Invoice sending: failed delivery

Overview

If an invoice does not reach the recipient, there can be several causes. This article helps you identify and fix common delivery problems.

Invoices do not reach the recipient

Common causes

1. Invalid or wrong email address

• Check the recipient's email address for typos
• Make sure the email address is active and reachable
• Ask the recipient to confirm that they receive the email

2. Spam filter The recipient may have a spam filter enabled that wrongly classifies the invoice as spam:

• The recipient should check their spam folder
• The recipient can mark faktoora emails as "not spam" to train the filter
• Ask the recipient to add faktoora's email address to their contacts

3. The recipient's email server configuration Some email servers, firewalls or mail filters can block legitimate emails:

• The recipient should check with their IT team or mail administrator whether emails from faktoora are being blocked
• This is particularly common in companies with restrictive security policies

4. Bounce The email is rejected by the recipient's mail server:

• Mailbox full: the recipient's mailbox is over capacity
• User does not exist: the email address does not exist or has been deleted
• Server error: the recipient's mail server rejects the email

How to fix it

1. Confirm with the recipient

   • Contact the recipient through another channel (phone, chat)
   • Ask them to confirm whether they received the email
   • If not, ask them to check their spam and junk folders

2. Correct the email address

   • Check the recipient's email address stored in faktoora
   • Correct it if necessary and send the invoice again

3. Resend

   • Open the invoice details
   • Use the "Resend" option
   • Confirm the recipient's email address before sending

Sending to the wrong e-invoice address

For electronic invoices (XRechnungen, Peppol), delivery can fail if you enter the recipient address incorrectly.

Peppol addresses

Peppol IDs have a specific format depending on the country:

• German companies usually use: 9930:DE<Umsatzsteuer-ID>
  • Example: 9930:DE123456789
• Other countries have other prefixes (e.g. 9946 for Belgium)

Common errors:

• Wrong country identifier prefix (e.g. 9931 instead of 9930)
• Invalid or incomplete VAT ID
• Spaces or special characters in the ID

How to fix it

1. Check the recipient's correct Peppol ID

   • Ask the recipient directly
   • Check the public Peppol directory (if available)

2. Correct the recipient information in the invoice

3. If Peppol delivery has failed, use the API to retry sending:

   POST /invoices/{faktooraId}/dispatch/peppol/resend
   

Several recipients and BCC

Problem: BCC addresses do not work

If you try to send to several email addresses via BCC, there may be restrictions.

Using the API: The delivery field in the API supports BCC addresses as a comma-separated list:

{
  "delivery": [
    {
      "type": "email",
      "recipient": "rechnung@kunden.de",
      "blindCarbonCopy": "archiv@intern.de, backup@intern.de"
    }
  ]
}

If this fails:

• Check the format (comma-separated, no semicolons)
• Make sure all addresses are valid
• Test with a single BCC address first

Several main recipients

If you want to send an invoice to several main recipients:

• Create several delivery entries in the array:

{
  "delivery": [
    {
      "type": "email",
      "recipient": "rechnung@kunden.de"
    },
    {
      "type": "email",
      "recipient": "backup@kunden.de"
    }
  ]
}

Understanding error messages

"Introduction is not allowed"

This error message occurs when you try to send a quote or order confirmation document that contains an introduction that is not allowed when sending.

How to fix it:

• Check the text of the document in the settings
• Remove unnecessary introductory texts or preambles
• Use the standard document text

Timeout during delivery

If sending takes a long time or is aborted:

• This usually happens with large files or slow connections
• Try again later
• Check your internet connection

Enabling delivery confirmations

faktoora offers limited delivery confirmations for email deliveries:

1. Bounce handling: if an email is rejected by the recipient's server, you are notified
2. Peppol status: for Peppol deliveries, you receive complete status updates
3. Manual tracking: you can check deliveries in the web interface or via the API

If you need help

If the problem persists:

1. Check the delivery history in the invoice details
2. Check the delivery array in the API status
3. Contact faktoora support with the following information:
   • Invoice number (faktoora ID)
   • Recipient email address or Peppol ID
   • Timestamp of the sending attempt
   • All visible error messages