Why I Want to Support eInvoicing – and Why the Next Step Matters
I've been spending some time looking into eInvoicing recently, and I can see both the opportunity and the areas where the process still has room to develop.
On one hand, I genuinely believe eInvoicing is one of the best initiatives we've seen in the accounting industry for years.
At the same time, some of the current practical settings in Xero mean that for businesses like mine – and many of my clients – fully adopting it isn’t possible to fit smoothly with existing workflows.
Why eInvoicing Is Such a Good Idea
At its core, eInvoicing allows invoices to move directly between accounting systems through the secure Peppol network rather than being emailed as PDF attachments. An eInvoice lands directly in the recipient’s accounting software, ready for approval and payment. It is not limited to Xero users or New Zealand; it is already widely used in many European countries.
That creates a number of benefits:
- Less manual data entry.
- Fewer processing errors.
- Faster invoice delivery.
- Improved security compared with email.
- Reduced risk of invoice fraud or tampering.
· Faster processing and potentially faster payment.
As someone who works with businesses every day to improve processes and reduce administration, it's difficult not to be enthusiastic about that.
This is the sort of technology that should make life easier for everyone involved.
The Current Reality for Many Small Businesses
The challenge is that many businesses using Xero don't manually create and send every invoice one at a time.
In my own case, most invoices are either created through repeating invoice templates or generated and then sent using Xero's bulk email functionality.
That workflow is efficient.
Approve the invoices, select them in bulk, and send them. Done.
At the moment, eInvoicing doesn't yet fit into that process.
The Bulk eInvoicing Opportunity
Xero users have been asking for a bulk eInvoice send function for some time.
There is an active Product Ideas request asking for the ability to bulk approve and send eInvoices, essentially replicating the bulk email process many businesses already use.
The most recent response from Xero states that while they appreciate the interest, this functionality is not currently on their roadmap.
That means businesses wanting to use eInvoicing often need to:
- Open each invoice individually.
- Select "Send as eInvoice".
- Confirm the send.
- Repeat the process for every invoice.
For a business sending a handful of invoices each month, that might be manageable but for businesses processing dozens or hundreds of invoices, it is definitely not.
The Repeating Invoice Opportunity
The second area is repeating invoices.
Many businesses, including mine, rely heavily on repeating invoice templates to automate recurring billing and at present, repeating invoice templates do not support eInvoicing.
The good news is that Xero has acknowledged this issue. A Product Ideas request titled "eInvoicing: Support for repeating eInvoices" has been marked as Accepted, and Xero has indicated this is on their team's radar.
It doesn't mean the functionality is coming tomorrow, but it does suggest Xero recognises that recurring invoicing is a major use case.
Could an External Peppol Solution Solve the Problem?
I also explored whether using an external Peppol Access Point or custom integration might provide a workaround as there are numerous accredited Peppol providers that offer integration services and gateways into the eInvoicing network.
Before going down that path, there are some useful questions to work through.
Many businesses benefit from Xero-specific invoice features such as online invoice pages, Stripe payment links, GoCardless integrations, payment reminders, and customer self-service payment options.
The documentation I found doesn't specify how these features would behave if invoice delivery was shifted to an external eInvoicing solution, so it would be important to understand the integration and provider involved.
For many businesses, the ideal solution would preserve the strengths of the current Xero workflow while adding the benefits of eInvoicing.
So Where Does That Leave Us?
I remain a strong supporter of eInvoicing because the long-term benefits are clear.
It has real potential to improve invoice processing across the business community, but for businesses that rely on repeating invoices and bulk sending, adoption will be easier once the functionality fits more naturally into existing workflows.
For now, many businesses will likely continue using their current automated invoicing processes while keeping an eye on future developments in Xero.