Send and receive electronic invoices through a single international network and connect suppliers, customers, and financial systems. The Basware e-Invoicing Network helps organizations exchange invoices electronically with suppliers and customers.
The network acts as a connecting layer between organizations and their financial systems. Invoices can be submitted via various channels and in various formats, and are then validated, converted, and delivered in a format that the receiving organization can process.
In doing so, the network addresses a major challenge in international e-invoicing: not every trading partner uses the same system, the same infrastructure, or the same invoice format.
One network for multiple invoice flows
An organization may have hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of suppliers and customers.
One trading partner uses Peppol. Another uses EDI. A third generates XML from the ERP, and yet another sends a PDF.
Without a connecting infrastructure, an organization must maintain separate solutions and integrations for all of these scenarios.
The Basware Network brings these flows together.
Basware supports both the receipt and transmission of electronic invoices and also connects its own network to other networks and providers.
This means that not every supplier needs to use the same technology directly.
Receiving e-invoices
On the incoming side, the network helps organizations make invoices available electronically for further processing.
Basware can process various types of invoices, including structured electronic invoices and PDF documents. The network can standardize invoice data and forward it to the receiving system.
This is important for Accounts Payable, as the quality of incoming data directly impacts further automation.
A structured e-invoice contains data that can be read directly by systems. Examples include:
- supplier;
- invoice number;
- invoice date;
- amounts;
- VAT;
- order references;
- invoice lines.
This information does not need to be interpreted from a visual document first.
The better the data is at the front end, the greater the possibilities for automatically validating and matching invoices later on.
Sending e-invoices
The network can also be used for outgoing invoices.
An organization can submit invoices from its own financial system, after which Basware sends them to the customer via the correct route.
This is particularly relevant for organizations that invoice many different customers. Those customers’ requirements can vary significantly.
One customer may want to receive an invoice via Peppol, while another uses a different electronic format or network.
Basware therefore positions the network as a central hub for outbound e-invoicing, enabling organizations to route various outbound invoice flows through a single environment.
For Accounts Receivable, this means there’s no need to set up a separate technical solution for each customer.
Format Conversion
Electronic invoicing does not automatically mean that every organization uses the same technical format.
Different countries, networks, ERP systems, and industries use different standards.
A network can therefore act as a translation layer between the sender and the recipient.
A supplier can submit an invoice in the format available within its own environment. The network processes the information and then forwards it via a format and channel that meets the recipient’s requirements.
This technically decouples both parties from one another.
The sender does not need to develop a separate integration for each customer, and the recipient does not need to maintain a separate connection for each supplier.
Peppol
Peppol plays an increasingly important role in European e-invoicing.
It provides standards and infrastructure that enable organizations to exchange electronic business documents via certified access points.
Basware is active within the Peppol ecosystem and supports the sending and receiving of Peppol invoices.
For organizations, this means that Peppol does not need to be treated as a completely separate channel but can be part of the broader e-invoicing architecture.
International e-invoicing compliance
The technical exchange of an invoice is just one part of international e-invoicing.
More and more countries are imposing specific legal requirements for electronic invoicing and digital reporting.
These requirements vary by country. Some countries use mandatory networks, while others rely on central government platforms, clearance models, or additional reporting obligations.
As a result, compliance is becoming an increasingly important part of the e-invoicing infrastructure.
Basware explicitly positions its network for international e-invoicing and compliance and supports various countries and regulatory models.
For organizations operating internationally, a central provider can thus help prevent the need to set up a separate technical architecture for each country.
Integration with ERP and financial processes
The e-Invoicing Network does not stand alone.
On one side are suppliers, customers, networks, and government platforms. On the other side are the organization’s ERP, Accounts Payable, and Accounts Receivable systems.
The network connects these worlds.
For example, an incoming invoice can be received via the network and then made available to Basware AP Automation or another financial system.
An outgoing invoice can be generated from the ERP and then sent via the network to the appropriate channel.
E-invoicing as a data flow
Ultimately, the biggest change in e-invoicing isn’t that a paper invoice is digitized.
After all, a PDF is still, to a large extent, a document designed for people.
With true structured e-invoicing, the invoice evolves into an exchange of data between systems.
This enables automatic validation, matching, reporting, and further processing.
The Basware e-Invoicing Network provides the infrastructure for this exchange: it connects organizations, accommodates differences in channels and formats, and delivers invoice data to the system that needs to process it further.
In this way, the network serves as the link between external trading partners and the internal financial process.