Glossary of Terms
2-Corner Model
An invoicing process where invoice senders and receivers are connected directly for the sending and receiving of messages. See also bilateral exchange model.
3-Corner Model
An invoicing process where invoice senders and receivers are connected via a single service provider for the sending and receiving of messages.
4-Corner Model
An invoicing process where supppliers and customers have one or several service providers that ensure the correct processing between them. This model originated in the banking sector.
Accounts Payable
The function that administers accounts with suppliers resulting from the receipt of goods and services.
Accounts Receivable
The function that administers accounts with customers resulting from the delivery of goods and services.
Accounts Payable Automation
The automated management of accounts payable administration by managing invoices received and payments sent. Accounts payable automation requires integration of the invoicing process with accounting software.
Accounts Receivable Automation
The automated management of accounts receivable administration by managing invoices sent and payments received. Accounts receivable automation requires integration of the invoicing process with accounting software.
Accreditation
A designated authority declares that an information system is approved to operate in a particular security configuration with a prescribed set of safeguards.
Acknowledgement of Receipt
The acknowledgement of receipt of an EDI message is the procedure by which, on receipt of the EDI message, the syntax and semantics are checked, and a corresponding acknowledgement is sent by the receiver.
AdES
See Advanced Electronic Signature.
AES
See Advanced Electronic Signature.
Advanced Electronic Signature
An electronic signature which meets the following requirements: a) it is uniquely linked to the signatory b) it is capable of identifying the signatory c) it is created using means that the signatory can maintain under his sole control and d) it is linked to the data to which it relates in such a manner that any subsequent change of the data is detectable.
Agreed Format
The electronic data format that the trading partners have agreed to treat as the data format of the original electronic invoice for taxation purposes.
Aggregator
Provides bill payers with a single point of contact for the receipt of bills from multiple senders.
Amount
A number of monetary units specified in a currency where the unit of the currency is explicit or implied.
A/P
See Accounts Payable.
A/R
See Accounts Receivable.
Archiving (also Storage, Record or Document Retention)
The keeping of invoices and related audit trails and materials under the conditions and for the period required by VAT administration.
Audit of Electronic Invoices
The process of inspecting electronic invoices and/or the processe/systems used for processing/storing an electronic invoice during its life cycle by a competent tax administration to ascertain compliance and the underlying sales transaction with applicable law.
Audit Service
A security service that records information needed to establish accountability for system events and for the actions of system entities that cause them. (See: Security Audit.)
Audit Trail
Information or data that allows an auditor to verify that a process was performed in accordance with pre-defined expectations.
Authenticate
Verify an attribute value claimed by or for a system entity or system resource. (See: Authentication, Data Integrity Service.)
Authentication
The process of verifying a claim that a system entity or system resource has a certain attribute value. (See: Authenticate, Authentication Exchange, Authentication Information, Data Origin Authentication, Data Integrity.)
Authenticity
The property of being genuine and able to be verified and be trusted. (See: Authenticate, Authentication.)
Authenticity of Origin
Assurance of the identity of the supplier or issuer of the invoice and that the document is the true original.
B2B
Business-to-Business. E-invoicing adoption in B2B is mainly influenced by a desire to achieve end-to- end supply chain efficiency. E-invoicing may sometimes be linked to a wider automation of the trade process. Given that the entities are taxable in a VAT sense the process must fully support the handling of VAT accounting.
B2C
Business-to-Consumer. B2C e-invoicing is led by large organisations seeking to lower costs and improve the effectiveness of accounts receivable collection. It is often also convenient for consumers who are increasingly adopting electronic channels for banking, and lifestyle activities.
B2G
Business-to-Government. B2G e-invoicing is led by governments seeking to lower costs and improve the effectiveness of accounts payable processes in their public sector. Government mandating of electronic invoicing is a growing trend.
BII
Business Interoperability Interface (BII) is a CEN Workshop providing a basic framework for technical interoperability in pan-European electronic transactions, expressed as a set of technical specifications compatible with UN/CEFACT.
Bilateral Exchange Model
The exchange of information directly between a buyer and a seller in a one-to-one relationship. This can be seller or buyer driven (See: Seller Direct and Buyer Direct).
