What is an Electronic Invoice (E-invoice)?

An electronic invoice (e-invoice) is sent electronically over the internet, rather than being paper-based, and can be easily integrated into a customer's accounts payable system.

The still-standard form of an invoice is one printed on paper and submitted along with, or after, the goods are delivered or the services rendered. However, electronic invoicing, also known as e-invoicing or e-invoices, are increasing in popularity as a more efficient means of sending invoices.

Although to many, electronic invoices may simply mean a scanned form of a printed invoice, electronic invoices have standards that can vary widely from country to country.

The standards for electronic invoices come from the Electronic Data Interchange standards, which lists the rules for how electronic invoices should be created and transferred.

This means that different countries or regions will have different formats for their electronic invoices.  Options include creating and sending invoices in CSV, PDF and XML formats. These updated formats make it easier for customers to create invoices, especially with simplified web applications, while still allowing for various accounts payable departments to process them easily.

Electronic invoicing adoption is increasing throughout the world, with governments, such as the EU, encouraging businesses and government bodies to utilize electronic invoices.