AMPECO’s built-in invoicing capabilities for EV charging businesses

As a Charge Point Operator (CPO), you understand the unique challenges of managing an EV charging business, from legal compliance to scaling operations efficiently. Amidst all these responsibilities, one crucial aspect you cannot overlook is invoicing. Invoicing goes beyond mere receipts; it plays a pivotal role in meeting accounting standards and serving the needs of companies and individuals.

Especially in complex use cases influenced by specific country requirements, the importance of flexibility and customization in invoicing cannot be underestimated. In such scenarios, the ability to collect and share invoice details via API becomes crucial. This empowers you to develop your own solutions or seamlessly integrate invoicing into your existing systems.

Built-in CPMS invoicing vs. integrating with external invoicing systems

The built-in invoicing solution provided by your CPMS gives EV drivers complete transparency and a detailed breakdown of all elements that comprise the total amount paid for a charging session. With this level of insight, you can show your customers exactly how much energy was consumed, the session duration, connection fees, idles fees, and anything else that contributes to the final sum. 

External invoicing systems often lack this level of detail, typically displaying only generic information such as “EV charging services” and the total amount on the invoice. This is because they often only synchronize basic user and transaction data with the CPMS database, which means that valuable session data may not be included in the invoice. 

At AMPECO, we understand this limitation and have updated our API to address this issue. We can now provide session breakdown information, making it easier for you to create detailed, comprehensive invoices that reflect the true value of the charging services rendered.

AMPECO offers unmatched invoicing capabilities 

At AMPECO, our EV charging management system is designed to empower Charge Point Operators (CPOs) with comprehensive invoicing capabilities that cater to their specific needs:

Seamless invoice delivery: Automatically send invoices by email after each transaction or at the end of each month. You can choose when to send invoices, even at the end of the post-subscription period, ensuring timely and convenient delivery to your customers.

Detailed services breakdown: Issue monthly invoices with a separate page dedicated to a detailed breakdown of services. This comprehensive breakdown helps your customers understand the charges associated with each service, fostering transparency and trust.

Payment grace period: Offer a payment grace period for monthly invoices on post-paid subscriptions. This added flexibility aligns with user expectations, giving them peace of mind and ensuring a smooth payment process.

Customization options: Personalize your invoices by adding your custom logo to maintain brand consistency and create a professional impression for your customers.

Backend invoice editing: Edit invoice details in the backend anytime to easily update any incorrect or incomplete invoicing details.

Flexible invoice data collection: Choose which fields are mandatory and optional when collecting customer invoice data, allowing you to gather necessary information while providing a user-friendly experience.

Invoice archive and export: Keep a comprehensive archive of all invoices within the AMPECO system or export them for use in other systems. This functionality gives you control over your invoice data and allows for seamless integration with your preferred tools.

Ad-hoc charging support: Collect email addresses and send receipts or invoices for ad-hoc charging transactions via our mobile app or web portal to ensure a streamlined invoicing process for any type of charging session.

Customizable text: Add custom text, such as notes or instructions, to each invoice to communicate important additional information to your customers.

Market compliance: Hide the energy consumption data from both the app and the invoice in markets where you are not allowed to sell electricity, ensuring compliance while providing clarity with “EV charging services.”

VAT flexibility: Set a different VAT rate for the used electricity rate than the VAT used for the specific country where you operate. This enables precise VAT calculations for varying service components, ensuring accurate invoicing.

Localization support: Provide invoices read from right to left, aligning with local conventions in regions like the Middle East.

Customizability is at the core of our invoicing features

To enable the powerful invoicing capabilities within AMPECO, we offer a range of specific features that enhance your control and flexibility over the invoicing process:

Activate and set up AMPECO Invoicing Integration

All available options are grouped into several sections for easy access and configuration. These are “General Configuration,” “Issuing Schedule” and “Content”.

General configuration

Set up the general configuration settings to align with your business requirements, such as:

• Define the type of document to be issued, whether it’s an invoice or a pro forma invoice for third-party systems integration.

• Add a prefix to the invoice number if legal or business considerations require it. Easily customize the format of your invoice numbers for internal tracking or compliance purposes.

• Determine the starting invoice number from which subsequent invoices will increment.

• Always issue invoices, even if the “Require Invoice” option is turned off for a specific user, using the “Sales Receipt” feature to fulfill internal tracking and accounting needs. In cases where generating such invoices is mandatory, like in Greece, we ensure this using either the customer’s provided details or the anonymous customer feature if no details are available (this applies to ad-hoc sessions as well).

