Creating Your First Invoice
Follow this step-by-step guide to create your first PEPPOL BIS 3.0 compliant e-invoice using aiDoks. This guide reflects the actual application interface and workflow.
Before You Start
Make sure you have:
- Access to aiDoks (free access or registered account)
- Your company information (name, address, tax registration)
- Customer details (name, address, tax/VAT number)
- Products/services to invoice with prices
Open the PEPPOL Invoice Form
Navigate to the invoice form:
- Open Generate in the sidebar and click E-invoice
- The form loads showing "Peppol E-Invoice Form - UBL BIS 3.0", with an Output profile selector above it β PEPPOL BIS 3.0, a national profile (XRechnung, France, Romania, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain Facturae, Estonia e-arve) or a Factur-X EN 16931 PDF
- The form opens as a list of collapsed sections, each showing how many of its fields are filled β open a section to fill it. Only the mandatory fields are shown at first
Two upload zones appear at the top for faster data entry:
- AI-Powered Invoice Recognition - Upload a PDF or a photo of an invoice and AI fills in the form for you to check. One PDF a month is free without an account; a free account gives you 3 a month
- Import XML E-Invoice (Free) - Upload a UBL, CII / Factur-X, Facturae or e-arve invoice to auto-fill all fields
Skip these to fill manually. Whichever you upload stays on screen beside the form β toggle it with Show Document / Hide Document.
After AI reads your PDF, a banner above the form says how many required fields are still empty. Show me opens the section of each one in turn and puts the cursor in the field.
Coming from a "PDF to e-invoice" page? The form opens on the upload zone alone: pick the file, and the form appears beside it already filled in.
Fill Document Information
Unique invoice number for your company.
Invoice issue date (calendar picker).
Payment due date. Not required on its own, but when an amount is due the invoice needs either a due date or payment terms.
Select from dropdown.
Currency for all amounts.
Enter Supplier Information
In the Accounting Supplier Party section:
If logged in with saved suppliers, use the dropdown at the top to auto-fill all supplier fields!
Your legal business name.
Complete address: Street, City, Postal Code, Country.
Your VAT number. Add it if you are VAT-registered; it sits in the Party Tax Scheme group, which you add with Add Fields if it is not shown.
Enter Customer Information
In the Accounting Customer Party section, fill customer details (same structure as supplier). Use the Business Partner Selector if available.
Add Invoice Lines
The Invoice Line section shows an interactive table. One line is auto-created. Fill these columns:
Line number (1, 2, 3...)
Quantity with unit code.
Product/service description.
Unit price excluding VAT.
Tax classification: S (Standard), Z (Zero), E (Exempt).
VAT rate (loads based on supplier country).
Quantity Γ Unit Price (automatic).
Click "Add Line" (+ button) above the table for more items. Remove lines with trash icon (min 1 line).
Invoicing the same thing every month? Fill the line once and click the save icon on that row ("Save line as product"). Next time, "Add product line" inserts it already filled in β item, unit, price, VAT category and any optional columns you had added. Only the quantity is left to you, starting at 1. Saved products live under Products in the sidebar and need a free account.
Review Auto-Calculations
All totals calculate automatically in real-time:
Add Optional Fields (If Needed)
- Click "Add Fields" in the toolbar at the top of the form
- Grayed-out placeholders appear for every optional field β click one to add it
- Or type in the "Search fields" box to jump straight to a field
- Click "Exit Add Fields" when you are done
- Fill the newly visible fields
- Note - Payment instructions
- Payment Means - Bank details (IBAN)
- Payment Terms - Payment conditions
- Order Reference - PO number
Generate and Validate
- Optional: Click "Preview PDF" to see visual preview
- Ensure "Validate after generation" is checked
- Click "Generate Invoice"
- aiDoks builds the file for your output profile β UBL or CII XML for the PEPPOL and national profiles, a Factur-X PDF, or a Facturae or e-arve file β and validates it against that format's own rules
If validation passes, the file downloads automatically. Signed in? It is also saved in My documents, where you can download it again, view it as a PDF, reuse it or turn it into a credit note β you can switch this off under Profile β App settings. Send the file to your customer through your Peppol provider or by email.
If there are errors, a window lists each one with its rule ID, and the file is not downloaded. The sections and fields with errors are marked in the form: fix them and generate again.
Save as Template (Optional)
- Click "Save Template"
- Enter template name
- Check "Set as default" if desired
- Click "Save"
Templates save: field values, visible optional fields, custom ordering. Don't save invoice-specific data like numbers/dates.
Creating a Credit Note
A credit note cancels or corrects an invoice you already sent. aiDoks uses the same form for both documents, so everything above still applies β there are two ways in:
Click "Create credit note from this invoice" in the action buttons. The credit note opens with the supplier, customer and lines already carried over β quantities become credited quantities β while the invoice number, issue date and due date are cleared for you to fill in fresh.
Open Generate in the sidebar and click Credit Note. The form loads as "Peppol Credit Note Form", with its own upload zones β AI recognition for a PDF or photo, and XML import for a UBL or CII credit note β and the submit button reads Generate Credit Note.
A credit note has to say which invoice it corrects β that is the Billing Reference section, and the document type code is 381. Starting from an invoice fills it in for you with that invoice's number and issue date; starting from scratch, add it yourself.
Tips & Best Practices
With a free account, save the suppliers and customers you use often and fill them in with one click.
Digitize paper invoices by uploading a photo. Signed in, you can also send the photo straight from your phone with the QR code.
With a free account, save templates for different invoice types for consistency.
Keep validation enabled to catch errors before sending.
Common Issues
Can't generate - what's missing?
Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required. The Generate button does not wait for them: press it, and the validation window lists anything that is missing, while the form marks the sections with errors. After an AI import, the banner's Show me takes you to each empty required field.
VAT rates not showing?
VAT rates load based on supplier country. Fill in supplier's country code in Postal Address first.
How to find unit codes?
In Invoiced Quantity, click unit code dropdown. Select common units or click "Search all units" for full UN/ECE list (1800+ codes).