E-Invoice & Oracle Cloud ERP: What You Need to Know.
Solving Localization Hurdles in Latin American and European ERP projects.
Introduction
Compliance and finance professionals are not the only ones that must deal with fast-paced changes in regulations. CIOs must support those requirements with technology, automating fiscal integrations and tax calculation at headquarters and subsidiaries around the world.
This article explains how top performers solve electronic invoice (e-invoicing) requirements with Oracle Cloud ERP, and what ITCROSS recommends as best practices.
Market Overview 2025
The technical and legal requirements for e-invoicing vary from country to country. This means that despite its common name, the e-invoicing requirements are different across global locations. This presents a complex challenge for a CIO of a global company attempting to develop a single, easy-to-maintain solution.
Is it possible to standardize an e-invoicing solution that can be applied globally? Could we build or buy a single integration to connect the ERP system with the tax authorities in every country where the business operates? And do CIOs need to handle this alone, or is it a shared responsibility with Finance?
To answer this, we must review e-invoicing laws worldwide and understand the main features of these regulations.
Latin America.
E-invoicing in Latin America began in Chile in 2003. Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and many others adopted it in subsequent years. Each country took a unique approach, with the primary focus on improving control over tax revenue, rather than establishing a unified standard for simplifying cross-border transactions.
As a result, invoice file structures, formats, data processing, and communication with tax authorities can vary significantly from one country to another.
Today, e-invoicing is a mandatory requirement in nearly all Latin American countries.
Europe.
The topic has gained significant attention in recent years, but the e-invoicing requirement has been on the European agenda since 2005. Denmark was the pioneer, followed by other Nordic countries. Later, in 2014, Austria and Italy also introduced mandatory e-invoicing.
The adoption in Europe has been slower compared to Latin America, with B2B businesses initially unaffected. However, the implementation timeline for the coming years is now becoming a reality.
Based on experience and market research, CIOs and CFOs share the responsibility for finding technological solutions. They must work closely to design the best strategies for their companies.
See CFOs 2025 trends and priorities according to Gartner below:
These trends highlight the need to leverage technology and collaborate closely with the CIO.
From a Finance perspective, the focus is on growth, efficiency, and achieving a better ROI, with process automation being the key to success.
Common situations the global CIO faces when analyzing an e-invoice solution. Best practices recommended.
Common Situation #1: Struggling to understand e-invoice requirements, due dates, electronic file data, and formats, and seeking answers from vendors.
The Tax Authority typically publishes e-invoice requirements on its website in the local language, accessible through a portal that requires special access. Even native speakers often find these documents difficult to understand.
Additionally, when the law is new, it often contains many grey areas or unclear aspects that may be revised or clarified over time, with compliance deadlines likely to be extended. As a result, navigating these requirements is challenging for everyone.
Traditionally, global companies would turn to an Oracle partner they trusted, often located near their corporate headquarters, for clarification of requirements. However, the reality is that Oracle partners are experts in Oracle products, not tax advisors.
Best Practice #1
The local finance team in the country where the issue needs to be addressed is the best place to start. They are the experts on local taxes and the ones responsible for compliance. They can conduct more thorough research than your HQ team and can then translate and document the requirements for IT, ensuring everyone understands what needs to be done.
Having this information clear before reaching out to any vendors will help you avoid receiving advice and recommendations that may not align with your business needs, but rather the vendor’s own priorities.
While Oracle partners like ITCROSS have extensive experience integrating Oracle Cloud ERP with e-invoice vendors, it is still crucial to consult the local finance team for the specific requirements. They are the compliance experts and, in some cases, requirements may differ by industry in certain locations.
If you’re wondering whether Oracle Cloud ERP includes e-invoice functionality in its official localization, the answer is “only in some countries.” In other countries, you’ll need to develop your own Oracle Integration Cloud integration.
You can verify this information in My Oracle Support document ID 2576459.1, which details Oracle Cloud ERP localization for Europe and the LACLS package for Latin America.
Additional Tip: Begin this process with the subsidiary well in advance, as it may take some time.
Common Situation #2: Uncertainty about the local e-invoice vendors available and whether hiring one is mandatory.