Biller Portal
Invoice providers web portal where invoice receivers can log on with a username/password to check and manage their invoices. This is often a protected environment.
Billing Collaboration
A request is made for payment for goods or services ordered, received, or consumed. In practice, there are several ways in which goods or services may be billed.
Billing Service Provider
See BSP.
BSP
Business provider offering services to senders and receivers involving the sending, collection and administrative processing of invoices.
Business-to-Business
See B2B.
Business-to-Consumer
See B2C.
Business-to-Government
See B2G.
Business Interoperability Interface
See BII.
Business Process
A process that takes place within an entity.
Business Process Automation
The activity of automating various business processes through technology.
Business Process Integration
The activity of integrating various business processes.
Business Process Outsourcing
The activity of using a 3rd party to manage and maintain non-core business processes.
Buyer
Trading partner that a supplier provides goods/services to that may require receipt and storage of an invoice, may require report and declaration and may be entitled to deduct/reclaim applicable input tax VAT. Also referred to as a Customer.
Buyer (Party Role)
A party that purchases goods or services on behalf of the Originator. The Buyer may be referred to in Order Response, Despatch Advice, Invoice, Self Billed Invoice, Credit Note, and Account Statement.
Buyer (Direct)
Larger buying organisations may require suppliers to deliver e-invoices directly to their systems, often providing tools to convert accepted orders into VAT compliant invoices. In addition to the use of a buying portal, the sender may use a direct connection or an EDI system.
Buyer Driven Payables
A supply chain finance program where a large buyer leverages their own working capital to offer discounted early payments to suppliers. Buyer driven payables relies on rapid approval of invoices, typically through electronic invoicing.
Buyer Driven Receivables
A supply chain finance program where a large buyer leverages a 3rd party, typically a bank, to offer discounted early payments to suppliers. The supplier sells their invoice to the bank in return for early payment, but at a more competitive rate than supplier driven receivables programs (factoring, see supplier driven receivables). Buyer driven receivables relies on rapid approval of invoices, typically through electronic invoicing.
Carrier (Party Role)
The party providing physical transport services.
CEN
The European Committee for Standardisation. A counterpart of ISO and the European entry point to UN/CEFACT.
CEN Compliance Guidelines
Guides companies to ensure their e-invoicing solutions, whether in-house or via contracted third party service providers, can be audited and are under control. In 2009 the guidelines were published as a CEN Workshop Agreement.
CEN/eInvoicing
A CEN workshop providing an open platform for stakeholder consensus on the implementation of e-invoices in Europe.
CEN Workshop Agreement
See CEN Compliance Guidelines.
Certificate Authority
The entity which issues digital certificates. Depending on the country requirement the CA may need to be accredited.
Certificate Policy
A named set of rules that indicates the applicability of a certificate to a particular community and/or class of application with common security requirements (eg ISO/IEC 9594-82001). Each CP is assigned a unique Object Identifier – ID by an authorised entity.
Certification Service Provider
An entity, legal or a person who issues certificates or provides services related to electronic signatures.
CII
The CII is the term for the UN/CEFACT standardised invoice, a standardised format proposed for automated invoice exchange.
CNPJ
The National Registry of taxpayers (Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Jurídica or CNPJ) identifies all Brazilian companies with a unique ID.
Code
A character string (letters, figures, or symbols) that can be used to represent or replace a definitive value or text of an attribute.
Connectivity
The unbiased transport of packets between two end points. This is also the definition of IP (Internet Protocol).
Consignee (Party Role)
The party receiving a consignment of goods as stipulated.
Consignment
Self-billing procedure where a customer issues a self-billing invoice in respect of usage of goods.
Consignor (Party Role)
The party consigning goods. Buyers, Transporters, Sellers, or Despatchers may also play the role of Consignor.
Content Conversion
The act of converting the encoding of content (e.g. different code list or units of measure), using agreed mapping processes that do not alter the information represented by the document.
Contracting
The process in which two trading entities agree bilaterally on what the trade will entail and how the trade will be executed. The result of this process is an agreed and exchanged contract. Contracts may cover all aspects of a trade and all processes that are part of the end-to-end trade process: ordering, delivery, invoicing, payment and taxation. The contracting process may vary from an extensive written contractual agreement to a verbal agreement.
