E-Invoice and E-Dispatch Integration: A Step-by-Step Guide

E-invoice and e-dispatch are now mandatory for the large majority. But meeting the requirement is one thing, and designing the flow correctly is another. A wrong integration complicates the month-end close with rejection, return and duplicate-invoice problems. This guide explains the steps of a correct setup.

01. E-Invoice vs E-Archive vs E-Dispatch

Don't confuse the three systems:

• E-Invoice: between registered taxpayers (B2B)
• E-Archive: to non-taxpayer buyers (B2C)
• E-Dispatch: a shipment document, for the physical movement of goods

Each requires a different flow and different integration with the tax authority.

02. Integrator-Selection Criteria

Instead of connecting directly to the tax authority, most companies use an integrator. Selection criteria:

• Is there a ready integration with your ERP?
• What's the SLA? (below 99.5% is risky)
• Are rejection and return flows included in support?
• A pricing model matched to your monthly invoice count
• The support team's response time

03. Rejection and Return Flows

Rejections coming back from the tax authority are the weakest point in most projects. If a rejection arrives, the invoice should be canceled automatically in the ERP and a task should fall to accounting. If handled manually, a rejection's reflection into the ERP takes two days.

04. The Ease of the Month-End Close

A well-built e-invoice integration dramatically speeds up the month-end close: a summary of invoices sent, accepted, rejected and in the return flow appears on a single dashboard. Reconciliation meetings give way to reading a report.