Common Scenarios for eInvoicing

eInvoicing is becoming a standard requirement for organizations operating across regulated markets worldwide. This page explains what eInvoicing is, why it matters, and outlines the most common scenarios for generating compliant eInvoices using Experlogix Smart Flows.

What is eInvoicing and why is it relevant?

Electronic invoicing (“eInvoicing”) refers to the creation, transmission, and reception of invoices in structured, machine‑readable data formats rather than just as visual PDFs. In recent years, eInvoicing initiatives and even regulations have rapidly gained momentum worldwide.

European Union: Under Directive 2014/55/EU, B2G eInvoicing is mandatory across member states, with many countries extending requirements to B2B transactions (e.g. Italy, France, Poland, Belgium).

India: Implemented eInvoice requirements for GST compliance for businesses above certain turnover thresholds.

Mexico: Enforces CFDI (Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet) as a mandatory electronic invoicing standard.

Brazil: Requires electronic fiscal documents (NF-e) for most transactions.

Singapore & Australia: Promoting PEPPOL-based eInvoicing networks for cross-border interoperability.

Check eInvoicing Features - License and Release Dates to verify if your Experlogix Smart Flows version and license supports all features mentioned in this tutorial.

Common eInvoicing Flows

What follows describes three common patterns for generating compliant eInvoices with Experlogix Smart Flows. Each flow results in an eInvoice-compliant file (such as PEPPOL BIS 3.0 or ZUGFeRD) that can be delivered according to the requirements of the receiving party.

The three flows differ in where they start and how structured eInvoice data and traditional invoice documents are combined:

Record-driven flow – starts from an ERP record and retrieves eInvoice-compliant UBL data from the ERP system.

Data-driven flow – starts from already-available eInvoice-compliant XML data produced by an external system.

Mixed flow – starts from structured XML data and additionally retrieves ERP or CRM data to generate a traditional invoice document.

Together, these flows cover the most common enterprise eInvoicing scenarios and allow organizations to flexibly align with regulatory, technical, and business requirements.

Flow 1: Record-driven eInvoice generation (ERP → UBL → eInvoice)

Use this approach when your invoicing process starts from an ERP record, such as a posted sales invoice in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

This is the most common scenario for organizations that want to continue generating their traditional invoices (typically PDFs) while also complying with eInvoicing mandates.

Prerequisites

Before building the Smart Flow, the following setup is required:

ERP configuration

Your ERP system must be configured to expose invoice data in an eInvoice-compliant UBL XML format. This typically involves enabling and configuring the standard eInvoicing or UBL capabilities provided by the ERP. See Configure connected systems of record for eInvoicing for more information.

UBL connector configuration in Smart Flows

A UBL connector must be configured in Smart Flows to connect securely to your ERP system. This connector is responsible for retrieving the structured UBL invoice data at runtime. See Configure a UBL Connector in Smart Flows for more information.

Flow description

Trigger the flow from an ERP record - The Smart Flow is triggered based on an ERP record, for example:

A posted sales invoice
A batch of invoices
A manual or scheduled trigger linked to invoice records

Retrieve UBL data - Use the Retrieve UBL data flow block to fetch invoice data from the ERP system. This block retrieves the invoice in a standardized, eInvoice-compliant XML format (such as UBL aligned with PEPPOL BIS 3.0).
Generate or reference the traditional invoice document - In parallel or earlier in the flow, a traditional invoice document is typically generated (most often a PDF created from a document template).
Convert to eInvoice - Use the Convert to eInvoice flow block to combine the structured UBL data with the traditional invoice document. Depending on the required eInvoice standard:

PEPPOL eInvoices - The human-readable document (PDF) is injected as a binary stream into the eInvoice XML.
ZUGFeRD eInvoices - The structured XML data is attached to the PDF, resulting in a hybrid PDF that is both human-readable and machine-readable.

Deliver the eInvoice - The resulting eInvoice-compliant file can be delivered using the method required by the receiving party, such as:

Email
File drop (SFTP, shared folder, archive)
API or integration endpoint

Outcome

This flow produces a fully compliant eInvoice while preserving your existing document generation process. It is ideal for organizations transitioning from traditional PDF invoicing to regulated eInvoicing.

