“Local Authorities in Ireland - Promote uptake of eInvoicing” is the project launched in September 2018 to accelerate the adoption of eInvoicing services compliant with European eInvoicing standard (EN) by the Irish local authority sector.
The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and three Local Authorities (County Monaghan, Kildare, Fingal) will update their existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in order to process e-Invoices compliant with the European standard, received through an eInvoicing gateway.
In particular, LGMA will provide the integration software and the eInvoicing gateway. LGMA will use the Multi Supplier Framework Agreement for the provision of PEPPOL networking and eInvoicing Systems and Services to the Irish Public Sector to select a service provider.
The public bodies will further integrate their ERPs with the eInvoicing gateway (a PEPPOL Access Point) provided by the LGMA. This integration system will ensure that eInvoices are capable of being processed by the ERP systems.
The eInvoicing gateway will handle and validate EN compliant messages, while the integration system will handle and validate any local requirements as defined by a Core Invoice Usage Specifications (CIUS). The development of CIUS is foreseen to ensure that suppliers, when invoicing local authorities, are fully aware of the content required in an EN compliant eInvoice.
Capacity building activities will be undertaken to disseminate the results of the project both nationally and across the EU and to prepare the necessary guidance for the roll out of EN compliant eInvoicing to other local authorities in Ireland.
The Institute of Technology in Sligo (IT Sligo) is the project coordinator, while Tubbercurry Software and Celeris Group provide insight into the technical and compliance aspects, also supporting the capacity building activities.