What is Factur-X?

Corcentric

Though Factur-X was introduced by France’s National Forum on Electronic Billing back in July of 2017, organizations that operate in the European Union have a few years to prepare before Factur-X potentially becomes the new standard in e-Invoicing.

 

What is an e-invoice?

Electronic invoices (or e-invoices) are invoices that remain digital throughout their full lifecycle. While e-invoices come in various forms, they all eliminate paper from the process of issuing, receiving, analyzing, and archiving invoices.

Simply sending a PDF to a supplier does not technically qualify as e-invoicing. A true e-invoicing process also enables suppliers to automatically extract the necessary data from each invoice rather than manually entering it into their accounting systems.

Over the last several years, paperless invoicing processes have steadily grown more popular. Organizations have already experienced the impressive results of digitizing their invoicing processes – savings, reduced waste, more efficient processes. Governments and other regulatory authorities have recognized the value of digitizing these processes too. More than 50 governments across the globe have already implemented mandates related to e-invoicing.

So far, most regulations have covered B2G (business to government) transactions and focused on reducing fraud. Though slightly less common, regulations affecting B2B transactions have proven popular as well.

 

What is Factur-X?

Factur-X is a new French and German standard for electronic invoicing, expanding on the German ZUGFeRD standard. It represents the first implementation of the European Commission’s European Semantic Standard EN 16931, introduced in 2017. ZUGFeRD 2.1.1 and Factur-X are identical.

Factur-X invoices are secure and readable to both people and machines. They belong to a class of e-invoices known as mixed or hybrid invoices, combining PDFs for users and XML data for automated processing.

Factur-X’s various standard data profiles ensure organizations sizes can accept the format:

 

    • Minimum: Does not contain all of the invoicing information necessary for use in Germany
    • Basic WL: Does not contain all of the invoicing information necessary for use in Germany
    • Basic: Suitable for simple invoices
    • EN16931: Adds data for fully automated invoicing, covering EN 16931
    • Extended: Adds additional data for sending invoices across industries

 

 

Factur-X and Corcentric: Procure-to-Pay integration

In addition to complying with incoming e-invoicing mandates, embracing Factur-X invoices with an automated solution could mean:

 

    • Reduced processing time and fewer errors
    • More effective risk mitigation and fraud reduction
    • Less manual labor and wasted time
    • An easily auditable digital “paper trail”
    • Improved supplier relationships thanks to better visibility and more efficient processes

 

Thanks to the latest updates, Corcentric’s Procure-to-Pay solution now supports Factur-X invoices for organizations who engage with EU buyers and suppliers. That means Corcentric Platform users can realize benefits like the ones listed above from Day 1 – all while staying years ahead of the EU’s e-invoicing regulations. Factur-X integration is just one of the recent innovations Corcentric customers can expect. Our solutions are always evolving to address the challenges and serve the needs of leading businesses.