Conversion
See Content Conversion and Format Conversion.
CPJ
The Natural Person Register (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas or CPJ) is an ID number attributed by the Brazilian Federal Revenue agency (Receita Federal) to both Brazilian citizens and non-Brazilian residents who pay taxes in Brazil.
Credit Management
The management of invoice collection, outstanding invoices, the associated payment risks and processing of received payments. The sender can outsource this set of tasks to a BSP or specific service provider. Payment risks can also be transferred.
Credit Note
Advice of credit to be compensated against account balances payable as a result of a previous invoice. Also a document sent by a supplier to the buyer confirming that the supplier owes him money.
Cross Border
Trading type where the invoice sender and receiver are in different countries and at least one of them is a member of the European Union (EU).
Cross-Industry Invoice
See CII.
CSD
The Digital Seal Certificate (Certificado de Sello Digital or CSD) is a certificate issued to the tax payer, which is needed for local signing of digital fiscal documents before sending them to the PAC (see PAC).
Customer
The person or organisation who owns the products after successful completion of the transaction. The following roles can be found in a customer company: buyer, consignee, invoicee, VAT representative. See also Buyer.
Customer Service
Supplier party responsible for issues related to purchase order fulfilment (despatch, delivery and carriage).
DANFE
The Invoice Auxiliary Document (Documento Auxiliar da Nota Fiscal Eletrônica or DANFE) is the graphical representation of the NF-e. The DANFE is an auxiliary (paper) document and contains an access key (barcode, graphics) needed to confirm the original NF-e (see NF-e).
Data
Information in a specific representation, usually a sequence of symbols that have a meaning.
Data Integrity
The property that checks data has not been changed, destroyed, or lost in an unauthorised or accidental manner.
Data Integrity Service
A security service that protects against unauthorised changes to data, including both intentional change or destruction and accidental change or loss, by ensuring that changes to data are detectable.
Data Origin Authentication
The corroboration that the source of data received is as claimed. (See: Authentication.)
Data Security
The protection of data from disclosure, alteration, destruction, or loss that either is accidental or is intentional but unauthorised.
Data Universal Numbering System
See DUNS.
Debit Note
A reminder of an outstanding amount due under a previous invoice.
Delivery
The process in which the seller ‘delivers’ order to the buyer. This may entail activities such as manufacturing, transport and service delivery.
Despatch Advice
Sent by the supplier to the buyer to inform him that goods or services have been despatched and/or delivered.
Digital Certificate
A set of structured data that has been electronically signed by a certification authority to bind the identity of a person to a public key that can be used to verify electronic signatures created by that person.
Digital Document
An electronic data object that represents information originally written in a non-electronic, non-magnetic medium (usually ink on paper).
Digital Notary
An electronic functionary analogous to a notary public. Provides a trusted timestamp for a digital document, so that proof is available that the document existed at that point in time; verifies the signature(s) on a signed document before applying the stamp.
Digital Signature
Data appended to or a cryptographic transformation of a data unit that allows a recipient of the data to prove the source and integrity of the data unit and protect against forgery. (See: Electronic Signature).
Direct Materials
The goods and materials that when manufactured/assembled constitute the final product for the customer. See also goods for resale.
Directive
An EU legislative act which requires Member States to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. Although obligatory to implement, Directives normally leave Member States with a certain amount of leeway as to the exact rules to be adopted.
Domestic Trade
Trading type where Invoice sender and receiver are in the same country.
DUNS
The Data Universal Numbering System, abbreviated as DUNS or D-U-N-S, is a system developed by Dun & Bradstreet that assigns a unique numeric identifier, referred to as a “DUNS number” to a single business entity. It was introduced in 1963 to support D&B’s credit reporting practice and is a common worldwide standard required by many industry and trade associations.
D-U-N-S
See DUNS.
EANCOM
A GS1 EDI standard based on UN/EDIFACT, includes a subset of EDIFACT messages. EANCOM is very popular in the retail sector particularly in countries such as Switzerland.
eBilling
Electronic presentation of statements, bills, invoices, and related information sent by a supplier to buyers and the corresponding electronic payment for goods or services.
