InvoiceNow transmission fails: keep an exception log while resolving the error

An InvoiceNow transmission failure should be logged against the original document and investigated with the accounting-solution provider. Preserve the error and acknowledgement history, then verify the final outcome before closing the exception. Sending the same invoice repeatedly without knowing its status can create duplicate records. Emailing a PDF to a customer does not prove that a required data transmission to IRAS succeeded.

Identify which stage failed

Separate creation of the accounting document, delivery to the customer and transmission of relevant data to IRAS. Your solution may show different statuses for each stage. Ask the provider what the displayed message means and which acknowledgement confirms completion. Do not turn an unfamiliar status into an assumption that the transaction was accepted.

Record the exception once

Restrict access to the log because invoice data may contain customer details.

Avoid a duplicate business transaction

If the underlying sale is valid, do not create a fresh sales invoice merely because a transmission failed. Follow the provider’s documented retry or correction process and confirm whether the first attempt might already have been received. Keep links between attempts. A technical retry and a commercial cancellation are different events.

Check the company’s actual obligation

IRAS’s InvoiceNow requirement is phased. Applicability depends on the business and its implementation date, so first establish whether the company is already required to transmit the relevant data. Use IRAS’s current guidance and the business’s notification. A technical problem does not, by itself, establish an exemption or extend a deadline.

Example: an invoice exists but no final acknowledgement

The accounts team sees a valid invoice in its ledger, while the provider dashboard shows an unresolved transmission message. Leave the invoice traceable, open one support case and ask how to verify the receiving status. Close the exception only when the final result is evidenced. Keep any further tax-compliance action separate from the software ticket.

Review recurring failures

At month-end, identify repeated data-validation or connectivity errors and assign a corrective owner. Reconcile exceptions to the accounting records. For wider context, read GST InvoiceNow requirements, GST and InvoiceNow questions and SME bookkeeping guidance.

Official guidance: IRAS GST InvoiceNow requirement.

Help with your company records

For accounting and bookkeeping support, contact Raffles Corporate Services at [email protected] or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. Tell us which records or transactions need attention so we can discuss the relevant next steps.