Project Overview

The client required a custom Dolibarr ERP module to integrate directly with the Romanian government’s e-Factura system (ANAF), enabling both submission of outgoing invoices and retrieval/processing of incoming invoices. The solution needed to be secure, robust, fully compliant with the latest specifications, and natively embedded into Dolibarr’s UI and workflow.

• Platform: Dolibarr ERP v21.0.x+ with a PHP 8.x module.
• Scope: Send Dolibarr invoices to e-Factura, fetch vendor invoices from e-Factura, convert to Dolibarr vendor bills, track statuses, log events, and provide CSV/PDF reporting.
• Security & Compliance: Store official API credentials securely; use SSL/TLS, timeouts, retries, and adhere to ANAF’s latest e-Factura XML schema and business rules.
• Documentation: Comprehensive admin/user guides and developer notes for installation, configuration, and customization.

Key Challenges

1. Strict compliance: Generating and validating e-Factura-compliant XML while preserving Dolibarr’s native data structures.
2. Bidirectional flow: Reliable submission of outgoing invoices and automated ingestion of incoming vendor invoices with clear accept/reject actions.
3. Observability: End-to-end logs, traceable statuses (Sent, Accepted, Rejected), and exportable audit trails.
4. Resilience: Handling API timeouts, throttling, and intermittent failures with secure retry strategies.

CnEL India’s Approach & Solution

CnEL India delivered a purpose-built module aligned with Dolibarr’s module development standards, ensuring a native experience and future compatibility.

1) Core Functionalities Implemented

• Invoice Sending (Outbound):
  • Automated generation of e-Factura-compliant XML directly from Dolibarr customer invoices.
  • Secure submission to the official e-Factura API with response parsing.
  • Status lifecycle tracked in Dolibarr: Pending → Sent → Accepted/Rejected, with descriptive error messages for operators.
• Invoice Reception (Inbound):
  • Scheduled/On-demand fetching of incoming invoices from the e-Factura API.
  • Automatic conversion of received XML into Dolibarr Vendor Invoices.
  • Operator actions: Validate, Accept, or Reject within the module’s interface.

2) Secure API Integration

• Credentials stored in Dolibarr’s configuration with restricted visibility and encryption at rest.
• SSL/TLS enforced for all API calls; robust timeout and retry logic with exponential backoff.
• Structured error handling to show operator-friendly messages while capturing full diagnostics in backend logs.

3) User Interface & Experience

• Dedicated e-Factura tab in Dolibarr with concise dashboards:
  • Outgoing queue: invoices awaiting submission, in transit, or completed.
  • Incoming queue: new vendor invoices, with quick review actions and diff/summary views.
  • Status badges, filters (date, partner, status), and quick drill-down to logs.

4) Logging, Reporting & Exports

• Detailed logs of API requests/responses (with sensitive data masked in UI) stored for audit readiness.
• Downloadable CSV and PDF reports for transmissions, receptions, and status histories.
• Trace IDs linking Dolibarr documents, XML payloads, and ANAF responses for end-to-end traceability.

5) Compliance by Design

• XML generation fully aligned with the latest Romanian e-Factura specification (ANAF).
• Pre-send validation checks to reduce Rejected responses and operator rework.
• Configurable rules to adapt to future spec updates with minimal code changes.

Engineering Process & Quality Assurance

1. Discovery & Mapping: Data mapping from Dolibarr entities to e-Factura XML; acceptance criteria and status model defined upfront.
2. Module Architecture: PHP 8.x codebase following Dolibarr standards; services for XML build/parse, API client, logging, schedulers.
3. Testing: Unit tests for XML builders/parsers; integration tests against sandbox endpoints; controlled failure scenarios for retries/timeouts.
4. Performance & Hardening: Request throttling, idempotency keys, and safe re-submission patterns to avoid duplicates.
5. Handover & Training: Step-by-step installation, configuration, and operator guides; developer documentation for extensibility.

Why CnEL India Is the Best Team for This Project

• Deep ERP & Compliance Expertise: Proven history of building finance-grade modules that meet strict government standards.
• Native Dolibarr Development: We follow Dolibarr’s module paradigms for compatibility, maintainability, and smooth upgrades.
• Security-First Mindset: Credential hygiene, TLS everywhere, masked logs, and resilient error handling baked into the architecture.
• Operator-Centric UX: Clear statuses, actionable queues, and exports that reduce back-office workload.
• Transparent Delivery: Weekly progress updates, demo checkpoints, and documentation that empowers your internal team.
• Small-Team Agility: Direct access to senior engineers; rapid decision-making; faster turnaround on feedback.

Project Deliverables

• Production-ready Dolibarr module (PHP 8.x) compatible with v21.0.x and above.
• Outbound e-Factura submission with status tracking; inbound retrieval with vendor invoice conversion.
• Secure credential storage, TLS, timeout/retry mechanisms.
• Dedicated UI: dashboards, filters, status badges, and action flows.
• Comprehensive logs plus CSV/PDF reporting of transmissions and receptions.
• Full documentation: installation/configuration guide, user manual, and developer customization notes.
• Weekly updates throughout development; final delivery with full source code and doc set.

Client Testimonial

“CnEL India exceeded our expectations with the Dolibarr e-Factura module. Submitting invoices and ingesting vendor bills is now seamless and fully compliant. The status tracking and reports gave our finance team complete visibility, and the error handling is both secure and helpful. Weekly updates kept us confident throughout. We’d gladly choose CnEL India again for mission-critical ERP integrations.”
— Finance Director, Client Company

Outcome & Next Steps

The organization now processes Romanian e-Factura documents directly within Dolibarr—securely, reliably, and with clear audit trails. Operator time is down, error rates are reduced, and compliance posture is measurably stronger.

Looking to integrate e-Factura with Dolibarr? CnEL India can deliver a tailored, future-ready module with the exact features your finance operations need.