EBP
Electronic Bill Presentment. (See: EBPP).
EBPP
Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment is usually consumer-oriented ‘bill paying’ presented and paid via the internet. Other terms including IBPP (Internet Bill Presentment and Payment), EBP (Electronic Bill Presentment) and OBPP (Online Bill Presentment and Payment) are also used.
eBusiness
A way of conducting business electronically, leveraging technology initiatives such as ecommerce, electronic data interchange (EDI), and electronic funds transfer (EFT). Electronic storefronts, web applications, and web-based supply chain integration are examples.
EDI
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) refers to the structured transmission of data between organisations by electronic means. It is used to transfer electronic documents from one computer system to another i.e.) from one trading partner to another trading partner.
EDI Message
An electronic data interchange message (EDI message) consists of a set of information, structured using agreed formats, prepared in a computer readable form and capable of being automatically and unambiguously processed.
EDIFACT INVOIC
The most popular of all e-invoicing standards is the original EDI standard developed by the United Nations. EDIFACT has many derivatives in different vertical industries and country implementations.
EEI
The European Electronic Invoicing concept is drawn up by the European Commission Expert Group.
EEI Framework
The European Electronic Invoicing Framework is the objective of the European Commissions Expert Group and it comprises a detailed set of arrangements that describes the EEI and enables the seamless processing of electronic invoices in Europe.
EESPA
European e-Invoicing Service Providers Association.
EIPP
Electronic invoice presentment and payment. The term originated in the B2B world and describes the process through which companies present invoices and organise payments via the internet.
E-invoice
See Electronic Invoice.
E-invoice Data
See Electronic Invoice Data.
E-invoice Lifecycle
The life-cycle process for an e-invoice is (1) supplier or service provider issues an e-invoice. (2) buyer or service provider receives the invoice. (3) buyer/supplier/service provider stores the e-invoice for the required retention period.
E-invoicing
The sending of invoices by electronic means, i.e., transmission to a buyer, the usage of electronic equipment for processing and storing data, also includes optical technologies and other electromagnetic means. By definition, no paper document is involved. Scanning incoming paper invoices, or exchanging e-invoice messages in parallel to paper-based originals is not considered to be electronic invoicing.
E-invoicing Service Provider
A company that, on the basis of an agreement, performs certain e-invoicing processes on behalf of a trading partner, or provides the support services necessary to realise such processes. Some trading partners use multiple e-invoicing service providers.
Electronic Bill
Electronic invoice.
Electronic Bill Presentment
See EBPP.
Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment
See EBPP.
Electronic Billing
See eBilling.
Electronic Commerce
Business conducted through paperless exchanges of information, using various methods including electronic data interchange (EDI) and other paperless technologies.
Electronic Data Interchange
See EDI.
Electronic Invoice
A dataset in the agreed format, issued by or on behalf of a supplier, which contains all of the details agreed between the Trading Partners and contains all of the properties that the competent tax administration may wish to audit.
Electronic Invoice Data
A dataset not yet or no longer representing an electronic invoice, but which is intended to become an electronic invoice or which has been derived from an electronic invoice.
Electronic Invoice Lifecycle
A process comprising (1) the issue of the electronic invoice by, or in the name and on behalf of, the supplier; (2) receipt of the invoice by, or on behalf of, the buyer; and (3) storage of the electronic invoice during the storage period by, or on behalf of, the supplier and the buyer.
Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment
See EIPP.
Electronic Invoice Standards
Electronic invoice standards vary widely across countries.These standards or ‘encoding guidelines’ are often taken from Electronic Data Interchange standards.For example, EDIFACT is the standard created by the United Nations, it includes details such as codes for header information and for the transmission of specific line items.
E-Signature
See Electronic Signature.
Electronic Signature
Data in electronic form which are attached to or logically associated with other electronic data and serve as a method of authentication.
Electronic Statement Presentation
See ESP.
Endorser (Party Role)
The party appointed by the Government of a country who has the right to certify a Certificate of Origin. This endorsement restricts goods imported from certain countries for political or other reasons.
