Even if you might think it, you’re not alone. You’re not the only one who still feels lost in this new digital landscape. So, don’t worry if you have daily questions about the e-invoicing of your company. To clarify this key term in the world of accounting and finance, easyap has prepared this article on online invoicing. We explain what it is, its main features, how it differs from electronic invoicing, and the benefits it can offer.
What is an Online Invoice?
To begin with a definition, at easyap, experts in e-invoicing would say that an online invoice is any document that you generate, send, and manage electronically. In turn, it replaces the traditional paper invoice, which is practically obsolete. Therefore, it must comply with the same legal and tax requirements as its paper counterpart.
Every online invoice must contain detailed information about a commercial transaction. In other words, you must include all legal data mandated by the Government. We are referring to the invoicing data of the seller and buyer, the products or services acquired, the date of sale and payment due date, the price, and the taxes applicable to the transaction.
While we will delve into the benefits in more detail later, we’ll briefly outline the main ones now. These types of invoices facilitate the automation of a company’s administrative and accounting processes. Furthermore, they also enable tax authorities to better monitor the economic flows within the business sector. This is known as traceability. They also offer companies other advantages, such as the elimination of paper consumption and the environmental impact.
Benefits of Electronic Invoices
As we briefly mentioned in the previous paragraph, online invoicing, due to its format, offers numerous benefits. Not only for companies, but it is also very useful for the bodies that regulate taxation in a territory. Furthermore, the planet also appreciates the use of this type of invoice. Below, we detail the main advantages of online invoicing.
Time and Cost Savings
By generating and sending your online invoices, you will be carrying out a much faster and more efficient invoicing process. Therefore, it is more economically profitable for you. In addition, the process of receiving and managing these invoices is also more efficient, which allows you to save time and reduce management costs incurred.
Reduced Environmental Impact
By eliminating the use of paper, ink, and physical shipments with courier and parcel services, online invoices help reduce companies’ environmental impact. Therefore, they are also a perfect element for you to promote sustainability.
Enhanced Security and Confidentiality
Online invoices are protected by security and encryption measures. Therefore, they ensure confidentiality in data management and prevent possible fraud or falsification of the documents themselves.
Process Automation
This type of invoice, being automatically processed by systems like easyap’s, reduces human errors. In turn, they also shorten the time your team will have to dedicate to the invoicing process and can even be automatically integrated with other systems and processes that you carry out in your company.
Easy Access and Improved Storage
Digital or online invoices can be managed much more conveniently. The reason is that you can access them from any internet-connected device, and they are stored securely and durablyon servers or cloud storage systems. Likewise, you make them easily accessible to teams, suppliers, and clients at any time, which will improve your communication and relationship with them.
Are online invoices and electronic invoices the same?
At this point, many people who are not well-versed in the digital world ask themselves a question that might seem extremely simple: Are online invoices and electronic invoices the same?However, it’s worth answering and explaining what differentiates each term.
The answer is that yes. Online invoices and electronic invoices are terms we use interchangeably to refer to any type of invoice transmitted by electronic means.Both refer to any invoice that complies with the legal and fiscal requirements of a specific country or region, but which you generate and send digitally, instead of being printed and sent by postal mail.
The difference is that the term “online” is an Anglicism we have adopted into our language. Translated literally, we would be talking about an “invoice online”.In turn, the term “electronic” refers to the same idea. Therefore, for practical purposes, electronic invoice and online invoice are indeed the same.
Is a PDF invoice the same as an electronic invoice?
Doubts arise when comparing PDF invoices and these online invoices. Are they the same? Which is more suitable? Why use one or the other?
As we defined at the beginning of the article, the online invoice is generated and sent directly from invoicing software like easyap’s.That is, with an electronic invoicing system or cloud accounting platform, which is managed via the internet and from which the file is also sent directly to the recipient through the platform itself.
In contrast, a PDF invoice (named after its format, which stands for Portable Document File)is an electronic version of a paper invoice, which can be downloaded from a website or email. However, you need a space to store them, whether it’s folders, device memory, or cloud storage. If you save them in folders or device memory, there is a higher risk of losing the files in case the device in question breaks down.
On the other hand, it’s worth noting that the invoice format is a relevant topic. Especially when it comes to filing taxes in certain regions and dealing with specific tax authorities. Some governmental bodies only accept certain formats and/or platforms: UBL, FACE…
Therefore, we can say that the main difference between an online invoice and a PDF invoice is that you generate, manage, and send the first directly from software like ours, whereas the second is an electronic version of a printed invoice, downloadable in that same format. Even so, it’s not as convenient due to the limitations offered by that single PDF format, which is downloadable, and its storage requirements.
How do they increase business productivity?
Online invoices increase business productivity in several ways:
– Saving time throughout the entire process of invoice creation, validation, issuance, and management.
– Reducing data entry errors and human errors. This also reduces the time and resources needed to correct such errors.
– Optimizing tracking, as it will be simpler and more accurate. This helps companies better manage their cash flow.
– Offering better access and more secure storage. Online invoices are securely stored in the cloud, and accessing them is very straightforward.
So, online invoices allow you to focus on other areas of the business,which increases overall productivity.
Reasons to use e-invoicing software
However, you might be daunted by managing the process of creating and sending an online invoice yourself.In that case, you have nothing to worry about. This is where a solution like easyap comes into play. Our software generates and sends your invoices without any complications.And not only that, but it stores them in the cloud for you, your team, your clients, and your suppliers to access.
Additionally, our software, in addition to creating your online invoice, also allows you to validate them.That is, it creates an invoice that complies with the legal requirements of your region or country.
Furthermore, with our solution you keep your online invoices stored in the cloud for the legally required period. This way, in the event of a tax audit or for business needs, you or another authorized person can check or review them.
Furthermore, with the solution we developed for you at easyap, you will benefit from a program that goes far beyond just creating digital invoices. With our solution, you can:
- Issue all types of electronic invoices to clients directly from the software.
- Access a portal where you can manage the receipt of all paper and electronic invoices from your suppliers.
- Implement a system that is compatible with any other accounting package and/or ERP workflowyou may be using.
- Pay per processed invoice,making it a scalable solution for any business type and volume.
- Your employees can easily and quickly enter all expensesincurred from their work activities.
We have been providing these types of solutions for over two decades across various industries and countries. Therefore, in addition to our deep financial industry knowledge and technological expertise, we have extensive experience in all types of projects.You just have to contact us to learn moreand start with the digitalization of your company and your invoices.
