E-Invoice Preconditions
← Electronic Invoices in JustOn
Part of the business logic to produce e-invoices runs on the Heroku-based platform. So from a technical perspective, creating e-invoices requires appropriate platform integration and Salesforce API access.
With respect to data, the following conditions must be met for JustOn Billing & Invoice Management to successfully create an e-invoice XML file. For details, see Preparing E-Invoice Source Data.
E-Invoice Formats
Setting an e-invoice format in the E-Invoice Format field on the invoice is the main trigger for JustOn Billing & Invoice Management to create the e-invoice XML file on invoice finalization.
Currently, the software supports the following e-invoice formats:
| Value | E-Invoice Format | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Peppol BIS Billing UBL | Peppol BIS Billing (with UBL syntax) | Electronic invoicing across Europe |
| XRechnung UBL | XRechnung (with UBL syntax) | Electronic invoicing within Germany |
| Avalara ELR country mandate | Configured country mandate for Avalara ELR | Electronic invoicing worldwide |
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Legal regulations in the EU do not oblige the sender to use the format requested by the recipient. Instead:
- B2G: Recipients (public bodies) must accept invoices in certain standard formats. These may vary between countries, but must all comply with EN16931.
- B2B: National mandates require senders to use EN 16931-compliant formats, but this is for standardization and tax auditing purposes, not to meet the individual preferences of the recipient. This leaves room for senders and recipients to agree on a common format that they see fit.
JustOn Billing & Invoice Management determines the e-invoice format as follows:
ON_EInvoiceFormat on the invoice source record
↳ E-Invoice Format on the related business entity
(1) Your org can make use of the ON field mechanism: set the field ON_EInvoiceFormat on the invoice source records to have the e-invoice format set on invoice creation.
(2) Without a dedicated ON field, JustOn Billing & Invoice Management checks the field E-Invoice Format on the related business entity. If it is set, the software uses the specified value on invoice creation.
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Users can
- set an e-invoice format while the invoice is
Draft, and - manually change the target e-invoice format when creating the e-invoice XML file from a single invoice.
Without an e-invoice format set, JustOn Billing & Invoice Management will not create an e-invoice.
E-Invoice Distribution Channel
The e-invoice distribution channel is required to determine the intended distribution method for the e-invoice file.
The e-invoice distribution channel and e-invoice format depend on each other.
| Distribution Channel | Supported Formats |
|---|---|
E-Mail |
Peppol BIS Billing UBLXRechnung UBL |
Peppol |
Peppol BIS Billing UBLXRechnung UBL |
Avalara |
active Avalara ELR country mandates |
Your org can make use of the ON field mechanism to set the field ON_EInvoiceDistributionChannel on the invoice source records to have the e-invoice distribution channel set on invoice creation. Otherwise, users can set the distribution channel on draft invoices or when manually creating or sending the e-invoice XML file from a single invoice.
Invoice Status
The invoice must be finalized before creating or sending an e-invoice. That is, its status must not be Draft, Pre-Draft, Pre-Open.
Business Entity
The invoice must specify a business entity. To avoid typos, use the button Set Business Entity, see Setting Business Entity.
Buyer Reference
In addition, the invoice must specify a buyer reference – a unique identification of the invoice recipient.
- When doing business with German public authorities (B2G scenarios), the buyer reference usually holds the Leitweg-ID (a unique identification of the invoice recipient, see ZFB | eRechnung).
- In B2B scenarios, you need to agree on a buyer reference with your business partner.
Unit and Unit Code
The invoice line item must specify a unit defined using the custom setting Quantity Units.
The quantity unit must define a code for the measurement unit applicable to the quantity. The code is expected to be one of the codes listed in UNECE Recommendation No. 20 "Codes for Units of Measure Used in International Trade" or UNECE Recommendation No 21 "Codes for Passengers, Types of Cargo, Packages and Packaging Materials", see UNECE Code List Recommendations.
Typical unit codes include, for example:
| Measurement Unit | Unit Code |
|---|---|
| Piece | H87 |
| Hour | HUR |
| Month | MON |
| Kilowatt Hour | KWH |
| (Page) Impression | IM |
| Persons | IE |
| Kilometre | KMT |
Tax Rate
The invoice line item must specify a tax rate defined using the custom setting Tax Rules.
