Help and Documentation
Contact
If you need help with Billberry or using e-invoices in general, email hello@billberry.ee.
E-invoices and Operators
An e-invoice is a structured text file conforming to the Estonian e-invoice standard (an XML file with the ".xml" extension). It contains the same information as a regular invoice but in a machine-readable format, ensuring different accounting programs and systems interpret them consistently.
Contrary to common belief, you can send e-invoices without using operators. For example, via email. After all, an e-invoice is simply a data file in a structured format. The use of operators is necessary when the other party requires it (as Estonian government agencies do) or has tied their accounting software to an operator. For instance, their accounting software may not be able to import invoices from sources other than their operator. Using operators also reduces the risk of receiving forged invoices (because operators hopefully verify the identity of invoice senders), but the same level of security can be achieved by digitally signing invoices with an ID card.
As of October 2023, there are 5 e-invoice operators in Estonia (including Billberry). Other companies and accounting programs use these five to transmit their clients' invoices.
The Estonian government made e-invoices mandatory for the public sector on July 1, 2019. This means that all companies providing services to the public sector must submit e-invoices to the government. However, the government has not provided businesses with the option to send them free e-invoices in the past four years. There are two other operators that allow sending free invoices to the government, but neither allows uploading of existing e-invoices; both require manual retyping into the operator's system to generate a new e-invoice. Billberry is the only operator permitting businesses to transmit e-invoices for free.
Sending E-invoices to Banks
Apart from the operator network, e-invoices can also be sent directly to clients' banks, enabling one-click payment and automatic recurring payments.
For Developers
Want to add support for sending e-invoices to your application or web service? Are you developing accounting software and want to offer convenient e-invoicing to your clients through the Billberry partner interface?