Electronic invoicing from 2030 and what it means for your ERP

How many manual steps sit between approving an invoice and your customer processing it? The announced move to electronic invoicing is a good reason to find out. For businesses using several systems, preparation starts with the data and connections behind each invoice.

What is changing in the Netherlands

On 11 September, the Dutch government announced the following timetable for domestic business-to-business transactions:

The national legislation is still being developed. According to the announcement, businesses participating in the Dutch small businesses scheme (KOR) will remain exempt. Source: Dutch government

For cross-border business transactions within the EU, ViDA introduces digital reporting based on electronic invoices from 1 July 2030. ViDA stands for VAT in the Digital Age. Source: European Commission

What an electronic invoice contains

An electronic invoice contains structured data that software can process directly. This includes fields for the supplier, invoice number, amounts and VAT. A standard PDF sent by email does not, by itself, meet that definition. The receiving software still needs to extract the data from the document, or someone needs to enter it manually. Source: Dutch electronic invoicing helpdesk

Your organisation therefore needs to understand where each piece of information comes from. If someone still looks up an order number or corrects customer details before sending an invoice, that part of the process needs attention too.

Connecting invoicing to your ERP

An ERP system manages business functions such as orders and financial records. When invoice data comes from several applications, those systems need to identify the same customer, order and amounts consistently. Otherwise, a missing reference can cause problems at every subsequent step.

Our advice is to design the complete invoice process, from release in the source system to handling responses. Define who resolves errors and how you prevent a technical retry from creating a duplicate invoice.

An example invoice workflow

Suppose you approve an invoice in your ERP and want to send it to a customer through an electronic invoicing service. The following workflow provides a practical starting point:

1. The integration retrieves the released invoice and checks the agreed data requirements, such as customer identification, invoice lines and totals.
2. The data is converted into the format required by the chosen service. If information is missing, the invoice is routed to a member of staff for correction.
3. The electronic invoicing service handles delivery. The integration records available responses and error messages against the original invoice.
4. If a technical failure occurs, the process checks whether the invoice has already been received before attempting to send it again.

Distinguish between technical delivery, acceptance by the customer and payment. The statuses available depend on the service and the receiving party. Electronic invoicing does not replace your internal approval or payment checks.

The role of Peppol

Peppol provides infrastructure and shared rules for exchanging electronic business documents. Businesses connect through a service provider, sometimes through functionality already built into their accounting or ERP software. Source: Netherlands Peppol Authority

Start by checking what your existing software supports. A built-in connection may be sufficient. Businesses with several ERP systems, separate invoicing applications or additional checks may need integrations between those systems. The choice should also take account of the final Dutch implementation requirements.

How to start preparing now

Work with finance and IT to map one outgoing and one incoming invoice process. Record where someone copies, checks or adds information. Include credit notes and rejected invoices so that you understand the exceptions as well.

Next, review your customer and supplier records. Are VAT numbers, business identifiers and payment details consistent? Agree which system holds the authoritative data and who manages changes.

Ask your software provider what is already available for structured invoices, delivery and responses. Then choose one clearly defined workflow for a pilot. Measure manual steps, errors and processing time before expanding.

How Teknuro helps

At Teknuro, we connect business applications and automate the processes between them. For electronic invoicing, that starts with understanding your existing systems, data and controls. We then identify the integrations and error handling needed to connect your chosen invoicing service to your business process.

Want to know where to start? Contact Teknuro. We can help you review the invoice process that currently requires the most manual work.