22.05.2025
Sending PDF invoices by e-mail without encryption is common in business day-to-day life. But this seemingly simple solution is risky: potential problems range from delivery to the wrong recipient through to legal troubles. Companies wanting to send their invoices more efficiently and securely have future-proof alternatives available with eBill and B2B e-invoicing.
Do you want to stop sending your PDF invoices by e-mail? PostFinance assists you in introducing eBill and B2B e-invoicing every step of the way.
Professional accounting begins with the right type of invoicing – it provides the foundation for efficient and seamless processes. For many companies, sending invoices as a PDF attachment by e-mail remains the simplest invoicing solution – at least at first glance. Unlike traditional paper invoicing, invoices don’t need to be printed or placed into envelopes, and postage doesn’t have to be paid, saving a lot of manual effort. PDF invoices can also be created and sent quickly and easily. In the digital age, however, invoicing is continuing to develop and offers great potential. Our overview shows four selected invoice types and how they differ with regard to processing and level of digitization.
| Criteria | Paper invoice | PDF invoice sent by e-mail | Highly digitized invoice | Digitally structured invoice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criteria Format |
Paper invoice Printed document on paper |
PDF invoice sent by e-mail PDF (not structured) |
Highly digitized invoice Structured data formats (input) and eBill including PDF (output) |
Digitally structured invoice Structured data formats |
| Criteria Data digitization level |
Paper invoice Not available |
PDF invoice sent by e-mail Low (optically readable) |
Highly digitized invoice High |
Digitally structured invoice Very high (fully structured) |
| Criteria Mailing channel |
Paper invoice Physical delivery by post |
PDF invoice sent by e-mail E-mail or customer portals |
Highly digitized invoice Electronically via interface in business software or platforms such as PostFinance’s eInvoicing portal |
Digitally structured invoice Electronically via interface in business software or platforms such as PostFinance’s eInvoicing portal |
| Criteria Delivery channel |
Paper invoice Private letter box |
PDF invoice sent by e-mail E-mail inbox |
Highly digitized invoice eBill portal in e-banking (eBill with PDF) |
Digitally structured invoice Business software or a platform such as PostFinance’s eInvoicing portal |
| Criteria Process automation |
Paper invoice None |
PDF invoice sent by e-mail Partial automation via intermediate steps possible |
Highly digitized invoice Partial automation via intermediate steps possible |
Digitally structured invoice Full automation from ERP to ERP |
| Criteria Archiving |
Paper invoice Physical storage or electronic storage with prior scanning |
PDF invoice sent by e-mail Electronically in PDF format |
Highly digitized invoice Electronically through download of PDF file |
Digitally structured invoice Electronically in structured data formats |
But let’s take a closer look at the widespread PDF invoices, which are basically digital copies of paper invoices represented in image form. This means that even though PDF invoices are electronic documents, they cannot be read easily by software programmes, because the PDF format wasn’t designed to do this. This results in media disruptions and the need to input invoices into the invoicing system manually or via intermediate steps.
Another challenge of PDF invoices is the mailing channel: it’s risky to both send and receive PDF invoices unsecured and unencrypted by e-mail.
The risks of sending PDF invoices by e-mail can be reduced by sending PDF invoices via secured channels or customer portals, protecting files against editing, digitally signing invoices and getting customers to confirm when they have received the invoice. In addition, the recipient should also be vigilant against fraud.
Even more advantageous are highly digitized invoices or digitally structured invoices like those offered by PostFinance with eBill or B2B e-invoicing. Both solutions optimize the whole process from mailing to processing in the following ways:
eBill and B2B e-invoicing eliminate the risks of sending e-mails by sending invoices directly and securely to e-banking or in the ERP. As a result, sending invoices to the wrong recipient or attempts at fraud are rendered more or less impossible.
B2B e-invoicing also allows fully automated invoice processing in the B2B area. Manual processing of invoice data is no longer necessary – both for sending and receiving invoices. This reduces the susceptibility to error in the invoicing processes and increases turnaround time. Thanks to the digitally structured format (e.g. XML), B2B e-invoicing also enables maximum quality and completeness of the payment information. For example, if batch numbers must be shown in the invoice, this will be transferred directly from ERP to ERP via the corresponding fields.
Structured invoices meet legal requirements on traceability and audit compliance . For example, they ensure the authenticity, immutableness, completeness, availability and understandability of the archived invoicing information throughout the ten-year retention period (prescribed periods and special cases reserved).
With eBill and B2B e-invoicing, you receive comprehensive support when switching your customers to digital invoices. As an invoice issuer, you can raise queries to check which private individuals or small companies want to receive eBill invoices (Look-up function) or which business partners use B2B e-invoicing (The link will open in a new window eDirectory). This makes a comparison easy.
It’s true that switching to highly digitized invoicing involves a lot of initial effort: in order to use eBill or B2B e-invoicing, interfaces must be set up, processes adapted and employees given the proper training. But the effort does pay off, because companies benefit from the future-proof invoice formats when both sending and receiving invoices. PostFinance offers all companies that still send paper invoices an ideal solution: with Paper Bill, the printing and mailing of invoices can be outsourced and maximally automated – all with the same interface used for the electronic invoicing formats eBill and B2B e-invoicing.
In our whitepaper, find out which processes are suitable for invoice issuing in the B2C and B2B areas, and how you can save time and money in the long term by switching to digitally structured formats.
Sending PDF invoices by unencrypted e-mail is a normal part of daily business life. But this can carry risks such as fraud or accidentally sending invoices to the wrong recipient. The future belongs to highly digitized invoices, such as those using XML formats: they represent a major step forward as they allow complete automation and integration with accounting systems. This improves security and efficiency, both for invoice issuers and recipients.