End-to-end Trade Process
The activity or set of activities that result in a trade that is then settled between the trading entities concerned, their respective banks and their respective tax authorities.
Enterprise Resource Planning
See ERP.
EPC
See European Payments Council.
ERP
Systems that contain many of the tools and software to create, account for and manage invoices as part of wider corporate processes.
ERS
A self-billing procedure whereby a customer issues a self-billing invoice in respect of a shipment after receipt.
ESP
Electronic presentment of commercial documents (not invoices) including account statements, purchase orders, delivery notifications etc. Unstructured document exchange is excluded.
European Electronic Invoicing Framework
See EEI Framework.
European Payments Council
Founded in 2002, it calls itself “the decision-making and coordination body of the European banking industry in relation to payments”. The main task of the EPC is the development of the Single Euro Payment Area.
Evaluated Receipt Settlement
See ERS.
Exchange Format
The format in which the invoice is exchanged between sender and receiver. It can either be structured or unstructured. and the format can change during the exchange, such as where a service provider changes the format of the invoice.
Exchange Models
The models for the exchange of business documents between a sender and a receiver. Examples include bilateral (2-party/corner), 3-party/corner and 4-party/corner models.
Expert Group
The Group created under a Commission decision of 31 October 2007 to make recommendations on e-invoicing, jointly sponsored by DG Enterprise & Industry and DG Internal Market & Services.
Exporter (Party Role)
The party who makes regulatory export declarations, or on whose behalf regulatory export declarations are made, and who is the owner of the goods or has similar right of disposal over them at the time when the declaration is accepted.
Factor
Person or organisation who supplies receivables factoring services.
Factored Invoice
An invoice receivable that has been assigned to a third party for financing and payment collection.
Factoring
A form of invoice financing for the seller, where an invoice or a collection of invoices is sold to a factoring company.
Factura Electronica
The term “Electronic Invoice” is a generic name provided to all digital fiscal documents and digital fiscal documents through the internet allowed by Mexican law.
FIEL
The Mexican Advanced Electronic Signature (Firma Electronica Avanzada or FIEL) certificate is owned by the tax payer and it is used for authenticating the tax payer in the SAT (see SAT) website and systems.
Form
The original electronic document type (i.e. paper or electronic).
Format
The method of presentation of electronic data in an electronic document.
Format Conversion
The act of automatically converting the format of an electronic invoice from the format of the sender to the format of the recipient.
Four-Corner Model
See 4-Corner Model.
Four-Party Model
See 4-Corner Model.
GFR
Goods for resale. Also see direct materials.
GNFR
Goods not for resale. Also see indirect materials.
Header-Level Data
Data that relates to the entire invoice, e.g. invoice date, number, supplier and buyer identification, name, address, bank account details etc.
Hybrid Self Billing
An invoicing process whereby some of a supplier’s goods or services to one buyer are administered under self-billing procedures, while another part is invoiced directly by the supplier.
IBPP
Internet Bill Presentment and Payment. See EBPP.
ICP-Brasil
The Brazilian Public Key Infrastructure (Infra-estrutura de Chaves Públicas Brasileira or ICP-Brasil) is the primary authority and runs the root Certification Authority for the Brazilian invoicing system (see NF-e Project).
Inbound
A buyer receiving electronic invoices from a supplier.
Indirect Materials
The goods or services procured for the day-to-day running of a business. See also goods not for resale.
Integrity of content
Content required according to Directive 2010/45/EU has not been altered.
Interchange Agreement
Governs the rules of conduct and methods of operation between parties in relation to the interchange of data by EDI. Several models of interchange agreement have been developed by European and International bodies.
Interoperability Agreement
Governs the rules of conduct and methods of operation between service providers in relation to the exchange of tax compliant electronic invoices. Several models of interoperability agreement have been developed by European bodies.
Internal Control
A process, effected by an company’s IT and employees, designed to help the company accomplish specific goals or objectives.
International Organisation for Standards
See ISO.
Internet Bill Presentment and Payment
See EBPP.
Internet Protocol
See IP.
Interoperability
The ability of diverse systems and companies to work together.
Intra-EU Trade
Where the invoice sender and receiver are in different countries but both are part of the European Union (EU).
