An increasing number of your customers are receiving e-invoices via email. Until they are ready to switch to the DocuWare E-Invoicing Service, they need an easy way to verify the accuracy of these invoices. That is why DocuWare is introducing “E-Invoicing Validation,” a new, free feature of Connect to Mail that automatically checks incoming e-invoices against applicable format standards and business rules.
What the new feature does
When an e-invoice (XML or XML with PDF embedded) arrives in a mailbox monitored by a Connect to Mail/General Email configuration, DocuWare validates it automatically in the background. No manual action is required, and archiving is never blocked or delayed – every document is stored as usual, regardless of the validation outcome.
The validation result is made available in three ways:
- Annotation: An optional color-coded annotation directly on the document shows the result at a glance – valid, valid with warnings, or invalid.
- Validation report: A complete validation report is stored with the document and can be opened and downloaded directly in the DocuWare Viewer via the new "Show Validation Report" button.
- Index fields: Validation results can be written to index fields, making them searchable and usable for organizing invoices.
The feature supports main e-invoice formats used in the German and the entire European market, including XRechnung, Peppol BIS 3.0, and ZUGFeRD/Factur-X. These are all based on the European e-invoicing standard EN 16931. A detailed overview of supported formats and profiles will follow in the Knowledge Center.
Free for DocuWare Cloud and with On-Premises Connect to Mail
E-Invoicing Validation is included at no extra cost:
- DocuWare Cloud: included in all Cloud packages.
- DocuWare On-Premises: included with a Connect to Mail license, for DocuWare versions from 7.13 onwards.
There is no separate license to purchase and no transaction-based billing. The feature is simply enabled via a checkbox in the Connect to Mail / General Email configuration.
E-Invoicing Validation and the E-Invoicing Service
The new feature works in tandem with the DocuWare E-Invoicing Service, though it is not a replacement for it. It will assist many customers in making a smooth transition until they are ready to utilize the Service themselves. Ultimately, companies need to prepare for further innovations and compliance requirements, such as e-reporting, by using the E-Invoicing Service as quickly as possible.
E-Invoicing Validation covers one specific scenario: validating e-invoices that arrive by email and are processed via Connect to Mail. For customers who need the full e-invoicing lifecycle – sending and receiving via networks such as Peppol, regulatory reporting, and legal archiving – the DocuWare E-Invoicing Service remains the right solution.
It goes without saying that the E-Invoicing Service is the future-proof solution. Not only does it allow your customers to exchange status updates, it also prepares them best for e-reporting.
What this means for you
- Inform your customers that incoming e-invoice validation will soon be available in their existing DocuWare environment without additional costs.
- For On-Premises customers, check that Connect to Mail is licensed and installations are running version 7.13 or later to benefit from the feature.
- For all customers and prospects, continue to position the DocuWare E-Invoicing Service as the future-proof solution.
Availability
For DocuWare Cloud, the validation feature will be available in the first week of August.
For on-premises installations, the feature will be made available via hotfixes for DocuWare versions 7.13 and 7.14 from the first week of August onwards. As usual, these will be accessible in the Support Portal under Setups, Updates & Hotfixes.
For more information, see Validating e-invoices in Connect to Mail.