How are consolidated invoices represented electronically?

Structure

One invoice, many line items. Per line item:

• Reference to delivery note or order
• Service date or period
• Quantity, unit, unit price
• Tax category

Why the service date per line item is important

For VAT purposes, the tax is incurred with the service, not with the invoice. In a consolidated invoice covering multiple months, it must be clear which revenue belongs to which preliminary tax period.

On paper, this information was often only in the delivery note. In the e-invoice, it belongs in the designated field.

What happens at the recipient's end

A good receiving system reconciles each line item against the corresponding delivery note and order. If the reference is missing, someone has to do it manually – for a consolidated invoice with forty line items, this is a significant effort.

The reference is therefore not a formality, but the reason why the recipient can pay faster.

Practical Tip

Clarify with customers who receive many individual deliveries whether they want consolidated invoices and at what frequency. Some receiving systems struggle with a large number of line items – it's better to clarify this in advance than after the first rejected invoice.