News/Events

The Accounts of the Future Are Paperless
15 May 2009

More and more Swiss companies and individuals use the Internet to receive and display electronic invoices (eRechnungen)

For many companies, the cost argument is a key factor to the electronic switch. This allows for printing, savings on staff time, preparation, and postage – and considerably lowers a company’s paper use. Moreover , e-invoices also allow recipients to easily transfer data and pay bills with a few mouse clicks.

In November 2007, in Switzerland, the Federal Department of Finance revised its regulations on electronically transmitted data and information (ELDI-V), strengthening an earlier ordinance from 2002. Previously, digital certificates were allowed from foreign suppliers but under the new regulations Swiss ELDI-V certificates, such as those offered by QuoVadis, are required. Signing an e-invoice with an ELDI-V certificate makes them VAT compliant.

The Swiss law requires that e-invoicing data must be digitally signed. The purpose of this “advanced” signature is to demonstrate the origin and the integrity of a document. An ELDI-V compliant functional certificate is issued to a company by a provider like QuoVadis, and enables the mass signing of accounting documents. The invoice recipient can identify the sender of the document using the digital certificate, and verify that the document has not been tampered with using the digital signature.

The swissDIGIN Forum was created in 2005 to create standards for electronic accounting in the B2B sector forward. This initiative provides consistency between the various technical solutions from different suppliers. All the leading service providers offer interfaces between their own and the swissDIGIN standard.

Thus, companies may focus on the business opportunities of using eRechnungen, without having worry about interoperability and other technical details. The law itself does not define a format standard, but deals with the digital signature requirement. XML is the most frequently used format for e-invoices.

Previously, companies who wished to pursue e-invoicing had to chose between two alternatives of implementation. Either they could develop their own internal infrastructure – which could be costly and complicated – or they could hire a service provider. Now, new alternatives are available for both the biller and the bill recipient to simplify and reduce the costs of implementation. One example is a new hardware appliance that the customer can easily integrate into their systems. The "CLX.ArchiveBox" e-payment appliance from CREALOGIX AG (formerly C-Channel AG) implements all necessary procedures including signing, sending, and receiving e-invoices as well as automatic signature verification, logging, and legally secure archiving of documents. The Plug & Play solution is designed to meet all applicable legal requirements, and offers mainly SMEs a simple and inexpensive entry into the electronic commerce.

These and similar solutions also simplify the entry into e-invoicing by smaller businesses. The benefits of electronic reporting in both financial terms and in efficiency and environmental issues speak for themselves.

Further information see QuoVadis (http://www.quovadis.ch) or GS1 (http://www.gs1.ch), which is a partner of the certificate provider QuoVadis Trustlink Switzerland AG.

QuoVadis is an internationally accredited certification service provider with worldwide recognition (WebTrust). We offer electronic certificates in accordance with Swiss (ZertES) and European (ETSI) legislation which allow users to use digital signatures around the globe.