Email Invoicing

Email is the first fallback route that our automated routing tries when it cannot find a way to send the invoice as an e-invoice. Routing order is the following 1. as an e-invoice 2. as an email 3. through the print service. Email route can also be forced if the desired way to reach the receiver is email.

Email sending is by default enabled on all company accounts. If needed it can be disabled from company settings or then invoice by invoice in sending. More about the disabling here.

Automated routing for emails

Email route is used when sending as an e-invoice is not possible. To be able to route invoice as an email the receiver’s email address needs to be present in the XML.

Forced email route

It is possible to force the invoice to be sent as an email by using invoice_put_invoice_with_metadata or POST /v1/invoices methods for sending. In the metadata other routes are being set as disabled to force email route. Also the receiver’s email address can be given in the metadata. Email address given in the metadata will be used instead the one in the XML.

Forcing to email route is also possible with certain XML formats:

S-EDI: If OutputMedia is set as “PDF” only e-mail route is enabled

Sending settings

There are 4 choices from which the sender can choose how they want their e-mail invoices to be send out. These e-mail settings can be changed via the UI or using configure_company or PATCH /v1/company/settings API methods.

• Send all invoice e-mails with a link to download PDF:

Selecting this option means that the invoice e-mail will contain a link to download the invoice from Maventa service. There is also a passcode on the email that the receiver needs to give behind the link to access the invoice. When the receiver clicks the link and open the invoice, the sender receives a notification e-mail.

• Send all invoice e-mails with attachments:

Selecting this option means that all invoice e-mails will contain the PDF image and any other invoice attachments. If the total size of the attachments is larger than 5 megabytes the recipient will be instructed to download using a link provided in the email.
In Finland, virtual barcode is also added into the email body when sending invoice with image attached.

• Send all invoice e-mails with merged PDF attachments:

Selecting this option means that all invoice e-mails will contain the PDF image and any other invoice attachments. All the PDF attachments and invoice image will be merged into one file. This can be helpful when sending to scanning services. If the total size of the attachments is larger than 5 megabytes the recipient will be instructed to download using a link provided in the email.

In Finland, virtual barcode is also added into the email body when sending invoice with image attached.

• Send all invoice e-mails with invoice objections:

By selecting invoice objections, the receiver must accept the invoice before being able to view any payment information. Receiver can also choose to decline the invoice, with the option to notify sender the reason for the decline. When any changes occur to the invoice, for example, the receiver accepts the invoice, the sender receives a notification e-mail and the status in Maventa is updated accordingly.

Invoice XML as attachment to email invoice

You can attach an invoice XML file to email invoices. This enables the receiving party to obtain structured XML data instead of a PDF, making it easier to import the invoice directly into their invoicing systems. This feature was initially requested by the Netherlands, where Peppol does not support departmental divisions due to the lack of separate Peppol IDs. By attaching the XML to the email, departments can still receive structured invoice data and manually import it into their systems. Although developed for Dutch use case, this functionality is available for all countries without any restrictions.

To enable XML attachment for email invoice, use the email_settings[xml_format] parameter in the POST /v1/invoices request and specify the desired XML format (see list of available formats in the Swagger documentation).

PDF handling and size limitation

• If an XML file is attached to the email, a separate PDF will not be attached.
• Exception: if the selected XML format supports embedding a PDF (e.g., UBL based format), the PDF image will be included inside the XML file.
• If the sender’s email sending setting allows invoice download via a link, the PDF will still be available from the link, even if it is not attached to the email.
• The maximum allowed email size is 5 MB. If the total email size exceeds this limit, the invoice sending will fail

The cost of this feature is the same as for sending an e-invoice in the respective country.

Header image to customize email

Invoice email body can be customized by adding a header image that will be visualized on top of the email. Adding a header image to customize the email provides a great opportunity to enhance recognition and ensure that recipients can easily identify the sender.

Header image can be added via API using the endpoint PATCH /v1/company/settings by updating the company settings with the chosen image, or via the UI from invoice settings.

Once the email header image is added, the next time an invoice is sent via email, the email will feature the uploaded image. It is important to note that the header image only affects the invoice email. Other types of emails, such as notifications, will not include the header image.

Payment links

There is a possibility to add customer’s own payment link to be visible on the email invoice display service. This will enable the recipient to access the payment service by simply clicking the provided payment link within the email invoice display. To ensure security, we require prior approval of the link’s domain, and we always validate the link before displaying it.

Link can be given in an AdditionalDocumentReference element in UBL based formats (PeppolBIS 3.0, SiUBL 2.0) by defining the ID as “68” and DocumentDescription as “Payment link”. Link itself is given in the URI field.

<cac:AdditionalDocumentReference>
    <cbc:ID>68</cbc:ID>
    <cbc:DocumentDescription>Payment Link</cbc:DocumentDescription>
    <cac:Attachment>
      <cac:ExternalReference>
        <cbc:URI><http://pay.your.com/p/xxxxxxxxxxxxx></cbc:URI>
      </cac:ExternalReference>
    </cac:Attachment>
</cac:AdditionalDocumentReference>

Message to the email receiver

Sender can define a message and contact details that are shown in the email body. These details can be added either through API or via our UI. When using API use either configure_company method with giving the information in the parameters message_from_sender, contact_person, contact_email and contact_phone, or PATCH /v1/company/settings.

Language of the email

Email language depends on the input format (XML) and how language is set there. We currently support the following languages: Finnish (FI), English (EN), Swedish (SE), Norwegian (NO), Danish (DK) and Dutch (NL). Not all are according to the ISO 639-1 codes but we hope to get support soon for at least SV, NN, NB and DA soon.

Click the XML your product is sending from the list below to see how the language of the email invoice is defined:

Email reminders

Sender can specify how often a reminder email is sent if the invoice has not been accepted, declined or the link has not been opened by the receiver. This does not apply if the invoices are sent as attachments.

configure_company email_remind_freq or PATCH /v1/company/settings “reminder_frequency”.

Sender email address

All invoice emails are sent from the address noreply@mail.maventa.com. This sending address is fixed and cannot be changed. However, you can define your own reply-to address to be shown in the email’s “reply-to” field, allowing recipients to see your preferred contact instead.

Reply-to

If you have defined a contact email that is used as the reply-to address for email invoices. If not defined the fallback is the user’s email address (either API user’s email or an email address from the XML if defined). If that does not exists, fallback is the company email address.

Error handling

If the email bounces due to for example a non existing email account the invoice will go into error state. The sender will be notified by email as long as the email notifications are not disabled. Error is also returned through API when asking after status of the sent invoice.

Disable email sending

Email sending is by default enabled on all company accounts. You can either disable the whole email sending possibility from company settings or then disable the email route per invoice in sending with the metadata parameters.