Required field rules

Something the invoice must carry is missing. 43 rules.

These fire when the invoice does not carry something the standard requires: a number, a date, a party, a country code. They are the easiest family to fix, because the rule names the field and the fix is to supply it.

The usual cause is a mapping that never populated the field rather than a field that is genuinely unknown. Before adding a placeholder value, check whether your source system already holds it under a different name.

BR-01: Add BT-24, the specification identifier. It is the URN that says which ruleset the invoice follows, and it is what every receiving system reads first to decide how to process the file.
BR-02: Add BT-1, the invoice number. It must be unique within your own numbering series.
BR-03: Add BT-2, the invoice issue date. This is the date the invoice was raised, which is not necessarily the delivery date (BT-72) or the tax point (BT-7), and it is what payment terms are counted from.
BR-04: Add BT-3, the invoice type code. For a normal commercial invoice this is 380, for a credit note 381.
BR-05: Add BT-5, the invoice currency code, as a three letter ISO 4217 code such as EUR.
BR-06: Add BT-27, the seller name. This is the legal registered name, which may differ from the trading name shown on the page. The trading name belongs in BT-28.
BR-07: Add BT-44, the buyer name. The name the buyer is legally registered under, which is what their accounts payable system matches against.
BR-08: Add the seller postal address. At minimum the country code is required, even when the rest of the address is omitted.
BR-09: Add BT-40, the seller country code, as a two letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code such as FR or DE. It determines VAT treatment, so it is required even when the rest of the address is omitted. Greece is EL in VAT contexts but GR here.
BR-10: Add the buyer postal address (BG-8). Only the country code (BT-55) is strictly required within it, so a minimal address is acceptable where you do not hold the full one, but the group itself must be present.
BR-11: Add BT-55, the buyer country code, as an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code. Together with the seller country it decides whether this is domestic, intra-community or an export, which changes which VAT rules apply.
BR-12: Add BT-106, the sum of invoice line net amounts. It is required on every invoice. This is a document level total in its own right, not something the recipient is expected to derive by adding the lines up.
BR-13: Add BT-109, the invoice total without VAT. It is required on every invoice.
BR-14: Add BT-112, the invoice total with VAT. It is required on every invoice.
BR-15: Add BT-115, the amount due for payment. It is required on every invoice. Required even when it equals the total with VAT and nothing has been prepaid.
BR-16: An invoice needs at least one line. A document with no lines cannot be priced or checked.
BR-21: Every invoice line needs its own line identifier (BT-126), and at least one is missing it. Any value unique within this invoice will do, commonly just 1, 2, 3. It is what credit notes and disputes refer back to.
BR-22: Every invoice line needs its own invoiced quantity (BT-129), and at least one is missing it.
BR-23: Every invoice line needs its own unit of measure code (BT-130), and at least one is missing it. A UN/ECE Recommendation 20 code, not free text. Use C62 for a plain count of items when no better unit applies.
BR-24: Every invoice line needs its own net amount (BT-131), and at least one is missing it.
BR-25: Every invoice line needs its own item name (BT-153), and at least one is missing it. The name is mandatory even when an item identifier or description is also present.
BR-26: Every invoice line needs its own item net price (BT-146), and at least one is missing it. The price after any item discount, which is not the same as the line net amount: price is per unit, the amount is for the whole line.
BR-31: Every document level allowance needs its own allowance amount (BT-92), and at least one is missing it.
BR-32: Every document level allowance needs its own VAT category code (BT-95), and at least one is missing it. An allowance has to sit in a VAT category so it can be subtracted from the right breakdown. Usually the same category as the lines it discounts.
BR-33: Every document level allowance must carry a reason (BT-97) or a reason code (BT-98), and at least one instance has neither. Supplying both is allowed; supplying neither is not, because an unexplained adjustment cannot be checked by the recipient.
BR-36: Every document level charge needs its own charge amount (BT-99), and at least one is missing it.
BR-37: Every document level charge needs its own VAT category code (BT-102), and at least one is missing it. A charge has to sit in a VAT category so it can be added to the right breakdown.
BR-38: Every document level charge must carry a reason (BT-104) or a reason code (BT-105), and at least one instance has neither. Supplying both is allowed; supplying neither is not, because an unexplained adjustment cannot be checked by the recipient.
BR-41: Every invoice line allowance needs its own allowance amount (BT-136), and at least one is missing it.
BR-42: Every invoice line allowance must carry a reason (BT-139) or a reason code (BT-140), and at least one instance has neither. Supplying both is allowed; supplying neither is not, because an unexplained adjustment cannot be checked by the recipient.
BR-43: Every invoice line charge needs its own charge amount (BT-141), and at least one is missing it.
BR-44: Every invoice line charge must carry a reason (BT-144) or a reason code (BT-145), and at least one instance has neither. Supplying both is allowed; supplying neither is not, because an unexplained adjustment cannot be checked by the recipient.
BR-45: Every VAT breakdown needs its own taxable amount (BT-116), and at least one is missing it. The net amount this category applies to, before VAT is added.
BR-46: Every VAT breakdown needs its own tax amount (BT-117), and at least one is missing it. Required even when it is zero, as for exempt or reverse charge categories.
BR-52: Every additional supporting document needs its own document reference (BT-122), and at least one is missing it. Attaching a supporting document without a reference leaves the recipient no way to cite it.
BR-54: Every item attribute must carry a name (BT-160) or a value (BT-161), and at least one instance has neither. Supplying both is allowed; supplying neither is not, because an unexplained adjustment cannot be checked by the recipient.
BR-55: Every preceding invoice reference group needs its own preceding invoice reference (BT-25), and at least one is missing it. This is what links a credit note to the invoice it corrects.
BR-56: Every seller tax representative party needs its own VAT identifier (BT-63), and at least one is missing it. A tax representative exists precisely to be VAT-identified, so naming one without its VAT identifier is incomplete.
BR-57: Every deliver to address needs its own country code (BT-80), and at least one is missing it. The country is the one part of a delivery address that is always required, because it determines VAT treatment.
BR-62: The seller electronic address (BT-34) is present but has no scheme identifier saying which register it comes from. The value alone is ambiguous: the same digits can be a GLN, a national company number or a VAT number depending on the scheme. Add the scheme attribute, for example 0088 for GLN or 9930 for a German VAT-based address.
BR-63: The buyer electronic address (BT-49) is present but has no scheme identifier saying which register it comes from. The value alone is ambiguous: the same digits can be a GLN, a national company number or a VAT number depending on the scheme. Add the scheme attribute, for example 0088 for GLN or 9930 for a German VAT-based address.
BR-64: The item standard identifier (BT-157) is present but has no scheme identifier saying which register it comes from. The value alone is ambiguous: the same digits can be a GLN, a national company number or a VAT number depending on the scheme. Add the scheme attribute, for example 0088 for GLN or 9930 for a German VAT-based address.
BR-65: The item classification identifier (BT-158) is present but has no scheme identifier saying which register it comes from. The value alone is ambiguous: the same digits can be a GLN, a national company number or a VAT number depending on the scheme. Add the scheme attribute, for example 0088 for GLN or 9930 for a German VAT-based address.

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Required field rules

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