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The European eInvoicing standard is a semantic specification for the content of an invoice that is then bound to several syntaxes, see Explaining the EN. When an invoice document is created in a particular syntax that syntax message must comply with the Semantic specifications of the EN and to the syntax binding for the relevant syntax.

To assist with testing whether individual electronic invoices comply with the standard a set of validation artefacts has been created. The validation artefacts are not part of the eInvoicing Standard but a technical expression of the standard that allow its users to easily validate whether invoices comply to the standards specifications. Compliance to the eInvoicing standard is measured at two levels, the invoice message itself and the processing of the invoice message. The validation artefacts only validate the invoice message instance. For the processing a user must refer to the eInvoicing standard documentation.

The validation artefacts have been developed by a group of experts in association with CEN and DIGITAL. These artefacts are developed under an open-source European Union Public Licence (EUPL) version 1.2. through a GitHub repository but distributed through the following location.

Here is more information on the Registry of supporting artefacts to implement EN16931

Use Case for Businesses

First, businesses need to ensure their invoicing systems can generate electronic invoices in the syntaxes specified by the standard. This involves potentially upgrading or configuring their current software solutions to support these syntaxes. Next, companies should use the provided validation artefacts to test each generated invoice against the standard’s semantic specifications and syntax bindings. This validation helps identify any discrepancies in the invoice message itself, ensuring that it adheres strictly to the required format. Once validated, businesses should focus on updating their internal processes to handle these invoices according to the eInvoicing standard documentation, which governs processing compliance beyond the message validation.

For example, a company could integrate these processes into their accounting workflow to ensure continuity and correctness in financial record-keeping. You should register on the dedicated page in the eInvoicing User Community to receive email notifications for each update.

*The Connecting Europe Facilities Programme ended in 2021. The programme aimed at supporting eInvoicing stakeholders in their adoption of eInvoicing solutions in order to facilitate invoicing interoperability among the EU Member States.

NOTE: To avoid inconsistency, it is strongly recommended that those implementing the eInvoicing Standard use these validation artefacts rather than building their own directly from the standards specifications. And if building their own, e.g. with different technology, then to use these as benchmark. Not following this process might result in electronic invoices incapable of meeting the eInvoicing Standard and, therefore, the legal framework set by the Directive. 

These validation artefacts can be used directly in implementations or through several validation platforms that are publicly available. 

Comments and questions regarding these validation artefacts can be directed to DIGITAL eInvoicing Support. 

These validation artefacts are built by using Schematron, which is a rule-based validation language for making assertions about the presence or absence of patterns in an XML tree. Schematron is a publicly available ISO standard (ISO/IEC 19757-3:2020). This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO/IEC 19757-3:2016), which has been technically revised.  

Like Schemas, Schematrons can be used for validating the cardinality and values of individual elements. The main advantage, as compared to using Schemas, is that Schematron's can express rules that concern relations between different elements in an invoice message (rules such as calculations and conditional values). Schematrons can however not validate the syntax structure of a message. It is therefore recommended to use the Schematron artefacts in conjunction with the relevant syntax schema as published by its governing organisation 

In addition to the recommended validation artefacts, businesses and implementers can also take advantage of the open version of the eInvoicing Conformance Testing service. This free user-friendly tool requires no registration, making it exceptionally accessible for organisations of any size. Built on Schematron technology, the service allows users to automatically validate their eInvoicing files against the necessary specifications, streamlining the verification process and offering immediate feedback. By integrating this tool into their workflow, companies can effortlessly ensure their electronic invoices meet all current conformance requirements, further supporting efficiency and accuracy in their eInvoicing operations.