The process of implementing and standardizing the use of electronic invoicing is unstoppable at the European level, where a series of regulations and initiatives are being introduced to encourage member countries to accept and adopt this reality in their own administrative systems.
The Spanish administration has already set a somewhat faster and more specific pace than the EU to achieve the regularization of electronic invoicing, and since the end of last year has set a date and deadline for at least its own suppliers to adapt.
From January 2015, it will be mandatory for suppliers to the administration to submit invoices in electronic format. This applies not only to the central administration, but to all public bodies at all levels.
Electronic invoicing in public administrations
The main issues to bear in mind when issuing an electronic invoice are that, although the structure of the invoice is essentially the same as that of a paper invoice, two factors are particularly important in ensuring that it is correctly received by the administration:
– The invoice must be signed using the digital authentication process of a recognized Digital Certificate. The most common ones are usually the FNMT Digital Certificate or the electronic ID card. However, a major advantage of using an electronic invoicing application specially designed for efficient invoice management in the company is that the application itself can assign its digital signature if the user does not have one.
– Invoices will be received in a very specific way, with no other methods accepted. The government has set up the General Entry Point for Electronic Invoices of the General State Administration, known as FACe. The aim is to unify and standardize formats, queries, coding, etc.
How does FACe work?
FACe has been configured as a web service, which will allow access by all parties involved, from any location, through any system that is configured to connect to it, at any time.
For the Public Administration, this method of recording incoming invoices is an incredibly effective way of keeping accurate, centralized records of all activities and accounting related to procurement, which will enable it to improve its capacity for analysis and subsequent preparation or approval of budgets.
For suppliers, FACe represents an unequivocal record of the submission of each invoice, in a timely manner, which should facilitate payment and consequently reduce late payments by the Administration. In any case, there are still a few crucial months ahead for fine-tuning FACe, gradually incorporating current suppliers (although the deadline is January 2015, FACe can be used earlier on a voluntary basis), and there will probably be a period of adjustment during which there will be equal amounts of doubts and incidents.
All material published on this subject can be consulted here.
