Principles of electronic invoicing

• 1. Are all invoices to be treated equally?
  Yes - whether electronically or in paper, the same requirements apply. The invoices must comply with VAT- tax regulations. Especially ensuring the topics concerning authenticity, integrity and legibility. To receive electronic invoices an agreement has to be reached between sender and receiver on the electronic reception path. This is ensured through free registration with us as a TRAFFIQX Provider.
• 2. Are electronic invoices technologically neutral?

  Yes - as an electronic invoice is equal to a printed invoice, senders are free to choose the way to send their invoices. For this reason, in addition to electronic dispatch your TRAFFIQX Provider continues to offer traditional mail delivery.

• 3. How can authenticity and integrity be ensured?

  Monitoring procedures within the company must ensure the authenticity and integrity of the content. In addition, the correct transmission of the invoice must be monitored by operations. Your TRAFFIQX Provider offers dispatch of electronic invoices with qualified signature. This ensures legal certainty for sender and receiver.

• 4. What is ensured with use of electronic signatures?

  It per se ensures the authenticity and integrity of the invoice. The receiver has to validate and record the authenticity. For you as a registered member your TRAFFIQX Provider provides creating the certificate and validation report free of charge.

• 5. When is an electronic invoice considered legible?

  An invoice is legible when all mandatory fields for VAT are visible to the human eye with the aid of a viewer application. This is ensured through delivery in PDF formats for example.

• 6. How are the usual mandatory fields verified in an invoice?

  Name and address of the company and the receiver must be entered as well as the creation date, the amount and type of goods supplied or type of service rendered. The TRAFFIQX Portal automatically validates the necessary mandatory fields according to §14 UStG.

• 7. What is the retention period for electronic invoices?

  According to tax law the retention period for invoices is ten (10) years. During this period the may not be altered, deleted or destroyed. For this reason, your TRAFFIQX Provider offers long term archiving for all documents. With an interface to DATEV Unternehmen Online a commercial software is integrated which enables comprehensive order processing.

• 8. How can we digitalize paper invoices?

  Under certain conditions, paper invoices may be scanned. The originals may be destroyed thereafter unless other legal provisions require the original to be kept. For digitalization we offer the Scan-2-Inbox service

• 9. How can invoicing procedures be made comprehensible?

  Documentation requirement applies to electronic invoices – for all business processes. Starting with the senders billing process, via the delivery path until invoice validation by the receiver. the documentation must be kept throughout the entire time period required. Aside from automatic verification according to §14 UStG., the qualified signature, free of charge creation of certificate and validation report, be offers different archiving solutions.

• 10. Are electronic invoices subject to the right to access data?

  Yes - During unannounced checks of VAT Tax, auditors may request access to the electronically stored data and documents. With us long term archiving and the services of our partner DATEV these requirements may be met and ensured.