The Public Revenue Office has started the third phase of the e-Invoice project - a step that will soon change the daily work of every firm in the country. The novelty is a web application that allows easier testing of electronic invoices.

Unlike the previous phases, which were aimed at integrating ERP systems and API services for larger companies, the third phase brings a simplified web interface. Firms can test creating, sending, accepting, rejecting and cancelling documents, with support for 12 tax indicators on a standard invoice.

The PRO has set up cooperation with around 200 selected companies that will act as testers, each assigned a tax agent from the office for structured testing and continuous feedback. So far around 30 educational seminars have been held through the chambers of commerce, with webinars and detailed instructions also announced.

The idea is good on paper - digitalizing invoicing should reduce tax evasion and speed up administration. But experience with systems like this in the Balkans teaches caution: too often „simplification" has meant new obligations, new software and new costs precisely for the small firms that have no IT departments of their own.

The PRO is inviting all companies, regardless of size or technical readiness, to test the system and send remarks. And that is the test for the office itself - will it really listen to small businesses now, in the testing phase, or will the remarks remain a formality while the system gets rolled out exactly as already designed? Digitalization is only worth it if it makes life easier for the one using it, not just for the one controlling it.