Status quo of electronic invoice processing at municipalities in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg

Abstract

On 16 April 2014, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted the Directive on electronic invoicing for public contracts (2014/55/EU) in order to establish electronic invoicing as the predominant method by 2020. The e-invoicing directive requires all contracting authorities to be able to receive and process electronic invoices (ABI L133/1). The European legislator defines e-bill as "an invoice issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format that enables its automatic and electronic processing" (ABI L133/7).

This raises the question of (a) the status quo of electronic invoicing in Baden-Württemberg's municipalities, (b) their implementation barriers and drivers, and (c) the status quo in Baden- Württemberg compared to all other German states. This paper answers these questions and points out interesting aspects that raise new research questions.