The Revenue Agency launches a new service to download your electronic invoices from the web. Beware, however, of the timing of adherence
Since January 1, 2019, the electronic invoice has replaced the paper one not only for transactions between companies and public administration, but also in those with other companies and with individuals. This means that if we were to call a plumber or an electrician, we would no longer receive the "usual" piece of paper, but we will be asked to provide a telematic address to which we will receive an electronic invoice of the service.
What to do if we were unable to provide a valid address or we no longer find one of the electronic invoices? Simple: just sign up to the service of consulting electronic invoices online and download the tax documents that interest us. It will only take a few moments to access all the e-invoices received from January 1st onwards and download the relevant XML file on your PC.
A very convenient procedure, but which does not completely protect you from any "losses". If you do not join the service by the deadline set by the Revenue Agency, which has been extended to December 31, 2021, all electronic invoices received in previous months would be permanently deleted. To prevent this from happening, it is always advisable to activate a certified email address (in the case of a private individual) or activate a subscription to a complete and easy-to-use administrative-accounting management platform (in the case of a professional or company).
What is the online electronic invoice consultation
The online consultation of electronic invoices is a service managed by the Revenue Agency and active since July 1, 2019. As the name also says, this feature allows you to access electronic invoices in the databases of Ade. Companies that adhere to the service, even through an intermediary, can view and download both issued and received invoices; private individuals, who can only adhere in a personal form, will only view received invoices.
How does the online electronic invoice consultation work
The service is accessible from the portal Invoices and correspondences and, in order to use it, it is necessary to subscribe within your personal area. Due to various impediments, most recently the COVID-19 pandemic that has severely affected our country, the deadline for signing up has been postponed to 31 December 2021.
Once the functionality has been activated, all you have to do is log in to your personal area and access the list of e-invoices: once you have found the one you are interested in, click on the download button and wait for the procedure to be completed.
Electronic invoice consultation: the alternatives
As mentioned above, this service, although useful, does not completely protect you from the "loss" of electronic invoices. In fact, if you do not join the consultation by December 31, 2021, all previously issued tax documents will no longer be able to be consulted and, as required by the directive of the Privacy Guarantor, will be deleted at the end of the year.
In the case of individuals, the best way to receive electronic invoices remains the Certified Electronic Mail. Activating a mailbox with services such as Libero Family PEC you can receive as many e-invoices as you want and store them indefinitely. In addition to being an economic method (Libero Family PEC costs less than 10 euros per year), the PEC can be used for various purposes: communicate with the public administration, use it instead of the registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt to cancel contracts and subscriptions to services and much more.
For professionals and companies, however, the ideal is to join administrative management platforms such as Libero SiFattura. Intuitive and easy to use, this service allows you to send and receive as many electronic invoices as you want. And that's not all: thanks to the advanced tools it offers, Libero SiFattura allows you to keep under control not only the tax flow, but also the accounting flow: from the dashboard you'll have an overview of the invoices that have been issued and paid and those that have yet to be paid and thus have an idea of how much remains to be collected. With Libero SiFattura, then, you can choose the package that best suits your needs, thus avoiding paying for tools that you will never use.
The Basic plan is free and offers the tools you need to receive electronic invoices; the Lite plan costs €29 + VAT and allows micro and small businesses to automate their invoicing workflow; the Pro plan costs €49 + VAT and offers multi-user access, sharing of the environment with your accountant, creation of the first note for your accountant, scheduler, statement of account, cash flow and much more.