Where do we stand with regard to e-factures?

As of January 1st 2020 the obligation of moving to electronic invoices now concerns all of us.

However, although we seem to be bombarded with offers of "e-facture" solutions from accounting software firms and even banks, there is no other obligation than to produce your invoices in pdf format and to transmit them to your clients by email or via a specific platform (in the case of some large companies).

It should be noted that, for trainers invoicing public bodies, the government has set up the Chorus platform, which allows companies to deposit, receive, transmit and track invoices sent to a public buyer free of charge. TLNS has been using this for several public sector clients for the past couple of years now and it's really easy.

However, there are a few things to know. An electronic invoice must contain the same information as is currently required on paper.

- the identity of both parties (name and company name) and their addresses.

- The address of the registered head office and the legal form of the company (EURL, EIRL, SARL, etc.)

- The date of issue and the number of the invoice.

- Details of the products or services concerned, as well as their date of delivery or performance.

- The cost excluding VAT and the amount of VAT payable.

If exempt from VAT, the appropriate exemption reference must be quoted.

- the date or the payment deadline as well as the late payment penalty rate.

Methods of storing electronic invoices

Public authorities advise that paper invoices should be scanned as soon as they are received or sent in order to reduce archiving costs. This will enable them to be kept for at least six years. However, the reproduction must be made in PDF format and must be identical, including colours if any. As for invoices sent directly by electronic means, they will be kept on computer media for three years, then on any other medium (ie. external hard disc) for the following three years.

So, as this obligation concerns everyone, please note that, from now on, TLNS also requires all its independent sub-contractors to send their invoices (backed up by clearly scanned presence sheets) in pdf format.