Practical chain

How does a received e-invoice move from a business to its external accountant?

Short answer

The workflow has three stages. First, the supplier sends e-invoice through its delivery-service provider to the customer’s registered inbox. Second, the customer either exports the original XML and a readable rendering for the accountant or grants the accountant controlled access to the provider application. Third, the accountant imports the structured document into the accounting system and completes the normal accounting review and posting process.

1. Acceptance

Through the postman businessman

The supplier will send the e-invoice directly to his mailbox.

2. Forwarding

Download and mail, or direct access

The entrepreneur hands over the document to the accountant in one of the following ways.

3. Import

To the accounting system

The accountant processes the document with structured data.

VAT payers

They need more than an educational app

For issuing a larger volume of invoices, you need a production solution, not a demo tool.

Detailed explanation

The key difference from current practice is that, instead of a paper document or a PDF attachment sent by email, this involves a structured XML document which accounting software can process automatically (filling in amounts, VAT rates and the supplier) without the need for manual transcription. The practical question of why VAT payers who are also obliged to issue e-invoices will not be able to make do with simple educational applications designed primarily to demonstrate the principle of e-invoicing to the smallest businesses should be understood as follows: such simple tools are designed for educational or introductory purposes, not as a fully-fledged production solution for the routine issuing of large volumes of invoices. A VAT payer obliged to issue e-invoices therefore usually needs either full-featured invoicing or ERP software with its own digital post office function, or at least a production-grade (not merely educational) application from a certified provider designed for issuing, not just receiving, e-invoices.

As set out in the Act

The taxpayer’s obligation (Sections 4, 4b and 4c) to issue and send e-invoices via a certified delivery service arises from Section 85o of Act No. 222/2004 Coll. on VAT, as amended by Act No. 385/2025 Coll. The manner in which a business owner and their accountant exchange received documents for further processing is not covered by these regulations — the only important thing is that the receipt and sending of the e-invoice itself take place via a certified delivery service.

Practical examples

An entrepreneur receives an e-invoice from a supplier, downloads both the XML file and a PDF preview from the postal service’s application, and sends these to their accountant by email.
Another business owner may prefer to grant their accountant direct access to their application, from which she can download the documents herself.
A VAT payer with a higher volume of invoices will opt for full-featured invoicing software with its own mail service function rather than a simple educational app.

Most common mistakes

“The forwarding of e-invoices between the business owner and the accountant must take place exclusively via a certified delivery service.” This internal transfer of documents is a matter for the parties involved; the certified service applies only to the transfer between the supplier and the customer.
“Simple educational applications for creating e-invoices are sufficient even for VAT payers with a higher volume of invoices issued.” Such tools are designed as demonstrations, not as fully-fledged production solutions for day-to-day operations.
“The accountant must always have direct access to the client’s email application.” It works just as well if the business owner regularly forwards the documents to her themselves.

Conclusion

The receive–transfer–import chain resembles the existing document workflow but preserves structured data; a VAT payer within the mandatory regime needs an operational receiving and accounting solution, not merely an educational viewer.

Legal basis

Act No. 222/2004 Coll. on VAT, Section 85o (as amended by Act No. 385/2025 Coll.)