On 20 February 2019, the Riigikogu passed the Accounting Act Amendment Act that establishes the procedure for invoicing the public sector and the transition to e-invoices. An e-invoice is a machine-readable invoice that is inserted in the system and the data contained therein are machine-readable between computers.
There are two main reasons for the transition to e-invoices:
- paper invoices and PDF invoices are expensive, their processing is time-consuming and their handling requires extra effort;
- the transition to e-invoices is necessary for the transition to a uniform invoice processing system in public accounting which, in turn, reduces the workload, saves time spent on processing invoices, improves the quality of data and saves the taxpayer money.
All companies and authorities should register their acceptance of e-invoices in the commercial register. The register of e-invoicers also lists all those entities already able to issue and receive e-invoices.
It should be kept in mind that e-invoices are not sent using an ordinary e-mail address, but it is a standardized feature that identifies an accounting entity as a recipient of a machine-readable source document. The e-address consists of the country code and registry code or, upon the absence thereof, another relevant feature.
In Estonia, e-invoices have been in use for 15 years. In 2019, Estonia joined the e-invoice standard of the European Union, which simplifies the sending and receiving of e-invoices among Member States.
In the case of most business software applications, one needs to conclude a contract with the operator or buy the necessary interface of an ERP application (Enterprise Resource Planning software with which sales invoices can be made and issued and purchase invoices inserted).
Here is a list of business software applications that are ERP ready:
1C, Account Studio, Briox, Buum, CompuCash 4000, Directo, Eeva, Epicor, ERPLY, Hansaworld (HansaRaama, StandardBooks. SmartApps), Joosep, Korto (for flat owners’ associations), Ladu 20, Merit Aktiva, Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Noom 2.0, Pilve Aktiva (Merit Aktiva cloud version), PMen accounting software, Rapid, RV-Soft, SAP, Scoro, SimplBooks, SmartAccounts, Sysdec SAF, Taavi Tarkvara, Tresoor, VERP, Vesiir.
If you cannot prepare e-invoices in an ERP application, you need to use the help of operators who provide data exchange services such as Omniva, Telema, Edisoft, Tieto, etc.
A fee may be charged for e-invoicing (a monthly fee or a fee per invoice) when using an operator’s services, but modern business software applications allow e-invoices to be sent free of charge (the fee is included in the usage or maintenance fee of the ERP application).
E-invoice operators are bound by mutual agreements (e.g. roaming agreements) that allow machine-readable invoices to be sent from the software of one operator to that of another. In the case of a roaming agreement, e-invoices are sent free of charge between e-invoice operators.
It is also important to keep in mind that if a company is using an ERP application where machine-readable e-invoices do not comply with the Estonian e-invoice standard, but the ERP application is interfaced with an operator, the operator usually ensures the conversion of the invoice to the e-invoice format.
State-owned online accounting software e-invoicer (e-arveldaja) helps small enterprises manage the simpler organisation of accounting and also ensures their ability to send and accept e-invoices.
For further information and manuals on preparing and handling e-invoices, visit the website of the Ministry of Finance.
Leinonen’s experienced specialists help you identify the readiness of your company’s accounting software for the transition to e-invoices and are happy to advise regarding the e-invoices.
