop a strategy across all companies. E-invoicing is an absolute trend topic worldwide. Use the synergies between the countries.
Employee training: Train relevant employees in the use of the new e-invoicing processes and SAP functions.
Support and consulting: Get advice from an experienced partner like CONSILIO and benefit from their expertise.
Monitoring and optimization: Implement monitoring tools to continuously monitor the e-invoicing process and make adjustments if necessary.

Implementation steps for e-invoicing in SAP

The following to-dos are required when implementing the electronic invoice:

License clarification with SAP or your SAP system house
Importing SAP notes
Mapping SAP settings to e-invoicing requirements
Setting up incoming and outgoing communication between systems (SAP ERP, SAP BTP, eDocument Service and PEPPOL)
Tests and documentation
Process adjustments and training
Go-Live
Hypercare & Support

In view of the planned introduction on January 1, 2025, all companies should therefore address the topic of e-invoicing and convert their invoicing systems and software in good time. With an experienced partner like CONSILIO, the changeover process can be organized smoothly.

Maximilian Hinterecker, Principal Consultant FICO, CONSILIO GmbH CONSILIO GmbH Contact the expert

Summary

All (VAT) entrepreneurs are affected by the introduction of e-invoicing - regardless of their size. In view of the planned introduction on January 1, 2025, all companies should therefore address the issue of e-invoicing and convert their invoicing systems and software in good time. With an experienced partner like CONSILIO, the changeover process can be organized smoothly. Our experts have a proven track record of successful implementation in various projects in Germany and worldwide and will be happy to support you with their expertise.

Lessons Learned

You may encounter a number of stumbling blocks on the way to e-invoicing: before, during or after implementation. Learn from our experience and consider the following aspects:

Build up knowledge carriers: Experience has shown that a project team from the specialist department, IT and tax department is the best prerequisite. Plan with the right key users per country. From an IT perspective, you need contact persons who can define clear requirements.
Early planning: An e-invoicing project needs to be approached sensibly. No quick fixes.
Find out about invoice receipt processing software: Talk to the provider.
Strong communication: Talk to your suppliers and customers to find out whether they are already able/willing to send or receive e-invoices. In addition to external communication, internal communication is just as important (project marketing).
Consider the costs of change management: An e-invoicing project has many interfaces.
Build up technical understanding: Create transparency with regard to communication between the systems and portals.
Seize the opportunity to optimize processes: Optimizing the incoming or outgoing invoice process during ongoing business is often difficult. Take advantage of this unique opportunity.