Payhawk simplifies your financial workflows by automatically processing incoming supplier e-invoices and ensuring they are accurately matched to the correct records.
Who the e-invoice is assigned to
Payhawk auto-assigns an incoming e-invoice in the following order:
The recognized buyer contact or employee name on the invoice.
The owner of an open purchase request the invoice matches.
The account's default owner.
Cost-centre routing.
Matching to a card payment
When an incoming e-invoice matches a transaction paid with a Payhawk card, it attaches to that transaction as an expense document. If no match is found, the e-invoice is treated as unpaid and creates a new bill expense for submission (under the Submit tab).
Duplicates and ERP coexistence
When you use Payhawk alongside an ERP for accounts payable, the two systems work together to ensure all data is captured. Because suppliers typically send eInvoices to your primary VAT-registered ID, you can expect eInvoices to appear in both systems. This ensures you have a complete record in Payhawk for card management while maintaining your existing ERP workflows.
Payhawk provides a clear and reliable process for identifying duplicates. The system automatically flags documents that share the same supplier, invoice number, and amount. To ensure accuracy, Payhawk treats eInvoices with different document numbers as distinct entries, even if the date and amount are identical, giving you full control over your financial records.
Employee reimbursements and eInvoices
For out-of-pocket expenses where an eInvoice also arrives, Payhawk provides a straightforward way to keep your company’s records clean. The eInvoice will arrive as a new bill expense, and you can merge it with the existing reimbursement claim or the duplicate PDF. This manual merge will keep your documentation centralized and ensure the correct invoice history is preserved.
To ensure your records remain accurate and compliant, it is important to use the merge feature rather than deleting eInvoices. When an eInvoice is received via the French PPF, deleting it automatically triggers a "210 Refusée" lifecycle status back to the network. This status indicates a rejection, which is incorrect for a valid invoice that has already been settled.
If a "Refusée" status is sent in error, the situation is fully recoverable. From the perspective of the tax authorities, it is as if the invoice was never issued, allowing the supplier to reissue the document to rectify the record.
While Payhawk does not currently auto-link these specific claims or suppress bill creation based on "already paid" status, merging documents ensures that every transaction is verified and that your communication with the e-invoicing network remains accurate.
Strategic benefits and near-term outlook
The collision of out-of-pocket expenses and eInvoices is expected to remain rare in the immediate future. Many common out-of-pocket categories, such as restaurants and hotels, are unlikely to move to mandatory eInvoicing until at least September 2027 based on current revenue thresholds.
To completely bypass this manual step, the best path is to transition employees from out-of-pocket spending to Payhawk cards. When a card is used, the incoming eInvoice automatically matches the transaction, providing you with a seamless and fully automated reconciliation experience.