Custom E-Invoicing Software
Features, Integrations, Success Factors, Financial Outcomes
ScienceSoft applies 33-year experience in custom software development and 15-year expertise in financial software development to help businesses design and build effective e-invoicing solutions.
Custom E-Invoicing Software in a Nutshell
E-invoicing software provides comprehensive functionality for generation, processing, exchange, tracking, and storage of electronic invoices. Custom e-invoicing software helps companies streamline their unique e-invoicing workflows while ensuring compliance with industry-specific and regional regulations, such as ZATCA regulations for Saudi Arabia, Directive 2014/55/EU for the EU, MTD for the UK, GST for India, and more.
Go-to integrations: CRM, ERP, accounting software, procurement software, etc.
Implementation time: 6–10 months for custom e-invoicing software.
Development costs: $140,000–$400,000, depending on the solution’s complexity.
Annual ROI: 310%+ for midsize and large enterprises.
Customer e-invoice generation
- Automated generation of e-invoices based on the data imported from CRM, OMS, or a selling platform.
- User-defined e-invoice format (XML, EDI, etc.).
- Customizable templates for B2C, B2B, B2G e-invoices.
- Support for multi-currency and multi-language e-invoice generation.
- Automated calculation and application of taxes, discounts, additional charges (e.g., carriage, insurance, interest on late payments), and billable expenses.
- Automated generation and application of region-specific e-invoice elements, e.g., an invoice reference number (IRN), a unique universal identifier (UUID), and a QR code for Saudi Arabia.
- AI-powered e-invoice validation based on SLA/billing guidelines.
Customer e-invoice approval
- Automated e-invoice routing for approval to relevant employees.
- Configurable multi-department e-invoice approval hierarchies (based on e-invoice amount, type, etc.).
- Real-time tracking of e-invoice approval status for A/R specialists.
- Customizable in-app reminders to e-invoice approvers.
- E-signing of invoices by the approvers.
- Auto-locking of approved e-invoices for editing.
- A complete e-invoice approval history.
Customer e-invoice submission
- User-defined rules for e-invoice conversion to the format requested by a customer or a legal authority.
- Sending e-invoices to customers:
- In advance/on delivery.
- By schedule/on the spot.
- On a single/recurring basis.
- Automated e-invoice submission to the local tax authority for e-invoice transaction clearance or tax reporting needs.
- Recording customer e-invoice data in the accounts receivable (A/R) ledger upon e-invoice sending.
Purchase e-invoice processing
- Automated two- and three-way e-invoice matching (against purchase orders and order receipts).
- Rule-based validation of e-invoice data at the line-item level (e-invoice number, date, quantity, price, etc.).
- E-invoice verification against the pre-set tax rules, region-specific requirements to the mandatory e-invoice elements (a cryptographic stamp, UUID, etc.).
- Alerts on e-invoice exceptions (duplicate invoices, tax variances, mismatched data, etc.).
- Multi-department approval workflow for purchase e-invoices.
- Recording purchase e-invoice data in the accounts payable (A/P) ledger upon e-invoice approval.
E-invoice tracking
- Real-time e-invoice tracking by type (customer, purchase), approval, submission and payment status, period, and more.
- Configurable in-app notifications to the A/R and A/P specialists on sent and received invoices, invoice approval status changes, etc.
- Customizable dashboards for A/R and A/P specialists with essential e-invoice metrics, such as the total number of e-invoices by period, average e-invoice cycle time, cost per e-invoice, and more.
E-invoice archiving
- Centralized e-invoice storage.
- Search engine with filtering and metadata querying to navigate e-invoices.
- Configurable retention rules for different types of e-invoices.
- Automated e-invoice deletion after the retention period.
E-invoicing security
- E-invoice timestamping.
- E-invoice data hashing (e.g., mandatory for Saudi Arabia since 2023).
- Comprehensive audit trail for e-invoice-related activities.
- Multi-factor user authentication.
- Role-based access control.
- Automated e-invoicing fraud detection.
- Configurable retention and deletion policies for customer and supplier data.
- Compliance with GAAP, IFRS, SOX, ZATCA regulations (for Saudi Arabia), Directive 2014/55/EU (for the EU), MTD (for the UK), GST (for India), other relevant country and industry-specific regulations.
E-invoicing portal (optional)
For A/R and A/P specialists:
- Uploading customer invoices to the portal.
- Downloading purchase e-invoices from the portal.
- Instant messaging to communicate with customers and suppliers.
For customers:
- Self-registration, managing and updating essential business information (for organizations) or personal data (for individuals).
- Downloading e-invoices from the portal.
- Updating invoice payment status.
