From 2030, EU companies will be required to use electronic invoicing for cross‑border supplies of goods. While it may appear distant, effective preparation typically takes longer than expected. Businesses with a subsidiary in Slovakia should pay particular attention, as the domestic e‑invoicing obligation there will apply from 2027. For other Czech companies, this is an ideal time to review processes, select a suitable e‑invoicing solution, and education of employees in the IT area. What is in it for you? And why should you start preparing now?
From 1 July 2030, the EU will introduce mandatory e‑invoicing for all cross‑border B2B transactions under the ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age) package. ViDA is a set of legislative changes aimed at modernising VAT rules for the “digital age”, improving tax collection and strengthening the fight against fraud, by linking several related measures into one coherent reform. ViDA is built around three key pillars: (i) e‑invoicing and digital reporting (Digital Reporting Requirements, DRR) for cross‑border transactions, (ii) updates to VAT rules for the platform economy, and (iii) simplification of cross‑border compliance through single VAT registration, including the extension of One‑Stop‑Shop regimes.
In practice, this means that invoices between VAT‑registered businesses in different Member States will need to be issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format (e.g., XML) to enable automated processing.
Several European countries have introduced e‑invoicing in advance and are therefore already prepared for the new EU rules. Slovakia is also among those not waiting until 2030, as it is launching its e‑invoicing obligation in 2027. Many Czech companies have subsidiaries or other business activities in Slovakia and will therefore need to prepare for the new obligation. This can be a good opportunity to test the e-invoicing tools and solutions in a smaller market, thus making the overall process simpler.
In the Czech Republic, the introduction of e‑invoicing will most likely enter into force in 2030, aligned with the effectiveness of the EU legislation mentioned above. However, we recommend using the remaining time for preparation – especially to review data and processes related to e‑invoicing, select a suitable tool, and ensure effective cooperation across the teams that will be impacted, whether it is logistics, finance, IT or sales.
If preparation starts early, the introduction of e‑invoicing could be an attractive opportunity to review accounting processes, drive automation, enable more efficient processing and, in the longer term, reduce the costs of invoicing and tax reporting activities.
E-invoicing benefits
- More relevant data. Companies will have access to both supply data and cost data in real time and can consider how to use it to manage other business processes.
- More efficient processing of incoming invoices. The structured, machine‑readable e‑invoice format enables ERP systems to capture, validate and post invoice data with minimal manual intervention, significantly reducing errors associated with manual processing. It also supports automation of standard control steps – typically matching invoices to purchase orders and proof of delivery (three‑way matching) – with only exceptions routed for manual review. The result is faster end‑to‑end processing, better data quality, and stronger internal controls to ensure invoices are paid only after appropriate verification.
- Lower risk of errors. A structured e‑invoice enables standardised, automated checks of the required elements under a specific e‑invoicing regime (e.g., mandatory fields, formal requirements, basic logical validations), reducing the risk of non‑compliance and supporting ongoing fulfilment of regulatory requirements.
- Faster invoice approvals and a shorter payment cycle. Greater automation supports smoother invoice handling, from routing into the approval workflow through to exception handling based on predefined rules. Shortening the approval process also accelerates the payment cycle, as delays caused by manual forwarding, incomplete information or repeated searches for supporting documents are reduced.
- Fewer reporting obligations. In the long term, there will be no more EC Sales List (ESL) filing, and the VAT Control Statement is expected to be significantly simplified as the tax authorities will have direct access to similar data directly from e‑invoicing systems.
The transition to mandatory e‑invoicing will impact accounting processes, IT infrastructure as well as communication with business partners. We recommend focusing on the following steps:
Invite management to the table: E‑invoicing is often treated as a task only for the invoicing department or a VAT specialist. However, especially in large companies, the topic is complex and requires cooperation across multiple areas, ranging across finance, sales and IT. Securing management support as well as budget and resources is essential.
Include e‑invoicing in your strategic plans: Are you planning a change or upgrade of your ERP system? Staffing changes in the finance team? A data‑warehouse implementation? Looking for AI pilot projects? Then inform your colleagues about the upcoming e‑invoicing obligation in Slovakia and, later, in the Czech Republic. The new invoicing concept can significantly affect the timelines of planned or ongoing strategic projects.
Start mapping potential solutions early: E‑invoicing solutions are offered by local accounting software vendors as well as specialised software providers with global coverage. Adaptability and flexibility can differ significantly among the different solutions. Start early by assessing what your accounting software can handle, and which functionalities are essential for your business and invoicing model.
Review master data: As part of the preparation phase, you can perform a review of your business partner master data to ensure data is consistent, up‑to‑date and includes accurate legal names. We often encounter situations in which the single partner is maintained in the system in several different formats (with/without diacritics, different addresses, invalid VAT IDs, etc.). After cleansing, we recommend setting up ongoing controls and validations, for example against the public registers or other similar sources. We also recommend reviewing your current processes for issuing invoices and processing incoming invoices, identifying weak points that still require manual processing, as well as procedures for adjustments or corrections of invoices and the handling of non‑standard scenarios in ERP systems.
In a mandatory e-invoicing environment, issuing the document correctly the first time is your priority. Any subsequent correction translates into issuing a corrective tax document (credit note/debit note) and can significantly burden processes and document matching. It is therefore crucial not to underestimate preparation and to set up controls from the outset.
Invest in IT training for the finance team: With increasing automation and the introduction of e‑invoicing, it will be necessary to train the finance team to work with large data sets and to read and validate data in XML format. Similar requirements should be reflected in ideal job profiles for new hires, or in training plans for existing colleagues.
Provided that Slovak e‑invoicing obligation applies to you as of 2027, we are ready to support you with the recommended steps above and with the implementation itself using our VATOnline solution. In practice, it serves as an integration layer on top of your processes and systems – from capturing the necessary data, through validations, to delivering the required outputs in the correct format. For more information, please see our website.
In the Czech Republic, where we are still in the preparation phase, we offer a workshop for management and stakeholders. It’s essential to raise awareness in the company about the impact of e‑invoicing and related ViDA changes on your company’s processes in a broader context, define impacts on end‑to‑end processes (sales, procurement, logistics, finance, IT), help define changes in strategic areas and identify key risks, including recommendations on involving relevant teams, data requirements, and assistance with creating a project plan.
Are you already in the solution selection phase? Then we offer a comparative analysis of e‑invoicing tools tailored to your specific business. We can match the regulatory and process requirements with the evaluation criteria (e.g., invoice volumes, transaction types, required integrations, local vs. pan‑European scope) and support the selection end‑to‑end, starting from defining requirements and the tender structure through to assessing proposals and recommending the most suitable option for your business.
Seminars, webcasts, business breakfasts and other events organized by Deloitte.