There are both local and global e-invoice vendors. While local vendors tend to be smaller, they could still suit your business size in that country and budget. The local finance team is the best resource for finding reputable local e-invoice vendors. In Mexico, the tax authority lists certified companies.
Best Practice #2
If you want a global solution and have budget, hiring a global e-invoice vendor is usually better. Using the same software across countries streamlines operations. You might also secure a better deal by hiring them for multiple locations.
If you must work with a local vendor, thoroughly check their integration capabilities, as these solutions are generally less robust. Involve the local finance team too, as English is not commonly spoken in this market segment.
Additional Tip: Even if hiring a third party is not mandatory, we strongly recommend doing so, regardless of the country. Future modifications to e-invoice laws will likely impact invoice layout or data validation, which the third party handles. By hiring them instead of directly connecting with the Tax Authority through Oracle Cloud ERP, you can avoid significant maintenance costs down the line and make changes more quickly.
Common Situation #3: Encountering language barriers and uncertain integration capabilities with local e-invoice vendors.
To be honest, working with multiple local e-invoice third parties can be a real headache. Unfortunately, they often lack bilingual resources, and their sales processes are frequently unprofessional. Be prepared for this. Delays in rollout projects due to these issues are more common than you’d expect, and failing to thoroughly verify integration capabilities can lead to unexpected surprises.
Best Practice #3
Assess the vendor’s communication capabilities in addition to their technical skills.
Additional Tips: Create a written timeline agreement with the vendor, specifying exact dates when they need to be available, ensuring alignment with your rollout schedule. Request a “testing environment” from the start, as this will likely incur an additional charge. If you require a customized invoice layout rather than the standard one they offer, be sure to mention it during the quoting phase so they can include any associated costs.
Common Situation #4: Realizing too late that e-invoice integration in certain countries requires significantly more effort than anticipated.
Yes, it takes time and is complex—especially when aiming for a global solution covering the needs of multiple countries. The goal is to avoid future costs and simplify the integration architecture. Addressing the e-invoice requirement also ties into various business processes, including Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable setups, to the Order Management billing processes, to localization, and to Oracle Integration Cloud. It’s an interconnected challenge that spans across many business processes.
Best Practice #4
For global companies, the most effective approach is to automate and simplify as much as possible. If you can hire a global e-invoice third-party provider, do so. If you know an Oracle Cloud ERP partner who specializes in localization and fiscal integrations in the regions where you will roll out, take advantage of that expertise and justify the investment based on the need to comply with local requirements. Remember, your in-house finance teams hold key information. They will be eager to get involved.
Additional Tip: After gathering the requirements for the countries on your roadmap, you can build a business case by presenting a global solution rather than multiple local ones. This approach highlights numerous additional benefits, making it a more efficient and effective strategy.
The Opportunity with ITCROSS
An Oracle Partner with knowledge of legal requirements in Latin America and Europe.
ITCROSS helps global companies to implement and support Oracle Cloud ERP and JD Edwards in North America and deploy the ERP design in their Latin American and European subsidiaries.
Our team specializes in solving regional compliance challenges with complex localization and integration requirements.
Our rollout approach involves automation, AI and ITCROSS fiscal solutions, and seeks to simplify implementation risks while ITCROSS’ support services are tailored to fit headquarters and worldwide locations’ needs.
We can help plan and carry out your rollout implementations, including Oracle localization in Latin American and European countries, we can solve e-invoice requirements with a solution specifically designed for global businesses, and we can support your organization after go-live.
ITCROSS E-Invoice Integration for Global Cloud ERP Customers.
ITCROSS has developed a flexible integration solution with e-invoice 3rd parties with Oracle Integration Cloud and Visual Builder PaaS Tools.
You can adapt this tool for any country: Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Poland, Italy, etc, and can integrate it with an e-invoice 3rd party, or even with PEPPOL platform.
As part of the solution, we have created a Dashboard, where the user can see customer invoices going back and forward.
For Accounts Payable, we use Oracle AI features for training the integration and uploading Accounts Payables’ invoices with a high-level of accuracy.
More information about ITCROSS Solution here.
Besides the e-invoice integration, there are many legal requirements to comply with in each country. ITCROSS’s approach combines the many tools and functionalities offered by Oracle Cloud for solving them, as seen in the picture below.
Client Stories
See customer success cases here.