Invoice
A document marked with the word “invoice” formally specifying details of a trade (or part of ) and all settlement related information for the trade (or part of), explicitly and separately stating the applicable tax.
Invoice Data
Data relating to an invoice, provided prior to the creation of original tax invoice or provided after its creation for other purposes.
Invoice Header Data
Data that relates to the whole invoice, e.g., invoice date, number, supplier and buyer identification, name and address, bank account details, etc. Some data is made available at header level because it may be valid for all detail lines, but may be over ridden as necessary by making the same data available at invoice line level, e.g., discount, currency code, VAT rate, delivery address, etc.
Invoice Issuer
The person or organisation creating an invoice and claiming payment for goods or services rendered to the customer. The issuer may be a supplier, a service provider, or in the case of self-billing, the buyer.
Invoice Line Data
Data that relates to the goods or services being invoiced, e.g. quantity, price, description, etc. Some invoice line data may be made available in the header if it is valid for several invoice line items, but may be overruled at line level.
Invoicing Directive
The current EU legislation that requests Member States admit the use of electronic invoicing for VAT purposes in the EU. (See: VAT).
IP Network
A series of standards from the Internet Engineering Task Force for exchanging data over the internet.
ISO
Develops international standards in a wide variety of areas including construction, manufacturing, information and communication technologies. The ISO Technical Committee 68 ‘Financial Services’ is responsible for the ISO 22022 standard.
ISO 20022
An ISO international standard. It constitutes the financial industries common platform for the development of messages in a standardised XML syntax, to capture in a syntax-independent way, business transactions and associated message flows.
Issue of an e-Invoice
A legal term, defined differently in different jurisdictions. The e-invoice begins its life cycle as a formal document for VAT/Tax purposes when it has been issued.
Issuer of an e-Invoice
The party issuing the e-invoice (eg supplier, service provider).
Issuing an Invoice in The Name/on Behalf of The Supplier
The process whereby a party other than the supplier issues the invoice for the supplier without taking over the supplier’s accountability for the invoice regarding the competent tax administration. The issuing third party may be a service provider or, in the case of self-billing, the buyer.
Line-Level Data
Data that relates to goods, item or the service being invoiced, e.g. goods item identification, quantity, price and description.
Master Data
Data such as names, addresses, and identifications, e.g. VAT number, DUNS number.
Multi-Corner Model
See 4-Corner Model.
NES
NES was formed in January 2006 to facilitate the establishment of a common e-commerce platform in national and cross-border trade.
Network Provider
A service provider that connects to a supplier and buyer directly. The supplier or buyer only needs to make one connection to the network provider and this enables them to connect to multiple buyers and/or suppliers.
NF-e
The Electronic Fiscal Note (Nota Fiscal Eletronica or NF-e) is the name of the Brazilian state electronic invoice.
NF-e Project
Brazilian Federal e-Invoicing Project (NF-e Project).
NFS-e
The Electronic Services Invoice (Nota Fiscal de Serviços Eletrônica or NFS-e) is the name of the Brazilian Municipal electronic invoice.
Non-signed EDI
See Unsigned EDI.
Northern European Subset
See NES.
OASIS
See UBL.
OBPP
Online Bill Presentment and Payment. See EBPP.
Online Bill Presentment and Payment.
See EBPP.
Ordering
The collaboration that creates a contractual obligation between a supplier and a buyer.
Order-to-Cash
The combined order, delivery, invoice and payment as part of the end-to-end trade process, from the supplier’s perspective.
Order-to-Pay
The combined order, delivery, invoice and payment as part of the end-to-end trade process, from the buyer’s perspective.
Outbound
A seller sending electronic invoices to customers.
PAC
An Authorized Certification Provider (Proveedor Autorizado de Certificación or PAC) is a certification provider that has been authorized by SAT (See also SAT). PACs provide validation and certification services via a web service and via a free service through a web page.
Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line
See PEPPOL.
Payment
The process in which the buyer pays a supplier an agreed monetary value through their respective payment service providers or banks. The result of this process is an exchanged and agreed payment (transfer of monetary value), including the applicable tax.
P-Card
See purchasing card.
The Portable Document Format (PDF) is the file format created by Adobe Systems for document exchange.
