Five mistakes businesses should avoid before July 31 e-invoicing deadline

With less than a week until Nigeria’s July 31 electronic invoicing deadline, businesses are being urged to avoid common implementation mistakes that could leave them non-compliant despite registering for the new system.

In a statement on Sunday, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) directed all large taxpayers, companies with annual turnover of N5 billion and above, to fully adopt the National E-Invoicing and Electronic Fiscal System by July 31, 2026, warning that businesses that fail to comply risk regulatory and enforcement actions under existing tax laws. It disclosed that as of the first quarter, more than 1,000 companies had already complied with the e-invoicing requirements.

The deadline follows a public notice issued by the NRS on February 17, 2026, introducing the implementation timetable for the Electronic Fiscal System, also known as the Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS). The initiative is a key part of the Federal Government’s tax reform agenda to digitise tax administration, improve transparency, curb revenue leakages and enable real-time monitoring of business transactions.

In an interview with BusinessDay, Yele Oyekola, CEO and co-founder of Duplo, an African financial operations and payments platform, has identified five common mistakes businesses should avoid as they race to meet the deadline.

The firm is one of the few accredited providers holding both the Systems Integrator and Access Point Provider licences, giving the team direct insight into how businesses are preparing for implementation and the operational challenges they are encountering.

Assuming registration alone means compliance

According to Oyekola, the deadline is not merely about registering on the NRS platform.

Businesses are expected to complete onboarding on the Merchant Buyer Solution, integrate their systems through an approved Access Point Provider or System Integrator, complete validation and testing, and begin transmitting invoices to the NRS platform.

“They should also review their invoice data, VAT classifications, approval processes, and customer and supplier records to ensure the information being submitted is accurate. Registering on the platform without being able to issue and transmit compliant invoices does not amount to full compliance,” he said.

Treating e-invoicing as only a tax or IT project

Oyekola said many organisations mistakenly leave implementation to their tax or technology teams, even though e-invoicing affects virtually every part of the business.

“One of the most common mistakes is treating e-invoicing as solely a tax or IT project. It affects finance, sales, procurement, operations, and how businesses engage with customers and suppliers. All these teams need to be involved in the implementation process,” he said.

He advised companies to establish cross-functional implementation teams comprising finance, tax, procurement, operations, sales, and IT to ensure a smooth transition.

Automating inefficient manual processes

Another common mistake, according to Oyekola, is digitising broken processes without first addressing existing operational weaknesses.

He said incomplete invoice information, incorrect VAT classifications, and poorly defined approval workflows often create bigger problems once they are automated.

Instead, businesses should review their invoicing processes, clean customer and supplier data, and ensure tax classifications are accurate before migrating to the new system.

Skipping end-to-end testing

Oyekola warned that many businesses focus only on whether an invoice can be submitted successfully, without testing how the system performs under real business conditions.

“It is not enough to confirm that an invoice can be submitted. Businesses must test how the system handles rejected invoices, corrections, cancellations, credit notes, partial payments and high transaction volumes,” he said.

He also advised companies to train employees and establish clear procedures for handling errors before going live.

Waiting until the deadline to prepare

Although next Friday’s deadline currently applies to large taxpayers, Oyekola urged medium-sized businesses not to delay preparations until their own compliance timelines are announced.

“They should begin mapping their invoicing and payment processes, cleaning customer and supplier data, reviewing VAT and tax classifications, assessing the capabilities of their existing systems, engaging accredited service providers and training relevant teams. Starting early gives businesses enough time to address operational issues instead of rushing the process when the deadline approaches,” he said.

Beyond compliance

Oyekola said businesses should view e-invoicing as more than a regulatory requirement, arguing that it can improve financial operations and reduce administrative costs.

Based on Duplo’s experience working with businesses, he said finance teams in medium-sized Nigerian companies spend between 30 and 50 hours each month on manual reconciliation, resolving payment disputes and preparing for audits.

“E-invoicing changes the entire journey of an invoice—from creation and approval to validation, payment, reconciliation, and reporting. It creates a more structured and transparent way of managing transactions because invoices can be digitally verified and matched with payments and tax records,” he said.

He added that integrating invoicing, approvals, payments, and reporting into a single digital workflow can reduce invoice mismatches, minimise payment disputes, strengthen audit trails and give finance teams greater visibility and control over their operations.