New Zealand eInvoicing: New government procurement changes

The New Zealand Government has recently changed their procurement rules for suppliers. These changes look to benefit suppliers, particularly small and medium business, with their cash flow. Here’s a breakdown of the changes.

What changes are coming?

The New Zealand government is updating its procurement rules to expand the use of eInvoicing across a wider range of public agencies, and has set a target for agencies to pay eInvoices in 5 days, in a view to boost efficiency and support businesses. These changes were announced by Economic Development Minister Hon Melissa Lee and Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Hon Andrew Bayly on the 5th of November 2024.

Starting January 2026, about 135 government agencies, including major ones like ACC, Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency), Health NZ and NZ Police, will need to be able to receive eInvoices and pay 95% of domestic trade envoices within 5 business days.
Agencies who send over 2,000 invoices per annum will also be required to send them as eInvoices.

Michael Alp, the eInvoicing Executive Sponsor and Chief Operating Officer at MBIE, emphasised the benefits already being seen by businesses, such as faster payments, better cash flow, reduced administrative work, and improved security. The push towards eInvoicing is expected to streamline transactions, minimise errors, and reduce the risk of payment fraud, creating a more efficient and reliable payment system for New Zealand’s public sector suppliers.

The Government will also begin consulting with businesses on requiring certain government suppliers to send eInvoices as part of the Government Procurement Rules, with he outcomes to be reported back to Cabinet in February 2025.

Why are they being introduced?

The Government is ambitious about lifting New Zealand’s economic productivity and improving public sector efficiency, which means adopting smarter ways of working. Prompt payment is especially important for small businesses which have limited cash reserves – an unpaid or late invoice can be the difference between being able to pay staff on time or not. Having invoices paid on time can mean a world of difference to small and medium sized businesses

How to get started with eInvoicing

The best time for government agencies and businesses alike to get started with eInvoicing is now. For government agencies, earlier implementation means avoiding the rush. For businesses, it means getting faster payments earlier. The process to get started is easy:

1. Look at your business processes
   This is to understand your current business processes and where eInvoicing could fit. It’s important to set objectives for your eInvoicing and have buy in internally.
2. Review software capabilities
   • Does your software support eInvoicing?
     • If so, to what extent? Some software providers will offer a fully-integrated solution, while others might produce a file and customers will have to find their own Access Points.
     • Does eInvoicing require an update or an additional cost?
   • Does your software produce the Peppol file? If it doesn’t, your Access Point may be able to translate the file to the Peppol format.
   • Is your software cloud based or on-premise?
   • What connection protocol your software can work with?
3. Find an access point
   Look at access points and the solutions they provide, a few things to think about should be:
   • Technical capability
     Make sure they can get you connected with your partners and the Peppol network quickly and easily. You should also be looking for a provider that can offer other services to future proof your investment.
   • Experience
     It is important to know about your provider’s experience and how they keep up to date with eInvoicing developments.
   • Pricing and support
     Understand exactly how you will be charged and what support you will receive to avoid any conflict in the future.

Check out our A guide to adopting eInvoicing whitepaper to learn more here.

Want to get started with eInvoicing? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.