Flow 2: Data-driven eInvoice generation (Existing XML → eInvoice file)

Use this approach when you already have a system or service that outputs eInvoice-compliant XML data. In this case, there is no need to start from an ERP record or retrieve data via a UBL connector.

Typical examples include:

External billing systems
Middleware or integration platforms
Custom applications that already generate compliant UBL XML

Prerequisites

The incoming data must already be compliant with the required eInvoice standard (for example, UBL XML aligned with PEPPOL BIS 3.0).
No ERP-specific configuration or UBL connector is required for this flow.

Flow description

Trigger the flow from data - The Smart Flow is triggered by incoming data rather than an ERP record. This could be:

An API call
A file drop
A message or data stream containing eInvoice-compliant XML

Convert data to document - Use the Convert data to document flow block to transform the incoming structured XML data into an eInvoice file. This block takes the compliant XML data and produces a properly structured eInvoice output without requiring additional data retrieval.
Optional: apply additional processing - Depending on requirements, you can add optional steps such as:

Validation
Naming or metadata enrichment
Storage or archiving

Deliver the eInvoice - As with the record-driven flow, the resulting eInvoice file can be delivered using the channel required by the recipient.

Outcome

This flow produces an eInvoice-compliant file directly from structured data, making it ideal for integration-heavy environments or scenarios where invoice data is generated outside the ERP.

Flow 3: Mixed eInvoice generation (Existing XML + ERP/CRM record)

Use this approach when you already have eInvoice-compliant XML data available, but still want to generate a classic, human-readable invoice (typically a PDF) based on data from an ERP or CRM system.

This scenario is common when:

XML data is generated by an external platform, middleware, or regulatory service
The ERP or CRM remains the system of record for invoice layout, branding, and customer-facing documents

Flow description

Trigger the flow from another program – The flow starts from an external trigger with incoming eInvoice‑compliant XML data, such as a UBL XML payload provided via API or message stream.
Convert XML data to file – Use the Convert data to document flow block to turn the incoming XML data into a structured eInvoice file that can be reused later in the flow.
Retrieve ERP or CRM data using a record identifier – The XML data contains a record identifier (for example, invoice number or external reference). This identifier is used to fetch additional data from an ERP or CRM system, allowing Smart Flows to retrieve the relevant record and generate a classic invoice document.
Generate the traditional invoice document – Using the retrieved ERP or CRM data, Smart Flows generates a traditional invoice document, most often as a PDF based on an existing document template.
Convert to eInvoice – Use the Convert to eInvoice flow block to merge the traditional invoice document with the structured XML data.

PEPPOL eInvoices - The human-readable invoice (PDF) is injected as a binary stream into the eInvoice XML.
ZUGFeRD eInvoices - The eInvoice XML is attached to the PDF, resulting in a hybrid document that combines human-readable and machine-readable content.

Deliver the eInvoice - The final eInvoice-compliant file can be delivered using the method required by the receiving party, such as email, file transfer, API integration, or an eInvoicing network.

Outcome

This mixed flow combines the strengths of both data-driven and record-driven approaches, enabling organizations to reuse existing XML data sources while maintaining full control over the generation of customer-facing invoice documents.

Conditional eInvoicing - one flow for multiple trading-partner requirements

Managing different trading-partner invoicing requirements does not require separate flows or complex customizations. With Experlogix Smart Flows, you can build one configurable flow that dynamically adapts to each partner’s eInvoicing needs using simple, data-driven conditions.

The reality of global invoicing requirements

In practice, most organizations do not deal with a single invoicing standard. Customers and trading partners may have very different requirements depending on country, regulation, and system maturity:

A customer in Germany may require a ZUGFeRD invoice (PDF with embedded XML).
A customer in Belgium may require a PEPPOL BIS 3.0 invoice.
Another customer may have no eInvoicing capability at all and only accept a classic PDF invoice.

This brings up a common question: Is it possible to create a single flow that manages all these scenarios without duplicating logic or relying on custom code? The answer is yes.

With Experlogix Smart Flows, you can build a single flow with conditional branching that dynamically adapts its behavior based on the invoicing requirements of each trading partner without writing any code. The key is to store invoicing preferences directly in your ERP or CRM system and use those values to drive decisions in the flow.

