The distributed ledger system that most people know as the blockchain is a truly ingenious innovation with many positive world-changing implications. It not only enables digital currencies to thrive, but also provides new options for self-empowering digital payments and new ways to maintain time-stamped, immutable record-keeping. Merchants will be able to eventually use digital currencies for 100% of a new generation of debit and credit card transactions, while enjoying the benefit of a completely auditable transaction trail thanks to the blockchain.

Before that vision can become a reality, however, there are many challenges and obstacles that need to be overcome. Fortunately, DNotes Global Inc is committed to identifying those challenges and creating viable solutions that overcome obstacles. DNotes’ Blockchain Integrated Invoicing is one clear example of that commitment.

Blockchain integrated invoicing is designed to be a critical and strategically linked component of the DNotes global payment system, ultimately helping DNotes to meet its goal of becoming an inclusive digital currency in global commerce for the benefit of everyone. In this article, I will elaborate on why it is important and how it fits into this vision.

The Purpose of an Invoice Number

An invoice number is a number that is generated from a vendor or merchant to keep track of a sale throughout every stage of the transaction and associate each order with a buyer and the payment.

Often, invoices are used on the back end, where databases track the progression of the transaction. Most of the time, people don’t ever have to know they exist or do anything with them.

It can also be used as the order id or transaction id in some cases. Though all of these ids serve a different purpose, they can be the same number and, in a database, can all be a single field.

Automating Invoicing and Settlement

One of the most important reasons we felt it necessary to include the invoice number in the DNotes blockchain is that it makes it possible to automate online payments without a lot of additional burden or cost.

To demonstrate this, let’s look at how merchants can accept bitcoin payments:

Third Party Services

You can use a third-party service to accept bitcoin payments, and they will handle the invoicing and settlement for you. The problem with that option is that they charge fees to accept that payment on your behalf. When added to the blockchain transaction and currency conversion fees, that option begins to become very expensive and unattractive.

In addition, you are subject to their approval, their rules and terms, and associated liabilities.

Your Own Online Hot Wallet

You can also create your own integrated solution by running your own wallet online. This allows you to automatically query the wallet and create a new address at the time of the transaction. This new address acts as the invoice number for the transaction, and you can later query the wallet to verify the payment was sent.

This method creates additional risk, additional technology and server requirements, and requires extensive knowledge and skill to setup. This may be a good option for those with the resources available to setup and mitigate the risk. However, it’s not good for small business or individual merchants and vendors.

Hybrid Approach

There are many hybrid approaches to solving this problem as well. All these methods trade risk for complexity and vice versa. However, they all have negative and positive implications that make mainstream adoption much more difficult.

Integrated Invoice Number Approach

Integrating the invoice number into the blockchain allows the merchant to generate their own invoice number and makes it possible to check the state of a payment from any node in a decentralized manner. This method eliminates the risk and most of the complexity found in the above methods, making it very simple to use and automate.

The invoice number itself is seamless and concealed to the user, because it is simply attached to the end of the address. Eventually, both vendors and consumers won’t have to ever see the invoice number or even address, it will be integrated with their tools and processes in such a way that it will be invisible to the end users.

Accounting and Financial Tools

The blockchain integrated invoice number not only makes DNotes Pay possible — something that we will cover in-depth in a future article — but also makes possible and simplifies a whole host of accounting and financial tools. Everything from bookkeeping to reconciliation and reporting will be possible through applications developed to integrate directly with the blockchain.

DNotes Global Payment Solutions, Consulting, and NextGenVC

This opens a multitude of possibilities for DNotes Global, as a for-profit company, to create the financial and accounting tools and solutions merchants need for this new digital era. DNotes’ consulting team and NextGenVC will benefit from this effort as well by creating new opportunities and efficiencies desperately needed in the business world.

Conclusion

To meet our goals of becoming an inclusive digital currency used in global commerce for the benefit of everyone, we need to meet the demands of our customers. This will be a critical feature in making DNotes easy and seamless to use in global commerce. DNotes Global Payment Network Systems are designed to be more than just a platform for accepting digital currency payments. They’re also a new and innovative approach to solving the challenges of enabling digital currency payments in an efficient, cost-effective, and transparent way — ensuring that digital currency transactions can truly be superior to other payment options.