Addressing e-invoicing adoption challenges using API ecosystems

This paper explores the adoption of e-invoicing in the context of SMEs, focusing on the implementation of Platform as a Service (PaaS) models to ensure compliance, ongoing maintenance, and operational optimisation. It highlights the challenges SMEs face, such as the complexities of digital transformation, the cost of implementation, and the need for behavioural change to adopt trust and transparency. The study emphasises the variability in e-invoicing adoption across regions and businesses, influenced by regulatory approaches and the level of interoperability in the market. The analysis suggests the potential for creating a marketplace for exchanging and trading services using various APIs, supporting an e-invoicing ecosystem that integrates with other financial services such as accounting, logistics, and procurement. A modular API marketplace offers SMEs the flexibility to build, add, or remove features as they grow, enabling further innovation and value-added services while ensuring compatibility with both current and future systems and technologies.