Days until the abolition of the PDF invoice
(in Germany)
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An e-invoice is an electronic invoice that is treated like a paper invoice in the accounting system.
Since 1 January 2025, the receipt of e-invoices has been mandatory for all B2B transactions in Germany. From 2027, only e-invoices may be sent in domestic German business transactions. We therefore recommend that companies prepare their accounting systems for e-invoices now and implement the sending of e-invoices in addition to receiving them.
In Austria, e-invoicing has been mandatory for invoices to the federal government since 2014, in Italy since 2018 and in Germany since 2019. We at EPO Consulting can therefore look back on more than 10 years of experience in the creation of e-invoices in various XML formats in a wide range of countries.
EPO Consulting’s solution for creating, sending and receiving e-invoices directly in SAP is currently the simplest and fastest implemented solution on the market. This enables companies to work in a legally compliant manner (in accordance with GoBD guidelines) and with maximum efficiency in the shortest possible time. We can install an SAP outgoing invoice system with ready-made standard products for your audit-proof archive in just 3 days.
The steps for e-invoice output explained
1. Create e-invoice
With our EPO e-invoice solutions, you can create valid XML e-invoices directly in SAP for the SD and FI modules.
In Germany, the two formats UBL XML and CII XML (Cross Industry Invoice) are permitted. SAP INVOIC IDoc, EDI formats and other formats must be converted to UBL XML or CII XML.
We therefore recommend creating UBL XML or CII XML invoices directly from the ERP system. This eliminates the discussion about the original and you only have to archive the original with the embedded attachments.
2. Visualisation
Visualise the e-bill as a PDF or HTML (without creating an additional document).
As XML e-invoices are not easily readable by humans, they must be visualised for visual inspection. In addition, any number of attachments in non-readable Base64 format can be embedded in the XML e-invoices. These must also be visualised for the inspection.
Our EPO Consulting solution has an integrated visualisation tool with which you can display both the electronic invoice itself and the attachments in a readable format.
Visualisation as HTML also offers many other advantages:
- The HTML is interactive. This enables navigation in the document or the opening and closing of sections, for example.
- The HTML can be customised to suit the customer. (e.g. to the customer’s colours and corporate design using CSS)
- Embedded attachments can be displayed inline or in a separate browser tab. Alternatively, with a linked programme (Word, Excel, CAD viewer).
- The visualisation is also available as a Saas Cloud Service and as a mobile phone app.
- If required, the HTML can be easily saved as a file and used offline.
3. Overview & Control
View and control all e-invoices and their attachments in an outgoing invoice book.
All e-invoices are clearly displayed here.
You can also upload attachments in this step and validate e-invoices simply by clicking a button.
Optional: Release
The release of outgoing invoices can also be a necessity (compliance) or at least a process improvement.
There are two options for approval in the e-invoice outbox:
- Use of the SAP-based workflow
- Use of the workflow system of the ECM system
- An EPO Connector licence is required for this
4. Send e-invoice
You can send the created e-invoices via various channels.
The most widely used method is still sending e-invoices via e-mail. Although e-mail has the advantage of being simple and free of charge, its disadvantages include low security and the lack of confirmation of delivery or acceptance.
As a special feature, we can offer e-mail dispatch with one or two different attachments.
- an XML attachment, i.e. the original invoice
- plus an HTML attachment, i.e. the visualisation as an interactive HTML page. This visualisation works for you and your customers with any web browser, as well as on mobile phones and offline!
Alternatively, you can also send e-invoices via the following channels:
- Web Services or JSON REST APIs
- PEPPOL via an EDI / PEPPOL provider
-
EDI transmission channels such as AS2 and SFTP
5. Archiving e-invoices
As e-invoices are defined as originals, legally compliant archiving of the XML invoice including attachments is required in accordance with the GoBD guidelines.
Our EPO solution is able to save the original via the outgoing invoice ledger in an available archive, which is connected to SAP via SAP ArchiveLink. It is also possible to extract the attachments for separate storage.
Our solution makes creating and sending e-invoices child’s play for any company. Start your first trial with UBL XML now and secure a head start in process handling over other companies that will only implement this in the next few years.
Think about your customers too. In order to comply with the change in the law, they have invested heavily and have been able to receive e-invoices since the beginning of 2025. However, this investment will only be of benefit to companies if they now also receive e-invoices.
Ask your customers whether they already want to receive e-invoices. With our EPO solution, you can do this and satisfy your customers as well as optimising your revenue.
