Entrepreneur, get ready for KSeF

From July 2024, invoices in Poland will have to be created and sent online. The Ministry of Finance has created a National System of e-Invoices (KSeF) to do this. Implementation of the electronic invoices workflow is expected to greatly simplify commercial transactions, as well as to make the tax collection system more efficient. Companies will be able to enable their financial and accounting software to communicate with KSeF to send and download invoices, or implement new, dedicated solutions such as SmartKSeF. The latter option ensures, among other things, easy integration with other systems and greater security of the invoice workflow.

Mandatory digitisation of invoices

The National System of e-Invoices, abbreviated KSeF, can be described as a central database of invoices, or more precisely e-invoices, meaning structured invoices. The system is already being trialled, but will be mandatory from July 2024. Companies therefore have not too much time to prepare for this revolution, although still a year longer than the initial plan to introduce the system in Poland.

Structured invoices will still be generated in the entrepreneur’s financial and accounting systems but will only legally become binding once they have been registered in KSeF. With KSeF, invoices are issued and accepted in real time. Just moments after an invoice is uploaded into the system and an individual identifier is assigned, its recipient should receive it. The date of issue will be the day the e-invoice is entered into the system. When KSeF will become mandatory, the obligation to print the invoice will disappear, as will the need to download it in a file and send it by e-mail.

The Ministry of Finance declares that KSeF will be able to handle 100 million e-invoices per day. It also assures that a lot of emphasis has been placed on data security – the system is to be protected by both encryption and the best authentication methods, such as qualified signatures.

One of the main objectives of the introduction of the National System of e-Invoices is to tighten the tax system and improve its control mechanisms. KSeF is also expected to help in the smooth implementation of a consistent invoice schema across Poland (independent of the type of invoice), accelerate the automation of accounting processes, and improve the exchange of invoices between companies.

Companies will be able to allow the financial and accounting solutions they use to communicate with KSeF, or they can choose to implement dedicated solutions that ensure smooth implementation and cooperation with the system. In the latter scenario, it will be important to select the right business and technology partner to carry out the process and deliver a comprehensive e-invoicing solution.

SmartKSeF to help entrepreneurs

To help companies, cooperate with the National System of e-Invoices, we have created SmartKSeF, a comprehensive solution that will allow businesses to seamlessly process e-invoices and communicate directly with KSeF. Thanks to its transparent API, SmartKSeF integrates easily with the invoicing systems used by companies, regardless of the industry to which the company belongs.

To develop it, we used our deep understanding of tax reconciliation software – it allowed us to launch a range of solutions like EFT Cloud payment hub, which handles more than 3 million transactions per day with no breakdown and is used by some of the largest retail chains in Poland. While designing SmartKSeF, we considered all the key issues that companies switching to an electronic invoice workflow will face. Those with heavy sales and requiring handling for both B2B and B2C invoices.

Our solution is secure and provides data validation (KSeF does not currently validate the data) and availability monitoring. It will therefore prevent, for example, the duplication of an invoice, which could otherwise occur (creating potentially considerable problems for a business). Thanks to its control of business rules and reporting requirements, SmartKSeF makes it possible to detect errors early in the invoicing process.

Our solution is user-friendly, provides the option to track the status of e-invoices and an archive of processing history in one place. It automatically re-attempts invoicing in KSeF if the first attempt is unsuccessful for some reason, and provides the processing status received from the Ministry of Finance system. It also offers functions that KSeF does not have, such as queuing and audit trail.

For many businesses, the ability to choose the model in which SmartKSeF would operate may be attractive. It can function either in the cloud (SaaS) or be installed on the customer’s hardware (On-Premise). In the latter case, Exorigo-Upos provides the application, but the infrastructure and maintenance are on the customer’s side, while in the former, it is our responsibility. As far as the SaaS model is concerned, its cost depends on the number of e-invoices processed and updates are included in the price – unlike in the On-Premise model.

SmartKSeF is addressed to any business but should be of particular interest to large retail chains. Finally, it should be emphasised that the solution will be continuously developed by our experts to adapt it to the needs of users.