No, it has nothing to do with the Force. Most administrators are well aware of what managing your master data means. But we still believe that it is important to say a few words about the subject in this part of the E-invoicing Checklist series.
Master data are stable over longer periods of time, such as the debtor and creditor data, physical/digital addresses and legal entity identifiers such as VAT, Duns, GS1, SEPA and GLN numbers. For products or services, master data can include product names, descriptions, tax rates, addresses and codes such as EAN codes.
Master data to be stored separately from invoice information
Measures need to be taken in order to ensure that the master data is correctly saved, if master data is stored separately from the invoice data and used to view or reproduce invoices. This to ensure that the invoices are reproduced correctly.
Profit from what your financial/ERP/accounting software or online invoicing provider can do for you
Many of the safeguards regarding the processing of master data and billing information are part of accounting software or financial software like Exact, SAP, JD Edwards, and hundreds of other providers. You can rely on your financial software not just for this process, but also for many other processes.
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Check what safeguards are provided by your financial software with regard to paper invoices. Also check whether these safeguards apply to electronic invoices as well.
Be aware: download your data regularly from online portals
Most, if not every, (online) invoice provider and online bill portal stores your invoices for a limited period of time, ranging from 6 to sometimes 18 months. After this period, you probably won’t be able to add your invoices to your administration (and you are no longer in control of these particular e-invoices). Or you have to pay a considerable amount of money to get the access to your invoices back. So, be sure to download your invoices regularly and stay in control.
Follow this link to download the free E-invoicing Checklist (including more information about archiving and adoption tactics).
Previously published articles in this series:
New series: The E-invoicing Checklist [part 1]
The E-invoicing Checklist: Manual [part 2]
The E-invoicing Checklist: Current EU e-invoicing basics [part 3]
The E-invoicing Checklist: The new EU E-invoicing Directive [part 4]
The E-invoicing Checklist: content – tax requirements [part 5]
The E-invoicing Checklist: content of the simple invoice [part 6]
The E-invoicing Checklist: content clarity and comprehensibility [part 7]
The E-invoicing Checklist: content payment instructions [part 8]
The E-invoicing Checklist: create your invoice [part 9]
The E-invoicing Checklist: It’s issuing time! [part 10]
The E-invoicing Checklist: receiving invoices [part 11]
The E-invoicing Checklist: verify your data [part 12]
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