Dear hotelier, the advent of the new electronic invoicing is getting closer!
From 1 January 2019, in fact, the new law will come into force which will make it mandatory for companies and professionals to adopt this new type of invoice, thus abandoning the old excel files or even the “pen and paper” method.
But what is an electronic invoice?
It is a digitally prepared invoice, electronically transmitted to the customer via SDI, or the Revenue Agency’s Exchange System. This SDI checks whether the invoice has been issued following all the necessary procedures and, if so, delivers it to the recipient customer.
The format in which electronic invoices are to be produced, transmitted, archived and stored is a digital format called XML.
Now that we have re-introduced the topic, let’s see what are the 3 tips to better manage the electronic invoicing in the hotel.
1- The paper will no longer have value
It is clear that the electronic invoices received from 1st January 2019, if printed and stored on paper, will have no legal value. It is important to underline how the electronic invoices transmitted and received through the ES must in fact be kept in digital format according to the provisions of DMEF 17/6/2014 and DPCM 3/12/2013.
2- Why use a hotel management PMS that integrates electronic invoicing
Filling out an electronic invoice may prove more difficult than expected, and managing your hotel with a simple excel sheet is no longer enough. Much less to think of delegating everything to your accountant:
Can you imagine having to call your accountant every time you need to issue an electronic invoice?
To generate an electronic invoice at the hotel, specific standards must be followed (XML format, digital signature ..) which can confuse the hotelier.
It therefore becomes essential to have a PMS that can comply with the legislation and is able to fulfill all requests and with which to manage the whole flow.
3- Management by PMS of the active and passive cycle of your hotel
As already mentioned, the best choice to manage electronic invoicing is to rely on an integrated solution that can manage the entire billing cycle (active and passive) and that is able to digitally keep the invoice, since it must be kept digitally for 10 years.
It should be underlined how creating, sending, receiving and storing are 4 fundamental steps for electronic invoicing.
