SAP invoice by e-mail
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In common parlance, the term “e-invoice” refers to e-mails with attachments, pictorial representations and structured data formats.
The European Directive 204/55/EU of 16 April 2014 establishes the framework for electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) in public procurement. In § 4a, it defines the term electronic invoice as follows:
“An invoice is electronic if it is issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format and the format allows the invoice to be processed automatically and electronically.”
Various conditions are important when using. This includes the consent of the recipient of the invoice, human legibility,
authenticity of origin
, mandatory information (see paper invoice).
Read also = > E-invoice
In order to help the acceptance and dissemination of electronic mail in everyday business, the legislator has reduced the requirements. This applies specifically to e-invoices. Transmission can be done in edi procedure. The qualified electronic signature is no longer required. This digital signature has not been necessary since 1 July 2011. Invoices can be sent electronically without the need to use a digital signature.
The abolition of electronic signaturehas have simplified the creation and use of e-invoicing for the biller and the recipient. Since then, the mailing of invoices has been steadily increasing. Of course, there are still customers who only accept invoices by paper. Nevertheless, electronically sent invoices are on the rise and are legally valid.
E Invoice SAP
XRechnung specifies a digital format for digital invoicing. It was determined by the IT Planning Council for the Federal and State Governments. In this way, Germany is creating a uniform format for electronic invoicing. This provision is in line with the requirements at European level under EU Directive 2014/55/EU. According to the EU Directive, suppliers of contracting authorities must be able to produce correct e-invoices to authorities in Germany from the end of November 2020. As an electronic invoice, all public contracting entities will in future only accept the X-bill.
That’s why we have developed an extension for XIns and ZUGFeRD for our MailCenter customers and fully integrated it into SAP. This allows you to create, validate and send invoices according to the German format of the XInvoice. The creation takes place directly in the course of invoicing with SAP.
You can also read more about XRechnung here: XRechnung .
Various formats are eligible for invoices by e-mail.
PDF/A is a file format that arose from the desire for long-term archiving of digital documents. The format is standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as a subset of the Portable Document Format (PDF).
SAP Mail Invoice PDF/A-3
See also = > SAP Adobe Forms
The German Electronic Invoice Forum (FeRD) has developed a uniform, cross-industry format for electronic invoices. This format is used to exchange invoices between companies, authorities and consumers and enables structured data transfer between the invoice issuer and recipient – known as “ZUGFeRD”.
The ZUGFeRD format combines a PDF file with embedded structured invoice data that can be read out and further processed without any additional effort.
The development of this format was carried out by companies from various industries, including automotive, retail, banking, software and the public sector. It complies with international standards and can also be used in European and global invoicing.
It remains to be seen whether ZUGFeRD will prevail on the market in the long term. So far, the format has only existed for invoices, but an extension to other business processes is being discussed. See also = > ZUGFeRD.
E-BILL. Gv. AT is the data transfer procedure for the submission of electronic structured invoices (e-invoices) to public administration or companies in Austria.
For information on this, as well as the topics “SAP billing by e-mail”, “Emails with PDF invoices”, “Creating electronic invoices” and “Send invoices electronically”, please contact us. We are happy to help.
PDF/A-1b – Focus on long-term readability and visual reproduction
PDF/A-1a – Extension with structural and semantic properties (based on PDF 1.4)
PDF/A-2b – (based on PDF 1.7) ensures the correct appearance for long-term archiving
PDF/A-2u – full Unicode image of the text
PDF/A-2a – contains additional structural and semantic information
Allows the combination of machine-readable XML data and an archive-compatible PDF version within one file, which creates the basis for electronic invoices.
