E-Invoicing in Europe: The Latest News and What Businesses Need to Know
What's new in the world of e-invoicing? Outvoicer travelled to Berlin to learn about the latest trends and what lies ahead for businesses in Europe and Latvia. We're sharing the key takeaways with you! Find out what to prepare for and how to use automation to spend less time on invoices and more on growing your business.
Brigita Andersone ·
E-invoicing is no longer the future — it is already changing the way businesses work. Is your business ready?
E-invoicing requirements are changing across Europe, countries are introducing new digital reporting systems, and finance process automation is becoming increasingly important. Find out what lies ahead for businesses in Latvia, how to prepare for the changes, and how to spend less time on invoices and more on growing your business.
E-invoicing is becoming the norm
E-invoicing adoption in Europe is accelerating. This was also a key topic at the E-Invoicing Exchange Summit Berlin. Around 40 countries already have mandatory e-invoicing requirements in place, and roughly 20 more have announced them.
In the European Union, change is also being driven by the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) initiative, which aims to modernise the VAT system and promote digital data exchange.
There is one catch, however — e-invoicing requirements and technical solutions differ from country to country. For businesses working with partners in several countries, this can create additional challenges.
E-invoicing delivers more than just compliance
E-invoicing is not only a way to meet regulatory requirements. It can help businesses work more efficiently and reduce manual work.
Survey results from the 2026 study “Beyond the Maze of eInvoicing!”, presented at the Berlin summit, show that businesses associate e-invoicing with several benefits:
At the same time, 53% of respondents named the variety of e-invoice formats and requirements as a challenge.
This shows that the greatest benefit comes when an e-invoice is not just a standalone digital document, but part of a well-organised company finance process.
The full study, published by the International eInvoicing Observatory (School of Management, Politecnico di Milano), is available on the Osservatori Digital Innovation platform.
The biggest challenge? Uncertainty
When implementing e-invoicing, businesses have to deal with differing requirements, changing deadlines and technical specifications.
This can be especially complex for companies that operate in several countries or use different accounting systems.
That's why it is important not only to follow the news, but also to review your processes in good time. If your systems and data are already in order, adapting to new requirements can be much easier.
AI and automation — the next step
The evolution of e-invoicing doesn't stop at sending documents electronically. The next step is automation and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in finance processes.
These solutions can help compare data, spot discrepancies and reduce manual work. In the future, AI tools may also take on more complex tasks in managing finance processes.
Technology alone doesn't solve everything, though. For automation to work effectively, a business needs high-quality data, well-designed processes and proper data protection.
What do businesses in Latvia need to know?
In Latvia, e-invoicing is also being introduced step by step, and several new requirements have come into force in recent years.
Since 2025, structured e-invoices are mandatory in transactions with public sector bodies, and from 2026, e-invoice data for these transactions must be reported to the State Revenue Service (VID).
When you use Outvoicer, the data is sent to VID automatically, so you no longer need to worry about this step.
For business-to-business (B2B) transactions, structured e-invoicing becomes mandatory from 1 January 2028.
To prepare for the changes in good time, businesses should already:
- Check the systems they use. Do they support creating and sending structured e-invoices?
- Clean up their data. Is the information on invoices complete and accurate?
- Review their processes. Which steps can be automated to reduce manual work?
- Keep up with requirements. Does the business know which requirements apply to its transactions and partners?
Don't worry about whether your invoices meet the new requirements! Trust your invoicing to Outvoicer and focus on your business — we'll take care of e-invoice compliance.
Up-to-date information on e-invoicing in Latvia is available on the State Revenue Service website. You can also read more in our e-invoicing in Latvia guide.
E-invoicing is more than a legal requirement
Introducing e-invoicing is an opportunity to review your company's finance processes and make them more efficient. The sooner a business starts treating e-invoicing as part of its digital infrastructure, the easier it will be to adapt to change.
And perhaps most importantly — you don't have to wait until e-invoicing becomes mandatory to start working smarter.
Ready to simplify your invoicing?
Try Outvoicer and save time!