CII-SR-178: Invoice lines should not give their own payment reference

What it means

The settlement details of an invoice line (SpecifiedLineTradeSettlement in the XML) should not contain a PaymentReference. EN 16931 has a payment reference (BT-83) only for the whole invoice. It is the text the buyer quotes on the bank transfer so that the payment can be matched to the invoice.

Why it matters

This is a warning, so the invoice is not rejected. The buyer's software takes the payment reference from the invoice level, so one that sits on a line is usually not used when the invoice is paid. It is worth fixing if you match incoming payments by that reference, or if your recipient wants a file without warnings.

How to fix it

Clear any per-line payment reference in your invoicing software. Then check that the payment reference is filled in once for the whole invoice, often the invoice number. If you build the XML yourself, delete the PaymentReference element from the line's SpecifiedLineTradeSettlement.

The rule as published

PaymentReference should not be present

Where this rule applies