Why indirect tax teams should be front and centre in e-invoicing rollouts

Digital transformation of tax is no longer a future trend, it’s happening now.

With e-invoicingElectronic invoicing - widely referred to as e-invoicing - is the exchange of a digital document between a supplier and a buyer. E-invoices are issued, transmitted and received in a structured data format that enabled automatic and electronic processing. They contain data in a machine-readable format so that an AP system can read an invoice without manual data entry, leading to faster and more efficient invoicing. mandates spreading across Europe and the rest of the world, companies face a critical question: who should take the wheel on this complex journey?

The answer? Indirect tax teams.

While IT and finance functions naturally have a role in implementing e-invoicing, indirect tax professionals are uniquely positioned to lead. They understand the nuances of VAT, local regulations and how tax compliance is embedded into every invoice a business sends or receives.

That knowledge is vital as tax authorities begin scrutinising invoice data more closely and more frequently.

E-invoicing is about more than technology

Many companies view e-invoicing as a purely technical challenge, something for IT to handle. But this mindset misses the bigger picture, the real complexity lies in getting the tax content right.

Which invoice fields are required in each country? How should tax codes be applied? What are the archiving rules and reporting timelines? These are tax questions, not just system configuration issues.

If they are misunderstood or overlooked, businesses risk falling out of compliance, facing penalties or triggering audits.

That’s why indirect tax teams should be at the centre of the e-invoicing conversation.

A more proactive approach

Indirect tax teams are often brought into large business or technology projects after the key decisions have been made, sometimes only when a tax issue surfaces close to go-live. By then, it’s often too late or expensive to make the right changes.

This is especially true with e-invoicing requirements, they can be highly specific and vary widely between countries.  If tax isn’t involved early, systems might be configured in ways that simply don’t meet local compliance needs.

By leading the effort, tax teams can move from being reactive (fixing errors after the fact) to proactive (shaping processes that prevent errors in the first place).

Final thoughts

E-invoicing rollouts touch multiple parts of the business, from finance to IT, but they are at their core compliance-driven. That makes indirect tax not just a stakeholder, but a leader in this space.

By bringing tax teams in early, businesses can ensure their e-invoicing solutions are not only technically sound but compliant and future-proof.