Electronic invoicing offers a great savings potential - for the invoicing party as well as the recipient.  It is very tempting to simply send an invoice in PDF format.  However, there are legal conditions that must be met.

Legal Conditions

The following legal guidelines are relevant when using electronic invoices (European Billing Guidelines 2001/115/EG, German Tax Amendment Law 2003 and therewith Amendment UStG [German VAT law], GoBS [German generally accepted accounting principals], GDPdU [German basic principals for accessing data and checking digital papers]):

• The consent of the recipient is required.
• The authenticity of origin and the integrity of the data must be ensured by a qualified electronic signature.
• Documentation of the process is required.
• Safekeeping periods and requirements must be met.

Sign Live! CC and Electronic Invoicing

• Legally compliant
  Sign Live! CC is our solution that supports the process of electronic invoicing („eBilling“) on both the sender and recipient end while adhering to all relevant legal guidelines (German Signature Law, UStG, EU guidelines).
  The application is security approved by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) in accordance with the German Digital Signature Law (SigG) and the German Signature Ordinance (SigV) and certified in accordance with Common Criteria.  The application is therewith approved for generating qualified electronic signatures and offers you maximum possible security for your electronic documents.
   
• Integration of invoice data as XML
  For the invoice creator, Sign Live! CC offers the possibility to integrate billing data as XML within the framework of the signature process.  The software supports single and batch signatures.
  With Sign Live! CC you can also use an external signature service, such as SIGNTRUST.NET (Deutsche Post).
   
• Generation of index information for electronic archiving
  Should you, as the issuer, wish to electronically archive the invoice, Sign Live! CC will generate the required index information for your archiving system.
   
• Generation of test reports
  For invoice recipients, Sign Live! CC Validate is a free verification software that can also generate test reports for lower volumes.
   
• PDF/A conversion
  Conversion into the PDF/A norm for long-term archiving is also available (optional).  This expansion can be readily integrated at any point later on.
   
• Extraction of invoice data for further processing
  It is also worthwhile for the invoice recipient to have Sign Live! CC, if XML data saved in the electronic invoice is to be extracted and passed along for further automatic processing in accounting.
   
• Security
  Electronic invoices can be encrypted to ensure a secure transit.  This reliably inhibits unauthorized viewing of the document.
   
• Integration through diverse protocols
  Sign Live! CC can be seamlessly integrated into your business processes through various protocols, including HTTP, POP3 etc.  Sign Live! CC can also be controlled through the command line, in case you wish to integrate the signature functions into your own applications.