Glossary

E-Billing

is an expression used in the e-invoicing environment to refer to B2C billing such as for utilities and digital services. Some also use it simply as a synonym for e-invoicing, and others to generally denote outbound e-invoicing to customers as opposed to the accounts payable automation of inbound e-invoices

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E-Business

is the conduct of business of all kinds over the Internet and is often used as a synonym for e-Commerce. Some prefer to confine the term e-Business to B2B/B2G transactions.

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E-Catalogue

is an online presentation for displaying information about a product line or service offering. It can consist of pictures with captions, features, tables, audio explanations, videos and documents for download such as data sheets or printable brochures, together with facilities for generating and managing orders.

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E-Commerce

is the buying and selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the Internet. These business transactions occur either as business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer or consumer-to-business, although for many e-Commerce is more generally associated with consumers.

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e-IDAS

stands for EU Regulation 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the European internal market. It repeals Directive 1999/93/EC. In addition to the regulation of electronic identification services, e-IDAS also regulates various ‘trust services’ such as electronic signatures, time-stamps and Electronic Registered Delivery Services.

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E-Procurement

are activities carried out by a buying or contracting entity for the purchase of supplies, work, and services based on automated electronic processes through the Internet or other information and networking systems. The e-procurement value chain consists of notifications, e-information, e-tendering, e-auctioning, supplier management, catalogue management, contract management, purchase orders, delivery notes, e-invoicing, and e-payment.

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e-SENS

is the Electronic Simple European Networked Services, an EU project or Large Scale Pilot launched within the ICT Policy Support Programme, under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme. It facilitates cross-border digital public services in the area of health, procurement, justice and business across the EU using generic and re-usable building blocks and technical components.

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EANCOM

is a leading international standard for the computerized interchange of data and is based on UN/EDIFACT. It is designed for use within supply chains and in its structures the GS1 business standards are implemented.

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Early (or Prompt) Payment Discounts

a commercial arrangement between buyer and seller, where the early payment of invoices are funded from a buyer’s own stock of liquidity in return for a fixed or dynamic discount.

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EBA Clearing

A bank-owned provider of pan-European payment infrastructure solutions, established in June 1998 by 52 major European and international banks. Currently, EBA CLEARING counts 53 shareholder banks and has the mission to deliver market infrastructure solutions for the pan-European payments industry.

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ebXML

is a project to use the Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) to standardize the secure exchange of business data. The United Nations body for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business Information Standards (UN/CEFACT) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) launched the project as a joint initiative.

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EDI

is the transfer of data from one computer system to another by using standardized messages, without the need for human intervention. Originally the essence of EDI was based on point-to-point connections, although it has evolved as cloud applications have developed. EDI applications use various standards including those dedicated to individual sectors.

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EDIFACT

stands for Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport. It is accepted as the international EDI standard that has been adopted by organisations wishing to trade in a global context. It includes a standard set of syntax rules.

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EESPA

is the European E-invoicing Service Providers Association. In October 2023 EESPA changed its identity to GENA, Global Exchange Network Association

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EIN

is the GENA Interoperability Network.

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EIPP/EBPP

stands for Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment, or Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment. They are solutions that combine e-invoicing services and payment services. They are facilitated directly/indirectly by payment service providers and/or e-invoicing service providers, enabling the payer to flexibly receive and manage e-invoices/bills and to pay them with existing payment instruments (i.e. credit transfers, direct debits, card payments) or e-money transactions, without the need to manually copy/paste or type in data for initiating the payment: and enabling the payee to digitize the processing of its invoices/bills and to automatically send them to the payers.

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Electronic Address Identifier

Unique digital address used by a trading party for the routing of digital documents and messages.

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Electronic invoice (or E-invoice)

according to EU regulations, is an invoice, which has been issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format, allowing for automated electronic processing. Some market participants include unstructured e-invoices in the definition of Electronic invoice.

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Electronic invoicing (or E-invoicing)

is used as an umbrella term to describe any method by which an invoice is electronically created and presented to a customer for payment to be made following an automated process. E-invoicing includes a variety of different technologies and service options and includes structured e-invoices and (for some) unstructured e-invoices.

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Electronic Money Institution (EMI)

A term used in EU legislation to designate credit institutions which are governed by a simplified regulatory regime because their activity is limited to the issuance of electronic money and the provision of financial and non-financial services closely related to the issuance of electronic money.

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Electronic Registered Delivery Service (ERDS)

Electronic registered delivery service means a service that makes it possible to transmit data between third parties by electronic means and provides evidence relating to the handling of the transmitted data, including proof of sending and receiving the data, and that protects transmitted data against the risk of loss, theft, damage or any unauthorised alterations.

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Electronic Routing Address

The electronic routing address associated with an Electronic Address Identifier that defines the service provider/access point or platform that supports the routing and processing of digital documents and messages to and from a trading party.

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Electronic Signature

is a general expression for any type of electronically generated signature on a message or document transmitted electronically. They range from facsimile signatures to the more secure Digital Signature.

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EN-16931

is a European standard for a core invoice and is published in a number of parts:

1. Semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice (the European Norm).
2. List of syntaxes that comply with EN 16931.
3. Methodology for syntax bindings of the core elements of an electronic and syntax bindings to ISO/IEC 19845 (UBL 2.1) and to UN/CEFACT XML.
4. Guidelines on interoperability of electronic invoices at the transmission level.
5. Guidelines on the use of sector or country extensions in conjunction with EN 16931.

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EN-16931-EXT-EESPA

an extension for use within the GENA Interoperability Network (EIN), that is conformant with the Extension methodology specified in the EN-16931 documentation.

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Entity Identifier

Unique digital identifier of a trading party or business entity. This can be a Legal Entity Identifier or another convenient and recognisable identifier.

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ERP System

is business process management software that allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage the business and automate many back office functions such as procurement, production, technology, accounting and support services, and human resources.

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European Interoperability Framework 2.0

is a set of recommendations which specifies how administrations, businesses and citizens communicate with each other within the EU and across Member State borders. It specifies layers of interoperability such as political context, legal interoperability, semantic interoperability and technical interoperability, which have been used to inspire approaches to various interoperability schemes.

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European Model EDI Agreement

specifies the legal terms and conditions under which the parties conducting transactions by the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) operate. It was issued as a Commission Recommendation dated 19 October 1994 reference 94/820/EC. It is relevant to compliance with the EDI method for complying with the requirements of integrity and authenticity cited in Article 233 of Directive 2010/45/EC.

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European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on e-Invoicing

brings together delegates from national e-invoicing forums and other key stakeholders. Its objective is to help pave the way for a broad-scale adoption of e-invoicing at both national and EU-level. The Forum creates a unique opportunity to exchange experiences and best practices across borders. Furthermore, the Forum discusses issues of common interest, with the possibility to issue recommendations to the Commission. The Forum is chaired by the Commission, and meetings are held twice a year.

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European Norm

Semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice.

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Extension

EN-16931 envisages requirements for trading parties to extend the core invoice model and the related business rules and code lists, in order to support business use-cases that are specific to their trading environment (sector or country), while at the same time maintaining semantic interoperability with the core invoice model. An Extension is a specification of the required additional or modified information elements and in EN-16931 is the subject of an Extension Methodology.

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