• Collect necessary invoicing information from customers and access this data via API for further processing and seamless integration with other systems.

Issuing schedule

Choose to send invoices after each transaction or every month or collect invoice details without issuing an invoice for external system integration. You can decide whether to enable an automated email feature, allowing users to receive the invoice attached as a PDF when a checkbox is selected. It is important to note that invoices for post-paid subscriptions are issued independently of this section, and they follow the subscription renewal cycle. 

Content

You have the following options to customize the display of information on your invoices:

• Checkbox to show the country of delivery: The tenant country is displayed below the invoice period in the heading section.
• Checkbox to show energy: When enabled, the total energy of sessions included in the invoice is shown above the Services table. In the detailed Services view, each session’s energy is displayed as well.
• Checkbox to show duration: When enabled, the total duration of sessions included in the invoice is shown above the Services table. In the detailed Services view, each session’s duration is displayed too.
• Services table (shown only for Monthly invoices): This consists of a dropdown menu with two options:
  • Single service: When selected, all services during the period are listed on a single row as “EV Charging Service.”
  • Detailed: When selected, separate rows are displayed for each service during the period. Enabling the “Include services breakdown” checkbox creates a separate page detailing each service’s components. The breakdown table includes columns for date, services, unit (month, minute, kWh, package), unit price, quantity, and subtotal (including VAT).
• Services label: Specify the name of the service to be included in the invoices. The default name “EV Charging Services” will be used if left empty.
• Invoice notice: This notice is shown in each invoice, allowing you to include a general notice or explanation that you want to communicate to your customers.
• Invoice details: Define mandatory and optional fields for individual or company invoice details, ensuring accurate and complete information is collected.

User-specific invoicing

To set up invoicing for a user, select the user profile, check the “Require an invoice” checkbox, and provide the necessary information, such as name, company ID, and address, in separate fields for accurate invoicing differentiation between individuals and companies.

Invoices tab in Admin

Access a comprehensive table displaying all generated invoices, filterable by date. View invoice details, including client information, payment status, services, and total energy consumption and export invoices for further analysis or import into other systems. When you need to view the details of a specific invoice, you can access client and service details and conveniently download the invoice as a PDF file.

Collect emails and send receipts/invoices for ad-hoc charging sessions

Enable the collection of user emails during ad-hoc charging sessions through the app or web portal. Receipts and invoices are then sent to the provided email addresses, enhancing the user experience and providing a transaction record. The system automatically removes the email after 30 days to comply with GDPR.

The benefits of AMPECO’s built-in invoicing capabilities for CPOs

By adopting our flexible invoicing solution, validated by numerous customers across various markets, you can take advantage of the following:

• Centralized management: Have control by managing all invoicing paperwork from one centralized platform.
• Cost and time savings: Save money and launch operations quickly with our ready-to-go invoicing solution, eliminating the need for separate software or custom integrations.
• Seamless integration: Easily export invoicing data and files or use APIs to integrate with other systems.
• Automated efficiency: Minimize manual work and reduce errors with automated invoice issuing and tracking.
• Enhanced customer trust: Build trust with detailed breakdowns of each charging session, fostering transparency and customer satisfaction.

The benefits for EV drivers

AMPECO’s built-in invoicing system ensures EV drivers enjoy a seamless and transparent experience, providing accurate and timely information for their charging expenses. With this system, they can:

• Receive invoices promptly after each charging session or at the end of the month, ensuring a clear and efficient billing process.
  
• Gain access to detailed monthly invoices that provide a breakdown of all services, allowing for better understanding and transparency of the charging costs.
  
• Receive an invoice even as an unregistered user and pay for ad hoc charging sessions by simply providing your email address.
  
• Benefit from a fixed grace period to pay monthly invoices, providing flexibility and ease of payment for post-paid subscriptions.

Hassle-free invoicing empowering CPOs to focus on what matters most

With AMPECO’s built-in invoicing solution, your EV charging business gains a powerful advantage that many large-scale EV charging businesses already rely on. Our comprehensive invoicing capabilities ensure transparent and detailed billing, meeting accounting compliance and customer expectations. By streamlining the invoicing process, AMPECO saves you time, money, and hassle, allowing you to stay focused on key priorities such as expanding your business and providing exceptional EV charging services.