E-invoices for the public sector: what suppliers must do

What the law requires

Since 1 July 2019 suppliers to the Estonian public sector must issue invoices in machine-readable form. This is not a recommendation or a “preferred format”: a paper invoice or a PDF by e-mail is not a proper invoice for an institution.

Formally it is Estonia's implementation of the EU directive on e-invoicing in public procurement. In practice it means one thing for you: if you sell to the state, connect e-invoice sending.

How it looks in X7

There is no technical difference from an ordinary Estonian client. The institution is in the registry of e-invoice recipients, so the usual route works:

1. Create the invoice as always.
2. On the invoice or in the list, click Send as e-invoice.
3. X7 builds the XML and the PDF, checks the recipient against the registry and hands the document to their operator.
   

The sent XML, the PDF and the operator's response are stored month by month — a ready answer to “we never received it”.

Where people usually stumble

The wrong registry code. The most common reason for a rejection. An agency may have several legal entities while accounting is centralised. Ask the person ordering the work for the code and record it on the client.

No contract or order reference. Institutions process invoices by contract number, order or contact person. There is no separate field for such a reference in X7's format — write it in the invoice notes: they travel in the XML as additional information.

The invoice was e-mailed instead of sent as an e-invoice. The document never reaches accounting. The e-invoice button is available when the recipient is in the registry and your sending contract is active.

The lines are described too vaguely. “Services under the contract” passes with a private client but raises questions at an institution: the description should show what was delivered and for which period.

Payment terms

The public sector pays on contract terms, and the term is usually longer than you are used to. Two practical consequences:

• put the contractual due date on the invoice, not the default;
• do not switch on automatic reminders in the first week of delay — check first that the invoice arrived and was accepted for payment.
  

If the invoice was rejected

The sequence is short:

1. Open the stored operator response — the rejection text is in there.
2. Compare the recipient's registry code with the one the client gave you.
3. If the code is right and the rejection repeats, ask the contact person which unit the invoice should go to and with what reference.
4. Fix it and send again.
   

What to prepare in advance

• A connected e-invoice sending contract and a verified sender address.
• A client record for the institution with the exact registry code.
• A line-description pattern that makes the delivery clear.
• The contractual due date rather than the default.
  

This is one-time setup: after that, sending to an institution is no different from sending to any other company.