Please make sure your invoice is accurate and complete. A few tips to keep in mind:
- send invoices after Google has received the goods or service
- reference Google's Purchase Order (PO) number, PO line number and Invoice Number on the invoice
- ensure invoice information matches information on the PO. This includes for example ‘Bill-to’ & ‘Ship-to’ locations, item description, price, and currency
- ensure the invoice date is not in the future and the invoice date reflects the date services were rendered and not the date services were first quoted
- make sure you are entering appropriate taxes in your invoices at the time of invoice submission (Including e-invoices)
- if the commercial invoice is attached (LATAM excluded), the commercial invoice attachments must contain the lowest level of cost itemization when submitted via the online portal specified by Google.
- if a supplier incurred Google approved third-party costs by engaging subcontractors or other entities, the supplier will submit both third-party receipts and a matching invoice with line items designated for each subcontractor or freelancer. Receipts need to be easily matched to invoice line items, and include a reconciliation document where there are multiple receipts per line item.
The primary reasons invoices are returned to vendor are:
- A mismatch of information between the invoice and purchase order (e.g. entity, PO number, supplier name, amount, PO currency, line items)
- Missing information
- Credit memo does not reference PO number or the original invoice number
Select your bill-to country to see Google invoice requirements:
How to submit your invoice and supporting documentation:
You can find the Spanish version here.
Send the invoice to [email protected].
For suppliers mandated to provide XML and PDF invoice- Send one XML invoice and PDF support attachment per email.
- Once the email with the pdfs has been sent to [email protected], no subsequent invoices should be sent in the same email thread. Instead, a new email ticket should be created to avoid further invoice processing delays.
- XML invoice file must be registered with government authority and must have valid signature and unexpired certificate within it per country requirements.
- Provide Purchase Order (PO) number within the XML file as part of the locally defined recommended tags so that the invoice can be tied back to the correct PO, approved and processed in a timely manner. The PO number must also be referenced in the PDF.
- Do not zip or password protect attachments or files.
- Do not provide Application Response XML files or XML stylesheet files (files with *.css or *.xsl file extensions) along with invoice XML.
- Do not send the PDF support document and invoice XML document in separate emails.
- Invoice (PDF) and XML invoice data must always match ( e.g invoice date, values, etc)
- Colombia XMLs should be encoded in UTF-8 per local guidance and must not have latin characters with accents. Example: Words like DISEÑO, Crédito will lead to invoice rejection.
- XML must contain DIAN validation, also known as Attached Document, with the Application Response.
- For suppliers mandated to provide XML invoices: Once the valid invoice is received and processing initiated, the invoice will generate the acuses de recibo as required by law on DIAN. Due to this compliance requirement, the invoice submitted will have to align to what is described on the PO in order to prevent any future discrepancies to what has been accepted and processed.
- Invoices are accepted up to 24th of each month (inclusive). Invoices submitted past this date will be RTV'd (Returned to vendor) and need to be re-submitted next month with the current date. This requirement is necessary for Google to remain in compliance with Regulation 0085.
- The PDF image must be clear, legible and contain complete invoice data, including PO number (where applicable), to expedite invoice processing and payment.
- Send one valid PDF invoice attachment per email.
- Send supporting documentation (if required) as a separate attachment(s), with the PDF invoice in the same email.
Exception: If you have been asked to submit an EVE billing sheet, please follow those specific submission procedures, instead.
- Do not zip or password protect the file.
- Do not send separate emails for PDF invoice and any supporting documentation files.
Invoices must include the following to be processed:
Supplier Info
- Supplier Name
- Supplier TAX/ RUT ID Number
- Supplier Legal Mailing Address
Google Info
- Google Bill-To Entity
- Google Bill-To Address
- Google TAX/ RUT ID Number
Invoice Info
- Invoice Date
- Invoice Description of Goods or Services Supplied
- Invoice Amount (Excluding VAT)
- Invoice Total VAT amount
- Invoice Total Amount (Including VAT)
FAQs/Additional Info
Who must send XML invoices?
Suppliers registered in National Directorate of Taxes and Customs (DIAN). The invoice will have a CUFE number, e-invoice unique code.
Who is exempt from sending XML invoices?
Natural persons and foreign suppliers (exempt from XML but still required to send PDF invoices).
Do I have to include Digital Signature in XML invoices?
Performed through a delegated signature to sign electronic payment receipts guaranteeing the integrity, security and non repudiation of electronic transactions.
What is the correct format of XML invoices?
The standard format used is the XML in UBL V2.1 adopted by the DIAN.
Technical Instructions | Valid XML Identification
Document Type and Encoding
- The standard XML format used by Colombia is XML UBL V2.1 adopted by the DIAN encoded in UTF-8 (EDICOM: Document Type is XML_UBL_INVOICE_2_DIANV2).
- Colombia invoice XML should start with <AttachedDocument> parent tag as shown below. The parent tag must not be <Invoice>, which is a wrong XML.
- Encoding for the Colombia XML should be in UTF-8 as shown on the first line of the XML below.
This is wrong:
Signature and Certificate
- Colombia XML should have a valid Signature and Certificate tag as shown below.
- Certificates should not have expired, otherwise, they will fail EDICOM validation.
Attachment - Invoice and Application Response
There should be two sets of <Attachment> tags - one for actual invoice data and another for DIAN Application Response as shown below.
- First, must come with Invoice attachment tags as shown below.
- Second, must come with Application Response attachment tags as shown below.
How to Reference PO number on the invoice
- Recommend <OrderReference> tag to be used for providing PO number on the XML file.
For more information on how to update your account information or submit an invoice through the Ariba network, please go to Transacting over the Ariba network.