By Juliet Umeh 

Fintech company, Afri Invoice, has introduced a tailored e-invoicing platform to help Nigerian entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small and medium enterprises, SMEs, comply with the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, July 2025 e-invoicing mandate.

According to the company, the platform, developed in line with BIS 3.0 XML standards, offers real-time validation, QR-coded invoices, VAT automation, and integrated payment tracking.

Founder and CEO of the company, Mr. Mark Odenore, emphasized the platform’s simplicity, cost-saving benefits, and built-in compliance features that ensure a 99.7 percent accuracy rate.

He said: “Afri Invoice also supports financial literacy through educational tools and local customer service, aiming to help businesses avoid penalties and boost operational efficiency.”

Odenore said: “The market was saturated with solutions that were either too complicated for local businesses or developed for Western markets without considering African realities.

“Afri Invoice bridges this gap by offering an intuitive platform that speaks directly to Nigerian SMEs, making invoicing, payment tracking, and tax compliance both straightforward and affordable.”

He noted that the platform combines cutting-edge technology with local market insights to empower businesses across the continent.

He stated that beyond its core platform, the company is committed to fostering financial literacy through educational initiatives that help entrepreneurs understand taxes, invoicing, compliance, and fundamental digital finance concepts.

“The platform incorporates all mandatory compliance elements, including real-time invoice validation, automated submission readiness, and complete audit trail maintenance.

“The user journey is designed for simplicity. Businesses can set up their profile and branding, add customers and product/service catalogs, and create professional, tax-compliant invoices with unique QR codes.

“The system handles automatic VAT calculation and FIRS formatting, offers real-time payment tracking through integrated local gateways, and provides automated reminders and monthly tax reporting,” he stressed.

The CEO stated that Afri Invoice offers a comprehensive platform with key features such as FIRS-compliant invoicing with QR codes, multi-currency support, real-time payment tracking with local gateway integration, and business management tools like customer databases, analytics, and offline invoice drafting.

He emphasized: “These features collectively save businesses 15–20 hours per month on administrative tasks while ensuring 100% compliance accuracy. Users typically report 40% faster invoice processing and a 60% improvement in payment collection timelines compared to manual methods.

“Beyond efficiency, Afri Invoice delivers significant cost savings. By replacing the need for external accountants, manual books, or multiple apps, users can reduce operational costs. Businesses also avoid costly tax penalties and late payment losses.

“For larger organizations with unique requirements, bespoke enterprise solutions are available.

To guard against errors, the robust platform employs built-in compliance logic that validates every invoice before transmission.

“Key error-prevention features include pre-validation of all required FIRS elements, QR authentication for traceability, smart tax application based on transaction type, and missing field alerts.

“This systematic approach has resulted in a 99.7 percent compliance rate among Afri Invoice users. The platform’s engine is continuously updated to align with FIRS requirements,” Odenore said