Friday, August 7, 2009

Mexico e-Invoicing, Beyond the Basics

Posted by Kevin Benedict
I have been working on several implementations of Mexico e-Invoicing for large companies this week and wanted to share some beyond the basic information. Often when companies first consider supporting e-Invoicing in-house, especially in locations like Mexico where there are complex requirements, they don't realize how comprehensive the solution needs to be. Let me share some aspects of the solution that are not always obvious.

  1. Companies must generate a specific SAT report each month, showing all Folios (similar to invoices) and relevant details, in SAT's designated format, and manually upload it to a specific SAT portal.
  2. All Folio numbers are provided by the Mexican SAT. Someone must request a range of Folio numbers from SAT for the company to use. These Folio numbers must be assigned to every invoice generated in Mexico. How are you going to do that with your ERP?
  3. You need to get each Folio digitally signed by a certified service provider in Mexico. This validates the authenticity of the Folio. Which service provider will you use? How will you choose?
  4. Each digitally signed Folio must be archived on premise in Mexico. Where are you going to archive them? Which location, building, computer and software application will archive it?
  5. How are you going to manage Folio numbers? How do you know when you need to order more Folio numbers? You can use Folios with electronic invoices and paper. How will you keep track of this? How do you know where every Folio number is archived? How do you search on Folio numbers? What application will you use to manage it?
  6. How do you associate the Mexico SAT issued Folio numbers with your SAP or other ERP issued invoice numbers?
  7. How do you take the Folio number and associated Invoice numbers and update your ERP with this association? Does your ERP have a location where this association can be stored?
  8. How do you distribute the final invoice with the digitally signed Folio number and compliant format to your Mexico customers? Do you use pre-printed Mexico SAT issued Folio paper and mail it, EDI/XML or do you send a digitally signed PDF version as a link or attachment in an email?
  9. If you send an email with a link to a PDF version of the digitally signed Folio to avoid any email attachments issues, then you need a portal to store the PDFs and make them accessible to your customers. How do you develop and secure this system?
  10. If you want EDI or B2B integration using the Mexico SAT XML format how will you support it?
  11. You must archive the required SAT XML format with digital signature. How will you make it human readable ans searchable?
  12. The Mexico SAT Folio format does not include all the line item information that companies typically need on an invoice. How do you provide both the SAT compliant XML Folio and all of your invoice details to your customers? This is a key point that needs careful consideration.
  13. If using email - How do you ensure your customers actually received and opened the invoice/Folio? Your accounts payable department will want to know this soon.

These are just a few of the many different questions companies must ponder as they seek to support compliance with the Mexico SAT requirements. There is definitely complexity, resources and systems involved, unless you choose to work with a global e-Invoicing service provider.

Many global companies must figure out how to support e-Invoicing globally. Each country seems to have their own unique requirements. If you would like to brainstorm or ask questions please contact me.

For more information on e-Invoicing read these articles:


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