a mechanism for suppliers of goods or services to bill their customers electronically using the Internet and a universally understood format.

The format is XML, which stands for extensible markup language. Rather than trying to define what that is here, here are some links to some WWW documents that do that.

Scientific American
W3Schools - XML
Webreference.com

Having read some or all of these references, you'll have come to understand that XML is a system whereby a computer language is defined by its users. In the case of the electronic invoice, we have done that for you ...

and the first thing you need to use the electronic invoice is the DTD (Document Type Definition).

If you want to learn more about DTDs, here is a tutorial. Otherwise, here is the DTD you need to begin using the electronic invoice.

You need ...

1. A method to create the invoices at your location. Your invoice will look like this sample.
2. A mutually agreed-to method for sending invoices to a customer. This could be a Trading Partner Agreement.

1. Establish a standard method to receive invoices via the Internet. This can be either ...
   1. E-mail
   2. FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

2. Establish routines for processing the invoice, which will look like this sample. This can be either ...
   1. Routines to display and print the invoice with a browser. Here is an example of how that might look.

      Note: Viewing this example can be useful to understand the extent of information transferred using XML.

   2. Routines to port the invoice to your electronic accounting system

   In either instance you need to have available an XML Parser. XML parsers are described at this WWW link. A parser is available from Microsoft.

• Dates. For both elements <InvoiceDate> and <PODate> we suggest always following Recommendation #7, "Numerical Representation of Dates, Times and Periods of Time," which closely follows ISO 8601. The format is YYYY-MM-DD.
• Currency. For element <CurrencyCode> we suggest following Recommendation #9, " Alphabetic Code of the Representation of Currencies," based on ISO 4217.
• Units of Measure. For element <UnitOfMeasure> we suggest following Recommendation #20, "Codes for Units of Measurement used in International Trade."
• Country. For element <Region> we suggest following Recommendation #3, "ISO Country Codes," which refers to ISO 3166 ALPHA-2 Country Codes.

Recommendation: Use elements <AdditionalInvoiceInfo> and <AdditionalLineItemInfo> to notify the company of what is sent and how it's sent—could be e-mail, postal, etc.

This section describes the background of the Electronic Invoice project and lists reasons why using it is a good idea. It contains excerpts from the Project Charter.

Goals and Objectives

• Increase utilization through industry of a single-standard invoice.

  • One standard that is used throughout industry.
  • Vendors and suppliers sending and receiving the same information.
• Increase productivity in Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable departments.

  • Reduced effort for Mail Services departments distributing invoices to AP departments.
  • Reduced effort inputting invoice information into AP systems.
  • Reduced effort researching status of invoices by AR and AP department staff.
• Strengthen the relationship between customers and suppliers through timely invoice information.

  • Immediate notification of invoice status to supplier.
  • Shorter turnaround time for payment to suppliers.
  • Reduced tension between suppliers and customers regarding invoice information.

Approach

• Identify existing standard-setting organizations and applicable standards and barriers to utilizing standards (including gaps in the current set of standards).
• Determine which technological solutions are most viable for accomplishing our purpose.
• Survey industry to determine what electronic solutions are currently utilized or in development, including cross-company solutions.
• Develop an approach to the utilization of standards for industry.
• Communicate to and educate industry on recommendation for utilization of standards.

• Covansys  Contact: Terri Hinder
• Direct Commerce  Contact: Billy Williams
• iPayables.com  Contact: Kris Schulze
• Recap, Inc.  Contact: Jon Casher