- Tracking paid and outstanding invoices.
- Creating disputes and attaching supporting documents to claim deductions/chargeback.
For suppliers:
- Self-registration, managing and updating essential business information.
- Uploading e-invoices to the portal.
- Tracking invoices by status (sent, received, paid, etc.).
E-invoicing software + CRM
To enable consistent input of relevant data when generating customer e-invoices.
Alternatively to CRM, e-invoicing software can be integrated with an order management system or directly with selling platforms (e.g., a company’s ecommerce website).
E-invoicing software + accounting software
To automatically record e-invoice data in the relevant subledger (A/R for customer e-invoices, A/P for purchase e-invoices) and the general ledger.
E-invoicing software + a local tax authority’s portal
To automatically report taxes and submit e-invoices for clearance to a local tax authority and ensure e-invoicing compliance.
E.g., ZATCA E-Invoicing Integration Portal for Saudi Arabia, Invoice Registration Portal for India, Chorus Pro Invoicing Portal for France.
E-invoicing software + procurement software
To automatically match purchase e-invoices with purchase orders generated in procurement software.
E-invoicing software + ERP
To automatically validate purchase e-invoices against goods/service receipts.
Legal compliance
to ensure accurate e-invoice generation and processing in accordance with up-to-date industry- and region-specific regulations, such as GAAP, IFRS, SOX, Directive 2014/55/EU (for the EU), ZATCA regulations (for Saudi Arabia), MTD (for the UK), GST (for India), and more.
Cloud deployment
to reduce e-invoicing software maintenance costs, provide scalable and secure centralized storage for e-invoices, and enable 24/7 remote employee access for faster e-invoice creation and approval.
Mobile access
to enable e-invoice generation, submission, approval and tracking on the go.
Easy-to-use APIs
to facilitate integration of e-invoicing software with required back-office systems and legal platforms.
Custom E-Invoicing Software Implementation Costs and Financial Outcomes
The cost of custom electronic invoice software implementation varies greatly depending on:
- The number and complexity of a solution’s functional modules.
- The volume of data that needs to be migrated from spreadsheets and/or existing invoicing software.
- The type of e-invoicing software deployment (cloud, on-premises, hybrid).
- The number and complexity of integrations (with CRM, ERP, accounting software, tax authorities’ portals, etc.).
- E-invoicing solution availability, scalability, performance and security requirements.
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Custom e-invoicing software of average complexity requires $140,000 - $300,000 in investments, while building a complex e-invoicing system for a large enterprise may cost $400,000+. With custom e-invoicing software, midsize and large businesses can reach 310%+ annual ROI. |
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Key benefits of custom e-invoicing software
You need e-invoicing software providing specific features, for example, generation of unique QR codes that contain user-defined information (e-invoice total, seller’s VAT registration number, an e-invoice timestamp, etc.), creating custom rules for e-invoice sequence numeration, intelligent e-invoice validation, or e-invoice data encryption using a hash function.
You need an e-invoicing solution providing compliance with local regulations in the regions your company operates (e.g., to keep up with ZATCA’s mandatory requirements in Saudi Arabia, comply with Peppol stardards for public eProcurement in the EU).
You need to integrate e-invoicing software with your legacy back-office systems (CRM, ERP, accounting software, etc.) smoothly and cost-efficiently.
You need highly secure e-invoicing software providing advanced protection capabilities for your sensitive financial and business data.
You need a flexible e-invoicing solution that is easy to evolve with new features as your business grows or transforms or new legal compliance requirements arise.
E-invoicing software consulting
- Analysis of of your specific e-invoicing needs.
- Assessment of the existing invoicing processes and tools.
- Suggesting optimal features, architecture, and tech stack for the e-invoicing solution.
- Preparing an integration plan (with CRM, ERP, accounting software, a procurement system, etc.).
- Implementation cost & time estimates, expected ROI calculation.
E-invoicing software development
- Analysis of your corporate e-invoicing needs.
- E-invoicing solution conceptualization.
- Architecture design for the e-invoicing solution.
- E-invoicing software development.
- Integrating the custom e-invoicing solution with the required back-office and third-party systems.
- Quality assurance.
- User training.
- Continuous support and evolution of e-invoicing software (optionally).
About ScienceSoft
ScienceSoft is an international IT consulting and software development company headquartered in McKinney, Texas. We provide consultancy and development services to help businesses design and build custom e-invoicing software. Being a ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified company, ScienceSoft applies a mature quality management system and guarantees that cooperation with us does not pose any risks to our customers’ data security. If you are interested in developing a reliable e-invoicing solution, feel free to turn to ScienceSoft’s team.