The tax rule must define the tax rate, the business entity and the VAT category code. This is a code for categorizing VAT regulations, which is necessary for e-invoices. The code is expected to be one of the codes listed in the code list 5305 of the United Trade Data Interchange Directory (UNTDID), see Duty or tax or fee category code (Subset of UNCL5305).
If an invoice line item is exempt from VAT (VAT category codes E, AE, G, O, K), it must provide a VAT exemption reason code. The code is expected to be one of the codes listed in the code list VATEX of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), see VATEX code list. JustOn Billing & Invoice Management sets the VAT exemption reason codes for the VAT category codes AE, G, O, K automatically. For the VAT category code E, however, you must create and set the ON fields ON_VATExemptionReasonCode and ON_VATExemptionReasonText on the invoice line item source to provide the relevant code.
Typical VAT category codes for businesses in Europe include:
| Name | VAT Category Code | VAT Exemption |
|---|---|---|
| Standard rate and reduced rate | S | |
| Exempt from tax | E |
Requires the additional ON fields ON_VATExemptionReasonCode and ON_VATExemptionReasonText to be set on the invoice line item source object. |
| Zero rated goods | Z | |
| VAT reverse charge | AE | Produces the fixed VAT Exemption Reason Code value vatex-eu-ae |
| Free export, no tax | G | Produces the fixed VAT Exemption Reason Code value vatex-eu-g |
| Services outside scope of tax | O | Produces the fixed VAT Exemption Reason Code value vatex-eu-oRequires E-Invoice Sender Legal Identifier set on the business entity or Seller ID set on the invoice. |
| Intra-community supply | K | Produces the fixed VAT Exemption Reason Code value vatex-eu-ic |
| Canary Islands tax | L | |
| Ceuta and Melilla tax | M |
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This information does not constitute any legally effective tax advice. JustOn cannot and must not provide such services. For any detailed questions, contact your tax consultant.
For businesses in Germany, you can consult the XRechnung specification (section 12.4 VAT rules) for information on applicable rules.
E-Invoice Address and Scheme
Organizations that send or receive electronic invoices must have a unique e-invoice address, which is codified using a specific address scheme identifier. Generally, e-invoice addresses are subject to the Electronic Address Scheme defined by the European Union.
When creating e-invoices in the Peppol BIS Billing format or when participating in the Peppol Network (as both sender and recipient), however, only a limited set of address schemes is allowed (see Electronic Address Scheme (EAS) in the Peppol documentation).
The e-invoice sender information must be specified in the relevant business entity's fields E-Invoice Sender Address and E-Invoice Sender Scheme Id. The e-invoice recipient information must be specified in the relevant invoice's fields E-Invoice Recipient Address and E-Invoice Recipient Scheme Id.
Example e-invoice address types include:
| Electronic Address Scheme | Example Value | Corresponding Scheme ID |
|---|---|---|
| German VAT number | DE123456789 |
9930 |
| German Leitweg ID | 04011000-1234512345-06 |
0204 |
| French VAT number | FR12345678901 |
9957 |
| French SIREN code | 732829320 |
0002 |
| French SIRET code | 732829320 00074 |
0009 |
| Electronic mail Not allowed for Peppol or Avalara |
accounting@company.com |
EM |
The Peppol Directory lists the participants in the Peppol network. It allows for searching entities by name, address, ID or combinations thereof.
Required Fields
Make sure, in addition, that the following fields are set:
| Object | Required Fields |
|---|---|
| Invoice | Invoice No. E-Invoice Format E-Invoice Distribution Channel Date Business Entity Buyer Reference Account Name Billing City Billing Postal Code Billing Street Billing Country Code E-Invoice Recipient Address E-Invoice Recipient Scheme Id Payment Method |
| Invoice Line Item | Sequence Quantity Unit Unit Code Unit Price Tax Rate VAT Category Code |
| Business Entity | Company Tax ID City Postal Code Country Code Phone Email Sender IBAN E-Invoice Sender Address E-Invoice Sender Scheme Id |
The country code must be provided using the ALPHA-2 notation as specified in ISO-3166-1, see ISO 3166-1:Alpha2 Country codes in the Peppol documentation.
The payment method is not mandatory for producing valid e-invoice files. However, JustOn recommends to specify a payment method so that the e-invoice recipient receives any necessary payment details. Be aware that if you use the payment method SEPA, you must provide the required IBAN (either using RequestedPaymentInstrument when integrating with JustOn Cash Management, using a payment instrument in JustOn Billing & Invoice Management, or directly from the Bank Account field on the invoice).