Two in three companies do not rely entirely on their own data when making important decisions. This is shown by a survey conducted by Precisely in 2024: 67 % of organisations state that they do not fully trust their own data when it comes to business decisions. For a company that processes invoices on a daily basis, this is not just an abstract figure. It is a tangible problem that can be traced right back to the accounts department.

Why companies do not trust their own data

Distrust rarely arises out of nowhere. It usually has a very concrete origin: inconsistent formats, manually entered invoice items, media disruptions between paper, PDF and ERP systems. When invoice data comes together from such disparate sources, discrepancies inevitably arise. An amount is incorrectly transferred, a cost centre is not correctly assigned, a supplier appears under two different names in the system. Each individual inaccuracy seems small on its own. In total, however, they mean that no one in the company can say with absolute certainty whether the figures are correct.

This is precisely where the discussion begins regarding E-bill , which has hitherto been perceived primarily as a regulatory issue. Yet its true value lies elsewhere: in the data quality it enforces.

Structured invoice data as a solution

The difference between a scanned paper invoice and an e-invoice according to ZUGFeRD or XRechnung lies not only in the transmission method. It lies in the structure. An e-invoice is not an image of an invoice, but a machine-readable data set with clearly defined fields for amount, tax rate, invoice number, supplier and period of performance. This structured invoice data can be read out, checked and further processed automatically without a human having to interpret it beforehand.

For companies, this means a dual effect. On the one hand, the error rate drops because data no longer has to be typed in manually or read from a PDF. On the other hand, for the first time, a standardised, comparable database is created across all Incoming invoices and -outs aside from whether the invoice for Peppol or arrives via another transmission channel. Precisely this uniformity is the prerequisite for companies to be able to trust their own figures again.

The connection to the AI implementation

The issue of data quality is currently becoming even more pressing, as it directly determines the success of AI projects. According to the PEX Report 2025, 52 % of companies cite poor data quality as the biggest obstacle to further digitalisation and the introduction of AI systems. This is in line with a simple logic: AI designed to automatically check invoices, generate posting suggestions or detect anomalies is only as good as the data it works with. Inconsistent, incomplete or erroneous invoice data does not lead to smarter processing, but rather to the automated perpetuation of existing errors.

Structured invoice data from ZUGFeRD or XRechnung formats provides precisely the clean, consistent database that makes AI-supported accounting useful in the first place. Companies that invest in structured e-invoicing processes today are simultaneously creating the foundation for tomorrow's AI applications, without the need for a separate digitalisation project.

How ivi ensures structured, trustworthy invoice data from the start

This is precisely where ivi comes in. The Platform processes invoices regardless of the incoming format, whether submitted as ZUGFeRD, XRechnung or via Peppol, and transfers them into a uniform, structured database. In the process, invoice data is not subsequently cleaned up, but rather captured consistently from the outset and documented in a traceable manner. For companies, this means: they do not first have to solve a data quality problem before they can consider automation or the use of AI in accounting. The clean database is created automatically as part of the invoice process itself.

Those who rely on structured e-invoice data today are not only solving a regulatory obligation, but also a problem of trust that many companies have long been familiar with, but rarely associate with their own invoice processing.

Would you like to know what structured invoice data could look like in your company? Speak to our team for a no-obligation assessment.

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