Initiated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)
Consists of PDF/A-3 with structured XML data as an attachment
Introduction of a mandatory format for electronic invoices to public contracting authorities
Contractors had to switch to shipping XRechnungen by November 27, 2020 at the latest
Still in use alongside XRechnung , but with less significance for public procurement
Public authorities primarily rely on the XRechnung standard, which was defined by the IT Planning Council
PDF/A-4f – Allows file attachments that are not PDF/A compliant
PDF/A-4e – Dedicated to engineering with support for 3D content
New version to optimise e-invoicing for public clients in Germany
Published on November 13, 2024
Fully compatible with the French e-invoice format Factur-X 1.0.7.2
The following PDF/A versions are supported as of SAP NetWeaver AS for Java 7.5 SP05 (ADS version 1160.2016+):
| Supported PDF/A formats | |
| Format | Standard |
| PDF/A-1 | ISO 19005-1 |
| PDF/A-1b | ISO 19005-1 |
| PDF/A-2b | ISO 19005-2 |
| PDF/A-3b | ISO 19005-3 |
You define the desired PDF / A format in the print program. For the “Archive” and “Printing and Archiving” scenarios, it is still possible to activate the PDF/A output via a BAdI (Business Add-in).
Since NW Release 7.50 SP05 offers ADS the ability to convert PDF files to PDF/A or ZUGFeRD PDF/A. The converting PDFs must meet the following requirements:
all non-native Adobe fonts must be ’embedded’
PDF version is 1.3 or higher
PDF is not interactive
PDF is not dynamic
Use the following feature test to verify that the ADS version you are using supports this feature: ABAP class CL_FP_FEATURE_TEST.
The international project Pan-European Public Procurement OnLine (PEPPOL) aims to standardise cross-border, electronically supported public procurement procedures within the European Union.
The aim is to speed up the electronically supported public tendering and procurement process, thereby saving costs.
PEPPOL supports E-invoicing Directive 2014/55/EU. PEPPOL is not limited to the exchange of invoices (E-Invoicing) such as ZUGFerd. It covers the entire electronic procurement process. PEPPOL allows the exchange with all registered partners in the network via a connection. Access is via so-called access points.
Different message types, such as the invoice, are exchanged over the defined standards. These principles include the Universal Business Language (UBL Standard ISO/IEC) format. The PEPPOL network is used to exchange The UBL documents.
SAP is one of the first providers to provide the basis for electronic invoicing to authorities in accordance with the secure PEPPOL standard. The Walldorf-based company provides a cloud-based solution for this purpose.
Further links:
Although we have now arrived in 2020, the majority of invoices are still sent by post. In other areas, a large part of the communication in business is exchanged via e-mail. In Germany alone, according to The BMI, we send more than 30 billion invoices by post each year. Companies have various potential savings from sending electronic invoices. After all, electronic invoices do not only save paper and postage. By sending invoices from SAP, you can replace labour-intensive and error-prone processes.
With the MailCenter a light exercise. The add-on is seamlessly integrated into the system and can be flexibly adapted to the respective business process. You create, edit and send emails directly in the ERP backend. This solution makes an important contribution to the digitization of your company.
In addition to the basic topics, there are also questions about the ERP standard. What are the options for mail titles and texts, body, corporate design and (mandatory) standard information with transaction SODIS. This is precisely where the standard has shortcomings. Other problem areas include recipient discovery (only one address), mail processing, file creation, and file attachment management. Companies that use ERP and want to send documents quickly and efficiently will in most cases need an additional IT solution.
When you send invoices to your customers, there are numerous advantages
Easy to use
Easy implementation
Scope of the solution
The application is available in German and English.
In addition to the provision of the programs, we take over the initial setup.
In any case, the program is easy and quick to implement.
You don’t need any other hardware or software.
Turn your SAP ERP into a digital post office.
Our services
Implementation – Quick setup of the integration through standardized procedure
The SAP configuration is based on the standardized project roadmap. For this purpose, we determine your requirements at the start of the project with the help of a predefined list of questions. This is followed by the import of the transports and the configuration of the test system.
You will also receive documentation of the technical settings and one regarding the application. Finally, selected key users check the correct setup of the application. At this stage, our consultants will provide you with advice and assistance. During the production start and operation phase, you will receive support from our support.
In addition, our service support ensures the smooth operation of the SAP expansion in your company. In addition, we provide you with regularly updated program versions via our customer portal. For this purpose, you as a customer will have access to the Download area MailCenter. There you will find all documents and documents as well as updates to the program.
Technology
System requirement
Product versions from:
Software component versions from:
Technical Data
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