Concept Definition
What is the invoice lifecycle?
The invoice lifecycle covers all stages from creation to archiving. In e-invoicing, each lifecycle stage generates status events that must be tracked and may need to be reported to the tax authority. Key stages include: draft, issued, transmitted, received, approved, disputed, paid, and archived.
What are the stages of the invoice lifecycle?
A complete e-invoice lifecycle includes the following stages:
- Creation: Invoice generated in structured format by the supplier.
- Validation: Schema and business rule validation performed before transmission.
- Transmission: Invoice sent to buyer via Peppol, PDP, or other channel.
- Acknowledgement: Buyer's system acknowledges receipt.
- Processing: Buyer performs matching and approval.
- Payment: Buyer settles the invoice.
- Archiving: Invoice stored in compliant long-term archive.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does the French mandate require lifecycle status tracking?
- Yes. The French mandate requires lifecycle statuses to be exchanged between the buyer and seller's PDP. Statuses include: deposited, rejected, received, refused, processed (paid). These statuses must be transmitted through the PDP network and are visible to the DGFiP.
- What happens if an invoice is disputed during its lifecycle?
- A disputed invoice can be put on hold pending resolution. The buyer may issue a partial rejection. Resolution typically involves a credit note from the supplier or a revised invoice. The dispute and its resolution must be captured in the audit trail.