E-Invoice Format And Technical Requirements: Fill & Download for Free

QuickBooks Enterprise is the best invoicing software I know of, mainly if you are running a large-sized firm having several users. However, for small and medium-sized businesses, QuickBooks Pro and Premier will suffice. And, it is not only invoicing that the software will help you with. QuickBooks is capable of simplifying a series of accounting-related tasks for its users.Also, in case your firm is planning to migrate to the cloud for ease of operation, you can consider QuickBooks hosting. It doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket, your cloud vendor takes care of all of the technical-requirements, you pay-as-you-go so there is no wastage of time or money. In short, I can suggest that the QuickBooks software (Pro, Premier, Enterprise) + the cloud will be ideal for you.I hope this will help.

Hi,E-Way Bill (EWB) is a document which is generated electronically and it is required to generate when movement of goods are made from one place to another and the value of goods is more than Rs.50000.Currently E-Way Bill API are available with approved GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs) chosen by GSTN which includes companies like Deloitte, EY, Masters India, TCS, etc. Please note - there are only limited GST Suvidha Providers who are actively engaging in providing Eway Bill APIs to organizations who are interested in developing their own e-way bill solution.For our E-Way Bill Solution, we have been testing E-Way Bill APIs from Masters India - GST Suvidha Provider (GSP). NIC the technology arm behind the E-Way Bill System has yet not released the production APIs. However, Masters India has created their own sandbox environment which seamlessly got integrated with our e-way bill solution for further testing.A 15-day trial for nationwide e-way bill system that began on January 16 was supposed to end on 31st January, however due to technical glitches the government has deferred the release date. Now E-Way bill is expected to be launched somewhere in March’2018.Currently, below are the E-Way APIs available with GST Suvidha Providers for developing a stand-alone system, integrate with existing ERP, or with any GST Software for generating E-Way Bill along with e-Invoicing facility.1) Generate E-Way Bill2) Update Vehicle No.3) Cancel EWay Bill4) Generate Consolidated EWay Bill5) Generate Bulk E WayBills6) Get E-Way bills generated by other parties7) Reject EWay Bills8) Get E-Way bills generated by any GSTIN for transporter

Although the idea of electronic invoicing is nothing new, implementation of this technology has only been happening relatively recently. This is because electronic invoicing was adopted several years ago in many countries such as those in the Nordics and Latin America. In the Nordics, e-invoicing was introduced to optimise business processes and reduce operating costs, while in Latin America the key driver for change was due to the VAT gap. However, in some other countries, electronic invoicing was introduced more recently or is going to be introduced in the coming months or years. Still, there remains other countries without e-invoicing legislation, so paper invoices are still treated as legal documents.What’s more, it is very important to keep in mind that digitisation of the invoicing process – replacing of paper documents with electronic equivalents – is just the first step towards invoicing process automation that will result in business process improvements such as higher quality data, more advanced information security, rapid configuration, and improved cash flow.Many companies planning to implement an e-invoicing process are no longer looking for basic digitisation. They are seeking modern e-invoicing systems that provide a holistic approach to the invoicing cycle and can bring additional value/functionalities that make the invoicing process as automated as possible. This can be achieved, for example, through the use of AI/ML-driven data processing and analytics or by introducing features designed to help facilitate the onboarding process.This article focuses on legal compliance, specifically what it means for electronic invoices in terms of legal requirements that should be met in order to take the first step towards e-invoicing process automation.Legal complianceGenerally, legal compliance refers to actions and practices that are executed in accordance with the local laws of a country in which a company operates. Going deeper, we can break down legal compliance into two parts: legal and compliance. Legal means local legislation and/or rules, and compliance is about acting in accordance with these requirements.In the realm of electronic invoicing, legal compliance means acting in accordance with local rules that define how e-invoices can be processed by businesses in a given country.To be more specific, there are laws that define how e-invoices should be exchanged between parties. This includes rules on the format of electronic invoices, the way they are exchanged (directly or via the tax authority), and archiving (storage period, location of the archive, archive formats).The following elements should be treated as key points when we consider legal compliance for electronic invoicing:Authenticity of origin – this means ensuring that electronic invoices are really sent by the invoice issuer, and not by someone who is impersonating them. Legally accepted ways of ensuring authenticity of origin may include the use of electronic signatures or exchange of electronic invoices via electronic data interchangeIntegrity of the content – this means that the content of the document is secured and was not changed during the whole lifecycle of the electronic invoice (from the moment the document was issued and delivered to the recipient to the archiving period). Similar to authenticity of origin, we can encounter different IT requirements (e-signature or EDI).legibility – this requirement ensures that electronic documents are readable through the entire period of the document’s validity. This is of particular importance when e-invoices are exchanged in a structured format (XML or UBL) and a human-readable preview is provided.Storage – meaning the length of time for which electronic invoices should be archived and available for any tax inspection or audit. This can also define the location of the archive, for example whether local storage is required (in your own country) or whether archiving abroad is acceptable.It should be noted that “tax compliance” is not the same as “legal compliance” when talking about electronic invoicing. Although they are linked, they should not be mixed or combined. This is because legal compliance focuses on how electronic invoices should be processed in a given country while tax compliance is about complying with tax laws and regulations by paying the correct amount in a timely manner.Legal compliance: the global perspectiveAs mentioned previously, the e-invoicing landscape is not harmonised across the globe. This is true of the technical aspects of electronic invoicing (i.e. e-invoicing formats) as well as the legal requirements.We have already mentioned the significant difference between the Latin American and European approaches. The former uses the clearance approach and the latter generally uses the post-audit approach. The table below shows the main differences between these two models:What is interesting is that more and more countries are adopting the Latin American/clearance model or something that resembles it. This was the case, for example, in Turkey, which adopted e-invoicing in 2013, and Italy, which implemented mandatory e-invoicing in 2019.Moving from the post-audit model towards the clearance model is a general trend around the world. Ever more countries are adopting this model as tax authorities want to keep track of all transactions in real-time in order to control tax collection and ensure they can respond appropriately in the event that illegal entries are made in tax reports. The benefits for government entities are, therefore, quite obvious – they can significantly reduce fraud and increase tax collection with ease.India is an example of a country which is adopting the clearance modelThe introduction of obligatory e-invoicing in India has taken place over a few stages. First, it was introduced on a voluntary basis in January 2020. Starting 1 October 2020, it will become fully mandatory for companies with an annual turnover above INR 500 Crore (approx. EUR 65 million).All companies with headquarters or branches on Indian territory will have to create e-invoices using their own systems and send them electronically to the Indian Registration Portal in JSON format for validation. All invoices get an invoice reference number (IRN) and QR code from which all invoice details can be read. If this process is successful, invoices with digital signatures are then sent to the GST system. The company will then receive proof that the invoice has been registered and the approved invoice will be available for the seller and the buyer on the GST portal.Other examples of countries implementing the clearance model include:Egypt – mandatory B2B e-invoicing as of 15 Nov 2020 for selected companies (pilot phase)Vietnam – mandatory B2B e-invoicing as of Nov 2020 (the deadline is likely to be postponed until 2022)