E-invoicing
The exchange of invoices as structured, machine-readable data over an agreed network, rather than as PDFs or paper. In the UK, the direction of travel is a Peppol-based network model.
E-invoicing is the exchange of invoices as structured, machine-readable data over an agreed network, rather than as PDFs, paper or email attachments that a human has to read and rekey. A true e-invoice is data that another system can validate and process directly, not a digital picture of a paper invoice.
The distinction matters because a PDF is not an e-invoice in this sense. Structured invoicing lets a buyer's system match an invoice to a purchase order, check it for altered or duplicate details and route it for approval without manual handling, which is where most errors, delays and fraud enter.
In the UK the direction of travel is a Peppol-based network model, confirmed for mandatory B2B and B2G use. Structured invoices are most valuable when they arrive on top of a verified supplier identity, so the data can be trusted as well as read.
Accounting Links treats the structured invoice as a signal on a verified network, pairing it with confirmed supplier identity and live payment behaviour rather than simply moving the document faster.
UK mandatory e-invoicing is confirmed for B2B and B2G VAT transactions from April 2029, built on a decentralised Peppol model rather than a centralised clearance platform.