Capturing trading-partner invoicing preferences in your ERP or CRM

A simple approach is often sufficient. For example, on the customer or vendor record in your ERP or CRM system, define a field such as Invoicing method with a small set of options:

Classic – no eInvoicing; generate and deliver a traditional PDF invoice
PEPPOL – generate a PEPPOL-compliant eInvoice (XML with embedded human-readable document)
ZUGFeRD – generate a ZUGFeRD-compliant hybrid PDF

This field can be implemented as a simple dropdown and maintained by business users. It isn’t hard to imagine additional preference capturing fields for delivery methods like email, hot folder drop or print, or for storage and archiving.

Using conditional logic in Smart Flows

When building your invoice flows in Flow Bilder you can use captured preferences to drive conditional branches in the flow definition using Condition flow blocks. When the flow runs, Smart Flows reads the invoicing preference from the ERP or CRM record and uses the values to follow the corresponding branch, for example:

If Invoicing method = Classic → generate and deliver a PDF invoice only
If Invoicing method = PEPPOL → retrieve or reuse UBL data and use Convert to eInvoice to inject the PDF into the eInvoice XML
If Invoicing method = ZUGFeRD → attach the XML to the PDF using Convert to eInvoice

Similarly conditions downstream can drive delivery and storage based on captured preferences.

Using Experlogix Smart Flows, your organization can respond to this reality without disrupting existing invoicing processes or introducing complex custom development.

By supporting record-driven, data-driven, mixed, and conditionally branched flows, Smart Flows enables you to generate the right invoice format for every trading partner, from classic PDFs to PEPPOL and ZUGFeRD eInvoices, all within a single, configurable automation framework. This allows your business to stay compliant, flexible, and future-proof as eInvoicing requirements continue to evolve worldwide.

Configure connected systems of record for eInvoicing

This section explains how to configure systems of record connected with Experlogix Smart Flows to output eInvoice-compliant XML data, a prerequisite for record-driven eInvoicing flows. Instead of duplicating the connected system's documentation, we refer you to vendor resources to ensure you access their latest updates on this topic.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations

Vendor Documentation

Non-vendor Documentation

Step-by-step instructions to set up electronic reporting in Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O (Dynfotech)

Configure a UBL Connector in Smart Flows

The UBL Connector supports creation and processing of standardized Universal Business Language data sets, enabling Smart Flows to process invoice/credit‑note data or other UBL-schema compliant data from connected systems that can export UBL (e.g. PEPPOL BIS 3.0) formats.

UBL Connector Setup

Create a UBL Connector via the Control Panel of your Experlogix Smart Flows project.

Project Console > Control Panel > Connectors > Create
Create a new connector of type UBL, select the version of UBL your connector should support.

To have access to this functionality, the UBL plugin must be activated in your license. Reach out to our support team if you don’t see the UBL connector type listed in the Connector create modal.

UBL Data Set Creation

Once the connector is in place, you can create data sets of type UBL. These data sets have a preset schema, but they can be reduced (less fields and/or relationships). In a typical eInvoicing scenario you would create and manage invoice and credit note data sets of type UBL.

Project Console > Data Sets > Create, to create a UBL data set of type invoice or credit note
Reduce the data set to match your use case in Data Set Builder. Remove and re-add fields and relationships as you see fit.

The idea behind UBL is to define an open, standardized XML format to enable automated exchange of business documents like invoices and purchase orders between systems. While you can reduce a UBL data set by omitting fields and relationships, you cannot add new fields or relationships without breaking compliance.

eInvoicing Features - License and Release Dates

Feature	Version	Release Date	Licensing
Convert data to file flow block	4.25+	September 2025	Included in all licenses
Convert to eInvoice flow block supporting ZUGFeRD	4.25+	September 2025	Included in all licenses
Convert to eInvoice flow block supporting PEPPOL	4.27+	Expected February 2026	Included in all licenses
UBL connector, UBL data sets	4.27+	Expected February 2026	Requires UBL Plugin license
Retrieve UBL Data flow block for Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O	4.27+	Expected February 2026	Requires UBL Plugin licenseMicrosoft Dynamics 365 F&O Plugin license
Retrieve UBL Data flow block for Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC	4.28+	To be announced	Requires UBL Plugin licenseMicrosoft Dynamics 365 BC Plugin license
Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O connector, Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O data sets	4.14+	July 2022	Requires Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O Plugin license
Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC connector, Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC data sets	4.25+	September 2025	Requires Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC Plugin license