Who can do this: Admins and Accountants review findings and record decisions. All users can see findings on their own expenses and mark a document as valid or invalid where permitted. This is only available on desktop.
How the checks work
Moss reads the data from each new document attached to an invoice, a card transaction or a reimbursement.
Moss checks that data against the VAT requirements of your company's country. Which checks run depends on where the supplier is based, what was bought, whether VAT was charged, and the gross amount (a full or a simplified invoice). Checks include: supplier name and address, supplier VAT ID or tax number, buyer name and address, invoice number, invoice and delivery dates, net, VAT and gross amounts, whether the VAT rate exists in the supplier's country, and for reverse charge, that no VAT is charged and your VAT ID is on the invoice.
Checks run in the background after a document is processed. While a check runs, the document shows as 'Verifying'. Results do not appear instantly at upload.
Moss checks documents processed after the feature is enabled. Existing documents are not checked retroactively.
Note: when an expense has more than one attached document, the result shown is for the first linked document.
Find documents that need attention
Go to 'Invoices', 'Transactions' or 'Reimbursements'.
Check the 'Document validity' column. A document shows one of: 'Valid', 'Invalid', 'Verifying', 'Unverified', 'Verification error' or 'Not required'.
To see only flagged documents, filter the table by 'Document validity' and select 'Invalid'.
The invoice table also offers review tabs to work through compliant and non-compliant documents.
What happens next: filtering does not change any document. It only narrows the list so you can review by exception.
Status | Meaning |
Valid | All checks that apply to the document passed. |
Invalid | At least one check failed. The compliance card names the failed requirement. |
Verifying | Checks are still running. Nothing to do yet. |
Unverified | Moss could not check the document. |
Verification error | The check could not be completed. |
Review a flagged document
Open the expense. If the completed check found an issue, a compliance card appears below the document in the drawer. Compliant documents show no card.
Read the grouped findings on the card: 'Missing fields', 'Incomplete fields' and 'Data mismatch'. Each finding names the affected field.
To inspect the evidence, click 'How did we check this?' in the card footer, or select 'View extracted data' from the document's action menu.
The 'Reviewed document data' view opens. It shows the data Moss read from the document in four sections: 'Invoice details', 'Supplier information', 'Buyer information' and 'Amounts & items'. Each section is marked 'Valid', 'Invalid' or 'Unverified'.
Hover over a value to highlight where it was found in the document preview, where highlighting is available.
Note: the 'Reviewed document data' view shows only values extracted from the document itself. A field without an extracted value shows 'Not set'. Editing the expense does not change the document check result.
If a finding looks wrong, first compare the data in this view with the document. Moss reads documents with AI, and a field read wrongly can fail a check on a correct document.
Act on a finding: Invoices
To request a corrected document, click 'Email supplier' on the compliance card of an invoice. This opens the standard supplier email flow.
To record a manual decision, select 'Mark as valid' or 'Mark as invalid' on the document, where permitted.
What happens next: a manual decision updates the 'Document validity' status, and the change is recorded in the expense's activity history. A manual decision does not change the check result: the document keeps its failed check together with your decision, and the compliance card stays visible.
Act on a finding: Card Transactions & Reimbursements
The admin and the spender can mark the receipt as 'not needed'.
The admin also has the option to mark the receipt as ‘valid’
What happens next: a manual decision updates the 'Document validity' status, and the change is recorded in the expense's activity history. Accepting a document despite an issue does not make it compliant: the document keeps its 'Invalid' check result together with the accepted decision, and the compliance card remains visible.
Enable document compliance checks
Go to 'Settings' > 'Automation'.
Turn on the 'Document compliance checks' toggle: "Automatically check new invoices and receipts for VAT document requirements and flag issues for review."
Turning the toggle off stops checks on future documents. It does not remove existing results.
Note: the setting is available to organisations with Accounting AI Automation.
What regulations Moss check, per country
Moss validates documents for buyer entities in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Austria. The gross amount on the document determines whether the full or the simplified invoice requirements apply. The checks are based on the following regulations:
Country | Full invoice requirements | Simplified invoice requirements | VAT rates | Reverse charge |
Germany | §14 UStG (invoices over €250 gross) | §33 UStDV (invoices up to €250 gross) | §12 UStG (7%, 19%) | §13b UStG; §14a UStG (buyer VAT ID on reverse-charge invoices) |
United Kingdom | VAT Notice 700, section 16.3 (invoices over £250) | VAT Notice 700, section 16.6 (invoices up to £250) | VAT Act 1994 (0%, 5%, 20%) | VAT Act 1994, section 8 |
Netherlands | Art. 35a Wet OB 1968 (invoices over €100) | Art. 35d Wet OB 1968 (invoices up to €100) | Art. 9 Wet OB 1968 (0%, 9%, 21%) | Art. 12 Wet OB 1968 (btw verlegd) |
Austria | §11 UStG (invoices over €400) | §11 Abs. 9 UStG (invoices up to €400) | §10 UStG (10%, 13%, 20%) | §19 UStG |
Invoices from suppliers in another EU country are checked as full invoices at any amount in Germany and the Netherlands – you account for the VAT yourself.
Fields that are checked
Field | Simplified invoice | Full invoice |
Supplier name and address | Required | Required |
Invoice date | Required | Required |
Description of what was supplied | Required | Required |
Gross amount | Required | Required |
VAT rate, and it must exist in the supplier's country | Required | Required |
Supplier VAT ID (Germany: or tax number) | Not checked | Required |
Your company's name and address (buyer) | Not checked | Required, must match your registered details |
Invoice number | Not checked | Required |
Delivery or service date (UK: tax point) | Not checked | Required |
Net amount and VAT amount | Not checked | Required |
Reverse charge
For many services from a supplier in another country, the supplier charges no VAT and you account for the VAT yourself. Moss recognises these invoices from the supplier's country, what was bought and whether VAT was charged.
For a supplier in another EU country, Moss checks that no VAT is charged and that your VAT ID is on the invoice (art. 226(4) VAT Directive). The VAT rate and VAT amount checks do not apply. If your VAT ID is missing on the invoice, check that it is set in your organisation settings of the supplier, or ask the supplier for a corrected invoice.
If a supplier charges VAT where reverse charge should apply, for example an Irish supplier charging 19% German VAT, the invoice can be complete but you pay VAT you cannot deduct. Moss will flag such cases. Ask the supplier for a corrected invoice.
What the checks do not do
They do not guarantee legal VAT compliance or reclaimability of an expense. They check whether required document fields are present and plausible.
They do not verify supplier VAT IDs against official registers (VIES or HMRC). They check the format of EU VAT IDs.
They do not check that net and VAT add up to the gross amount, or VAT per rate on invoices with several rates.
They do not read quantities, and they compare the buyer address by country and city only.
They do not detect payment fraud.
Results depend on the quality of the document and its extraction.
Mileage and per diem reimbursements are not checked.
Some cases are not covered yet, for example the margin scheme, official fees, and goods that a foreign seller ships from stock in your country.