PEPPOL
Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line (PEPPOL) is a consortium project, with the objective to pilot solutions to make it easier for European companies, in particular SMEs, from one country to respond electronically and in an interoperable way to public procurement opportunities and carry out business transactions, including invoicing.
PO
See Purchase Order.
Procure-To-Pay
The process of buying goods including the initial decision to purchase, the selection process and the transaction made to pay for the goods purchased. This is the end-to-end trade process from the buyer’s perspective. It is also sometimes referred to as purchase-to-pay.
Public Key
The key of a signature key pair used to validate a digital signature also the key of an encryption key pair used to encrypt confidential information.
Purchase Order
Document sent by a buyer to a supplier to inform them that they wish to purchase goods, services or works.
Purchase Order Change
Document sent by a buyer to a supplier to inform them that they wish to modify or cancel a previous order.
Purchase Order Response
Sent by a supplier to a buyer (who has previously sent an order) to accept the order fully, partially or to reject the order.
Purchase Portal
Portal of specific large procurer (receiver) to which providers (senders) have to be connected to be able to deliver and bill to the procuring party.
Purchase-To-Pay
See Procure-To-Pay.
Purchasing Card
A purchasing card (P-Card) is a form of supply chain finance where a buyer controls adhoc expenditure by setting limits on spend per transaction and per card on a month by month basis.
Qualified Electronic Signature
An advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate and created by a secure signature-creation device or an advanced electronic signature which uses a qualified certificate issued by a certification authority.
Readability
The ability for a competent tax administration to interpret the content of an e-invoice.
Receipt Advice
Sent by a buyer to a supplier to acknowledge receipt in full or in part and notify when necessary of under/over-delivery, error or damage in delivery.
Receiver
The party receiving the invoice, usually the buyer.
Remittance Advice
A notice by a payer to the sender of the invoice that a payment has been made.
Remittance Data
Information containing payment details, used for reconciliation of payment data.
RFC
The Federal Taxpayers Registry (RFC) is the Mexican tax identification number. It can be issued either to a physical person or a company. There is a specific RFC number that to be used when the recipient of an digital fiscal document is a foreign company.
Routing
Process of selecting paths in a network along which to send network traffic. Routing is performed for many kinds of networks, including the telephone network, electronic data networks (such as the Internet), and transportation networks.
SAT
The Tax Administration Service (Servicio de Administracion Tributaria or SAT) is the Mexican federal tax administration.
SCF
See Supply Chain Finance.
Secure Signature Creation Device
For smart card based digital certificates. The card holder inserts the smart card into a Secure Signature Creation Device and enters the pin code.
Self-Billed Invoice
Invoice originated by a buyer and sent to a supplier to cover goods or services supplied.
Self Billing
A method of invoicing whereby a buyer issues invoices in name and on behalf of a supplier. Self-billing can be facilitated by a service provider.
Self Billing Despatch Advice
Information provided by a supplier to a buyer regarding a shipment despatched under a self-billing contract.
Sender
The party submitting an invoice.
SEFAZ
The State Tax Office (Secretaria da Fazenda Estadual or SEFAZ) is the Brazilian central government office in charge of tax related matters.
SEPA
SEPA is the area in which individuals and businesses can make and receive card and electronic payments in euro, across Europe, regardless of their location. The geographical scope encompasses all EU Member States as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Monaco.
Service Level Agreement
A negotiated agreement between two parties where one is the customer and the other is the service provider. This can be a legally binding formal or informal ‘contract’.
Service Provider
An organisation that, based on a contractual agreement, performs certain processes on behalf of a trading partner, or that is active in the provision of support services necessary to realise such processes.
Shipper
See Consignor.
Signed EDI
The application of a digital signature to an EDI file can be an acceptable method for ensuring invoice compliance and authenticity. It is the preferred method in countries such as Spain and Switzerland.
Signed PDF
Applying a digital signature to a human readable PDF is a common method for ensuring invoice compliance and authenticity.
Single Euro Payments Area
See SEPA.
SME
Small and medium-sized enterprises.
Source Transaction Data
Dynamic or transaction-specific business documents and information that are typically required to create a compliant invoice, such as contract, order, delivery information, customer and product files.
