E-Invoices & Digital Invoices: Know The Difference
Not everything you see on your screen is the same. “But what does that mean?” You must be thinking right now. Keep reading as we dig deeper into this.
In today’s news, we’ve got some great news that we bet you didn’t hear of before. However, after today’s insightful gatherings, you’ll know and educate everyone around you as well!
Today’s exciting news is about the fine line between digital invoices and e-invoices, so what are they exactly?
E-Invoices vs. Digital Invoices
While the concept may sound the same as the words “digital” and “electronic” mean no papers are used to facilitate the invoicing process, reality hits differently indeed.
What is E-Invoicing?
E-Invoicing is the process by which invoices are electronically handled. This means the whole lifecycle of the invoice, from generation till it’s issued, sent, and received by all involved parties. This type of invoice eliminates the need for human intervention with complete automation of all tasks. Thus, facilitating workflow inside the organization, increasing efficiency, and implementing better resource management.
E-invoices are generated electronically by specialized software, and they can be recognized by other e-invoicing systems, finance systems, or other integrated systems. The data used in e-invoices is structured in specific formats, so it’s recognized by other integrated systems. Formats used include EDI, XML, CSV, and more depending on the organization’s requirements.
E-invoices are created so they’re machine-readable by special software and can be developed to adhere to the country’s government regulations and they’re data-encrypted. This adds an extra security layer to ensure all users’ data is kept safe from breaches.
How We Do It at InvoiceQ?
At InvoiceQ, we have developed our system in a way that allows it to integrate and connect with various software systems such as accounting systems, ERP systems, e-invoicing systems, HR systems, and much more. We take into consideration the needs and regulations required in each country as well.
Thus, our system is qualified by ZATCA in Saudi Arabia and the ISTD in Jordan. Furthermore, the whole invoice cycle is processed from one software system to another without any human intervention or the need for manual check-ups to ensure data accuracy as we automate all processes via one centralized platform.
What is Digital Invoicing?
Although they’re also digitally viewed, digital invoices are different from e-invoices. Digital invoices don’t have structured forms like e-invoices, and they’re often shared as PDF files, Word files, scans, and more. Digital invoicing is made so that the invoice can still be viewed and edited by humans.
In other words, it’s not a fully automated process and still leaves room for manual processes to finalize the output to be shared on the invoice. Additionally, while e-invoices are designed to ensure they’re machine-readable, digital invoices, in contrast, are designed to be read by humans which means they’re prone to more mistakes and less accurate numbers.
That said, the main difference lies in the fact that digital invoices are not data structured, require manual processes, are not fully automated, come in digital forms but can’t be read by software systems, and are not data-encrypted.
Conclusion
There is still a lack of global adoption of e-invoicing in all countries. However, with the current wave of digitizing everything, the point in time where e-invoicing becomes the only option is not that far from happening. So, before you reach that point, we strongly recommend that you start considering the adoption of e-invoicing systems in your organization.
Utilizing an electronic e-invoicing system can help eliminate manual processes, as well as increase accuracy and transparency. Additionally, it can reduce costs associated with paper-based invoicing. Don’t let doubts hold you back. Check out what added value you can get from an e-invoicing system by requesting a free demo of our InoviceQ system.
