In Ireland, the CEF eInvoicing Building Block's support has enabled three local authorities, Fingal County Council, Kildare County Council, and Monaghan County Council (and their Management Authority, the LGMA), to embrace electronic invoices.
Thanks to CEF eInvoicing Building Block's support and services, the adoption of eInvoicing in these three local authorities provided the blueprint to efficiently onboard other Irish local public administrations and businesses.
Together with the CEF services and training provided, CEF funding enabled the Irish local authorities to transition from paper to digital invoices smoothly. The specifications and technical guidelines made available on the CEF website also proved to be important tools for implementing eInvoicing solutions in these regions.
The goal is to leverage the capacity of EN 19631 (the European standard for eInvoicing) to best support the requirements of local authorities when introducing electronic invoices.
Just as in other EU countries, public administrations in Ireland have different digitisation maturity levels. Some entities still rely on paper and PDFs; not all of them use a compatible ERP system, and some suppliers do not produce and process EN-compliant eInvoices.
Functional report on Invoicing for the Local Authority Sector
The Irish consortium, - the Institute of Technology, Sligo as coordinator supported by its Research Office and a dedicated Project Manager -, consisted of Fingal County Council, Kildare County Council, Monaghan County Council, their Management Association the LGMA, and private sector subject matter experts Tubbercurry Software and the Celeris Group. Together, they created a functional report and training manual to help Local Authorities' employees use the CEF eInvoicing services.
The Development of the CIUS (Core Usage Invoice Specification) for the Local authorities of Ireland
Stakeholders' input for the Irish CIUS creation is below.
- Requirements from existing systems such as the Consortium Members' ERP / Financial Management Systems.
- Requirements from other local authorities that were not part of the consortium.
- Requirements from other CIUS registered in the CEF registry, as used by the other Member States.
By considering different stakeholders' points of view, the aim is to cover most of their business needs.
Members of the Irish consortium discussed requirements with counterparts working on the CIUS during Iceland and Sicily meetings. In Italy, discussions focused on the Irish CIUS's different usages depending on the invoice's ERP system or different functional requirements. The consortium agreed that the Sicilian Government would carry out interoperability tests using their eInvoicing system based on the Irish CIUS.
First used in September 2019, the Irish CIUS was adopted by Irish local authorities and complied with the Peppol CIUS. Discussions are underway to upgrade CIUS for Central Government, the health service, and other sector-specific requirements. There are no plans to update the CIUS, as it appears to be fit for purpose.
CEF eInvoicing Building Block
The CEF eInvoicing Building Block aims to support the EU Member States in their B2G eInvoicing adoption and eInvoicing standard implementation at the national and local level. On top of funding, the CEF eInvoicing team provides relevant materials, training, online workshops, and a dedicated space (i.e., CEF eInvoicing User Community) for eInvoicing stakeholders to exchange best practices. Additionally, the CEF eInvoicing support team helps eInvoicing stakeholders in their daily work and answers technical questions.
How the stakeholders/users involved responded to it
This project has inspired public administrations and local businesses to implement B2G eInvoicing requirements. Irish stakeholders now realise the potential benefits of processing invoices digitally.
While the eInvoicing Directive requirements are limited to B2G exchanges, businesses and public authorities' suppliers are gradually adopting eInvoicing practices. This contributes to the dissemination of eInvoicing among economic operators. Public servants in Ireland are committed to complying with the eInvoicing Directive and see this as an opportunity to strengthen relations with the private sector.
“The public bodies we work with are delighted at how automated the system becomes," said Padraig Harte, the project's coordinator. "Suppliers, the people who are sending electronic invoices, can get paid quicker, thanks to automated and standardised transmission processes that ensure quick and efficient exchanges of compliant invoices."
The broader adoption eInvoicing will raise awareness of a larger pool of stakeholders. This sector-specific initiative helps provide small businesses with significant benefits and greater digital inclusivity in Ireland.
The most significant benefit for Irish local authorities has been the automation of important labour and paper-intensive tasks. The adoption of eInvoicing enabled major operational savings, as processing, storing, and monitoring paper-based invoices used to be hugely time-consuming. The data quality was lower because of queries, human errors, and delays.
The initiative fully complies with the Commission's eInvoicing policies and Irish government strategy. It supports the adoption of the EN and requirements of the Irish local authorities, ensuring compliance and cross-border interoperability.
As the take-up of eInvoicing continues to grow among Irish businesses and public administrations, the expectation is for electronically structured invoices to become the standard in the medium future.
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