Mexico CFDI - What do you mean I have to manage printers?

Who would have thought that one of the key components of an electronic document would be a printer?  Aren’t printers for paper and isn’t this a contradiction to an electronic invoice?

In the case of Mexico, printing the invoice doesn’t refer to the one you send your customer.  In this case, it is required to be on the truck in order for you to ship. In a recent blog, I wrote: “if you can’t get your invoice approved you shouldn’t ship according to the statements in Article 29 of the Mexico SAT Diaries. The issue is further clarified in the definition of Carte Porte (Transportation documents required for shipping).

The CFDI process doesn’t stop with obtaining the Timbre, you have to print out a PDF version of the XML and this should accompany the truck according to the interpretations of the law.  So you need to be aware of you printers. Here are the key items you should understand about printing when it comes to Mexico e-invoicing (CFDI). The problem many will find is that a PAC doesn’t manage this process inside your operations and for those with multiple shipping points (warehouse, offices, and locations) this is a larger issue than most recognize.

Printing needs, ensure your solution offers address the following – a traditional PAC just applies the signature and the rest of the process is yours to manage.

• You must be able to create a specific PDF format with bar-code
• Customer Addenda (i.e. specifics they want in addition to the government required information) can mean multiple PDF formats
  • Is your vendor creating these customized requests?
  • How many of them are there?
  • How many printer locations do you have (i.e. warehouse, stores, etc…)?
  • Who is monitoring the printers and that the CFDI is actually printing out?
  • If a CFDI isn’t at the dock to leave with the truck, who does the employee call – is it the PAC or you?

With printing such a key element of the outbound Mexico electronic invoicing process, don’t overlook this important part of the process.