SSCD
See Secure Signature Creation Device.
Storage Format
The format in which an invoice is stored and accessible for auditing. The storage format is mainly subject to tax regulations, since the invoice receiver must be able to hand over the stored invoices in the case of a tax audit.
Storage Period
The amount of time that applicable law requires the e-invoice to be stored and available for audit.
STP
See Straight Through Processing.
Straight-Through Processing
Enables the entire trade process for capital markets and payment transactions to be conducted electronically without the need for re-keying or manual intervention, subject to legal and regulatory restrictions.
Structured Invoice Document
Creation of a structured invoice document, with required data compiled in an agreed e-invoice message with known structure, format and content such as EDI and XML messages. The format is pre-defined and known to the parties involved, unlike a paper document, where the receiver may well be unfamiliar with the format.
Supplier
The trading partner that supplies goods or services to a buyer and that may be obligated to issue and store an invoice, as well as to report, account for and pay applicable output tax VAT.
Supplier Driven Receivables
A paper-based form of supply chain finance where suppliers sell their receivables to a bank, receiving a discounted early payment. The discount is based on the supplier’s credit standing and typically higher than buyer driven receivables.
Supply Chain Finance
Supply chain finance (SCF) is a term used to define the financial relationship linking the buyer and the supplier together in terms of payables and receivables. Several options and solutions are available in the market today, each with a variation on the offering.
Tax Representative
Supplier party responsible for keeping VAT records and accounts for taxable transactions in another member state.
Three-Corner Model
See 3-Corner Model.
Three-Party Model
See 3-Corner Model.
Timbrado
The Mexican certification (Timbrado) is the act of pre-validating and signing a digital fiscal document (see factura electrónica), conducted by an authorized PAC (see PAC).
Tradacoms
The most popular e-invoicing message standard in the UK, particularly within the retail industry. Originally developed by the UK Article Numbering Association (ANA), the standard has been obsolescent since 1995, but is still widely used.
Trading Partner
Can be a supplier or a buyer.
Trading Counterparties
Two or more trading parties engaged in a supply.
Trading Types – Domestic
Invoice sender and receiver are in the same country.
Trading Types – Intra-EU
Invoice sender and receiver are in different countries, but both are part of the European Union (EU).
Trading Types -Cross-Border
Invoice sender and receiver are in different countries and at least one of them is not part of the European Union (EU).
Trust Centre
See Certificate Authority.
Two-Corner Model
See 2-Corner Model.
Two-Party Model
See 2-Corner Model.
UBL
See Universal Business Language.
UF Code
The Federal Unit Code (Unidade Federativa or UF Code) identifies each of the 27 Brazilian federal units, being the 26 states and the single federal district.
UN/CEFACT
The United Nations’ Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business has a global remit to secure the interoperability for the exchange of information between private and public sector entities. They developed UN/EDIFACT.
UN/EDIFACT
The United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport rules for electronic data interchange comprise a set of internationally agreed standards, directories and guidelines for the electronic interchange of structured data.
Unsigned EDI
EDI serves as a compliant means of electronic invoicing in some countries. Requirements may extend beyond storing a copy of the EDI file in an archive, requiring additional audit and reporting to capture the processing and delivery lifecycle of each invoice transaction.
Universal Business Language
A library of standard electronic XML business documents such as purchase orders and invoices developed by OASIS (an industry standards consortium) with participation from a variety of industry data standards organisations.
Unstructured Invoice Document
An invoice that is created manually or automatically from a system and compiled into an electronic document such as PDF, email or HTML.
Value Added Network
Third-party network service provider that offers specialised trade-related services to trading parties connected through the VAN.
VAN
See Value Added Network.
VAT
A consumption tax that is levied at each stage of production based on the value added to a product or service at that stage.
Value-Added Tax
See VAT.
VDA 4938
A new e-invoicing standard designed for the European automotive industry.
Verification of an e-Invoice
The validation of the integrity and authenticity of the invoice original.
Web Presentation
See Web Publication.
Web Publication
A method of exchanging invoices with a buyer by placing an original electronic invoice on an agreed web site, in a secrure closed environment operated by the supplier.
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