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Introducing Tungsten’s Future-Proofed Chinese Invoice Automation and Compliance Solution

23. Juli 2025

China remains the global manufacturing hub and the world’s second-largest economy — presenting immense opportunities for global businesses with ambitions for rapid growth. Yet, conducting business in China brings its own unique set of challenges.

In a previous blog, we examined the challenges of keeping pace with China’s rapidly evolving VAT legislation and trade tariffs and highlighted why Accounts Payable (AP) automation is becoming increasingly essential for maintaining compliance in such a fast-paced environment.

With this in mind, we’re excited to launch our dedicated China invoice automation and compliance solution in October 2025. This fully localized, future-proof platform is designed to help you navigate the complexities of the Chinese business landscape with confidence.

This article explores some of its features and benefits, as well as how we can help you overcome the full spectrum of Chinese business-to-business invoicing and compliance challenges. Read on to learn more.

The Challenges of Invoicing and Compliance in China

If you're a multinational company with a Chinese Branch or affiliate that regularly receives domestic invoices from Chinese suppliers, you're likely very familiar with China’s financial complexities. These include:

Managing Fapiaos

Fapiaos are official Chinese invoices that serve as both instructions to pay and critical evidence for tax authorities. Under the complex and semi-automated Chinese VAT and invoicing regulations (originating from China’s Golden Tax System of the 1990s), Chinese businesses had to pre-register and purchase multiple fapiao document types in advance from local tax offices. Moreover, they had to declare how many fapiaos they planned to issue to buyers over a set period. While the system has somewhat modernized over time, a number of legacy fapiao requirements persist to this day, making it particularly challenging to manage for foreign companies with regional branches and affiliates.

Evolving Operating Models

Financial compliance in China is driven by strong government recommendations rather than formal mandates since most Chinese businesses tend to implement these directives very quickly. This unique business culture can feel unfamiliar to International companies, potentially leaving them unprepared for the operational shifts. For example, even without a formal nationwide e-invoicing mandate, many foreign companies are struggling to manage high volumes of electronic invoices from diverse regions in China. This can, in turn, lead to inefficiencies, payment delays, and cash flow management issues.

Invoice Fraud Risk

Invoice fraud is a widespread risk in China and takes many forms. For instance, while every fapiao must carry a QR code to verify its registration with the Chinese government, fraudsters frequently copy these codes from already registered invoices and attach them to fake ones. This type of manipulation is common, making it essential for companies to verify the authenticity of every single invoice to avoid financial losses.

Data Processing Compliance

Strict local data processing requirements in China mean that all financial and personal data must be handled within the country. While it's possible for Chinese businesses to obtain approval to export a limited amount of data, China’s regulations are open to interpretation, making it a risky endeavor. This lack of clarity creates significant barriers for foreign tech companies and their customers, as neither can be entirely sure they’re on safe legal ground unless all financial data is processed locally.

Global Labor Shortages

Like many advanced economies, China is facing challenges related to an aging population and labor shortages — particularly in core financial functions such as Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable (AR). In such a highly competitive environment, automation becomes essential for maintaining your cost advantage on the world stage.

Our Future-Proof Invoicing Solution for the Chinese Market

To help you overcome these challenges, we’re excited to introduce our new Chinese-specific invoice proposition. Launching in October 2025, our fully localized, future-proof solution seamlessly combines invoice compliance and automation into a single platform.

Backed by our global invoicing expertise and a dedicated local entity in Shanghai, we’re uniquely positioned to help you compete and trade compliantly in this lucrative market.

Here’s a brief overview of our solution’s features and benefits:

Effortless Fapiao Compliance

We support a wide range of invoicing formats, including PDF and paper invoices, the latter of which still remains popular in many parts of the country. Additionally, our solution will be expanded to fully digitized fapiaos in Q1 2026. This ensures that both international buyers and Chinese suppliers can maintain efficient and consistent compliance processes while staying ahead of future regulatory changes.

Berührungslose Rechnungsautomatisierung

While most providers focus solely on compliance, we set ourselves apart by combining compliance and advanced automation. Our solutions empower you to process even the most complex fapiaos with greater speed, accuracy, and visibility into your financial operations. We’re dedicated to helping your organizations handle higher invoice volumes with fewer resources and adapt quickly to changing business demands.

Local Data Processing

Our solution is fully locally hosted in China, with all invoices and customer data processed and retained within the country. This ensures your business is protected from the risks and uncertainties associated with exporting data, while helping you stay fully compliant with evolving regulations.

Fraud Prevention

We protect your business from invoice fraud by rigorously verifying every fapiao with the Chinese government, ensuring that only genuine, government-registered invoices are processed through your systems.

Tungsten Automation: Your Partner for Success in China

With over forty years of experience at the forefront of invoice automation and compliance, Tungsten Automation occupies a unique position in the industry.

We're proud to be a truly global partner, supporting customers in over 140 countries and helping them simplify invoicing so they can focus on what truly matters: growing their business.

As we expand into China, we’re ready to help you navigate one of the world's most challenging and rewarding markets, ensuring you’re well-prepared for whatever the future holds.

If you're an existing Tungsten Automation customer, please connect with your Customer Success Manager to learn more. Alternatively, if you’re new to us, get in touch with one of our invoice compliance experts here to begin your China success story today.