E-invoicing & Reporting · 02
Real-time reporting & clearance
Why "we'll fix it at month-end" is quietly becoming impossible.
The one idea
Authorities are shifting from periodic returns (summarise and report later) to Continuous Transaction Controls — seeing each invoice at, or before, the moment it's issued. The window to correct mistakes is disappearing.
Three models, in order of strictness
Post-audit
The old world: issue invoices freely, the authority audits later. Plenty of time to fix.
Real-time reporting
Invoice data is sent to the authority at or just after issue — reported, but not pre-approved.
Clearance
The invoice must be sent to the authority and approved before it's valid — often before the buyer even receives it.
Why it changes everything
In a clearance model — like Italy's SdI — there is no post-processing. The invoice has to be correct before it enters the system, or it's rejected. There's no month-end reconciliation to lean on. That's why the tax has to be right at the point of creation — see Determination at source in Tax & Compliance.