European Commission consultation on e-invoicing

The European Commission has published today the report of expert group on e-Invoicing. The group was mandated to design a European e-Invoicing framework, to contribute to the uptake of open and interoperable electronic invoicing solutions within the EU. Particular emphasis was put on the needs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The report, which does not necessarily represent the views of the Commission, will be open for consultation until 26 February 2010.

e-invoicing, short for electronic invoicing, is the electronic transfer of billing and payment information, via the Internet or other electronic means between the parties - businesses, the public sector, consumers - involved in commercial transactions.
Compared to paper invoices, e-Invoices may offer huge advantages for companies - they are said to be easier to process, they reach the customer faster and can be stored centrally at very low cost. A recent report predicts potential annual benefits of up to €40 billion across Europe in the business-to-business field alone

Source and further reading: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/ict/e-invoicing/