As electronic invoicing transforms both company operations and financial transactions, it is becoming a central element of modern business practices. The Central User Guide Forum for Electronic Invoicing Germany (ZUGFeRD) plays a key role here.
What is ZUGFeRD?
The innovative ZUGFeRD format transforms conventional invoice processing by adding an embedded invoice file in XML format to the traditional PDF document. This hybrid structure enables standardized data extraction for crucial information such as invoice amount and number. This data can be seamlessly integrated into downstream processes and, in the long term, ZUGFeRD aims to replace the previous OCR recognition in order to consistently promote the processing of invoice data without media discontinuity.
The foundation of the ZUGFeRD data format on the EU Directive 2014/55/EU for electronic invoicing and the EN16931 standard and its consideration of Cross-Industry-Invoice (CII) from UN/CEFACT and the ISO standard 19005-3:2012 (PDF/A-3) ensure that the format complies with international standards for cross-border invoice exchange. The future of invoicing therefore lies in the introduction of a format such as ZUGFeRD.
Advantages of ZUGFeRD
Advancing digitalization is not only changing the way companies work, but also the way financial transactions are processed. Sending e-invoices by email in PDF format undoubtedly offers considerable advantages. However, experience shows that over 80% of small and medium-sized businesses tend to print out incoming e-invoices and process them manually on paper, which is not only costly but also not legally compliant. The solution to this problem lies in the introduction of a format such as ZUGFeRD.
This enables system-independent further processing, while at the same time ensuring simple visualization and offering numerous other advantages:
1. Efficient invoice dispatch:
Traditional archiving of paper invoices requires space and is prone to manual errors. ZUGFeRD enables electronic archiving, which not only saves space, but also enables efficient searching and management.
2. Electronic archiving:
Traditional archiving of paper invoices requires space and is prone to manual errors. ZUGFeRD enables electronic archiving, which not only saves space, but also enables efficient searching and management.
3. Accelerated payment receipt:
ZUGFeRD invoices not only make payment easier for customers, but also speed up the receipt of payments for companies. This leads to improved liquidity thanks to shorter payment periods.
4. Meet customer requirements:
Customers increasingly expect to be able to process invoices electronically. By using ZUGFeRD, you can fulfill this customer request and offer flexibility for electronic processing.
5. Efficient invoice processing for recipients:
Manual processing of incoming invoices is error-prone and time-consuming. ZUGFeRD enables fully automated and error-free filing, speeds up the approval process and makes it easier to meet discount deadlines for more efficient invoice processing.
Invoice processing with natif.ai
The processing of invoices in our system enables users to receive the result either in the in-house invoice extraction format or in the standardized ZUGFeRD format. The main advantage is that software that supports ZUGFeRD can read the information directly without additional integration.
However, it should be noted that ZUGFeRD is likely to become a standard requirement in the future. In this context, we offer the possibility to easily convert invoices into the ZUGFeRD format.
This service allows companies to benefit from the advantages of the ZUGFeRD standard without having to rebuild extensive integrations. By using our platform, invoices can be efficiently converted to the ZUGFeRD format to meet future requirements.
