30/05/2023

eInvoicing benefits

Electronic innovation is becoming more and more prominent in recent times as we see businesses look for ways to reduce costs and improve efficiency. One of the innovations with prominence at the moment is eInvoicing. Here's how eInvoicing works:

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It involves sending and receiving invoices electronically, directly to and from their software. It removes the need for unnecessary data entry and inaccurate OCR scanning.

Benefits for buyers

Most businesses think eInvoicing only benefits the seller, but that’s not true. There’s a lot of good stuff for buyers too:

Time and cost savings eInvoicing eliminates the need for manual data entry because invoices pop straight into your software. This also reduces the likelihood of errors, which can lead to further costs and delays.
Improved accuracy eInvoicing helps ensure invoices are accurate and complete , reducing the likelihood of disputes between buyers and suppliers. How? Well, eInvoices go straight into your software, so there’s no need to manually enter them in. Not only is it harder to make errors, you reduce the risk of fraudulent invoices too! Anyone who sends an eInvoice via the Peppol network needs to be registered.
Increased visibility eInvoicing makes it easier for businesses to keep track of invoices and reduces the chance of losing invoices, which can delay payment and impact your supplier relationships . This is because your software keeps your invoice activity and purchase orders all in the one place.
Reduced environmental impact eInvoicing reduces paper usage and helps to lower carbon emissions associated with paper-based invoicing, which can be important for buyers looking to reduce their environmental impact.

Benefits for sellers

In the current economic climate, efficiency is key so here are some of the main benefits eInvoicing can bring:

Faster payment processing eInvoicing allows sellers to send invoices to their customers quickly and easily, which can lead to faster payment processing and improved cash flow.
Reduced manual processing eInvoicing reduces a lot of manual processing by using your software to create and instantly send invoices to your buyers. No need to create invoices in your software then download a PDF and then put together an email. The other good thing is that eInvoicing shows the status of an invoice so the need for your customers to follow up with you is reduced.
Increased visibility eInvoicing provides sellers with real-time access to invoice status and payment information, like when an invoice has been approved and when it has been paid.

Steps to get started

Find out if your existing software is eInvoicing-capable
If not, talk to an eInvoicing service provider like MessageXchange
- Fill in a form with your business details and choose which products works best for you
- Get connected to MessageXchange
- Start exchanging eInvoices

Need more help getting ready for eInvoicing? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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21/03/2023

Setting your business up for eInvoicing

The benefits of eInvoicing are becoming more and more enticing to businesses in these tricky times. Understanding the benefits is one thing but taking the next steps to getting started is a different story, at least that’s what businesses may believe. Here are steps, in straightforward terms, to set your business up for eInvoicing.

Look at your business

Define your objectives

There are a few things to do when getting started. The first is to define your objectives for implementing eInvoicing. These could be reducing manual processes, complying with partners’ eInvoicing requests, increasing cash flow or something else. Knowing these from the get-go will help keep your business on track.

Review your business processes

The next thing is to look at your business processes. Think about:

How many invoices are you processing?
Do you plan to send invoices, receive them, or both?
Do you exchange invoices with suppliers or customers who are overseas?
What are your current processes for receiving invoices, approving them, making payments, reporting and reconciling?

You can then use this information to tailor your eInvoicing solution to best suit you.

Get relevant internal departments involved

One internal department taking control over your eInvoicing project is not ideal. One, it prioritises the needs of one team over others, that’s not very collaborative. Two, there’s no transparency and understanding across the organisation about the project. There are three main departments that are generally involved in an eInvoicing project: Finance

They’ll be working directly with eInvoicing by switching from receiving paper or PDF invoices. They’ll be acting on the eInvoices that end up in your software so it’s important for them to have a say and understand how it works.

eInvoicing works through your software so your IT team needs to be part of the process. They can help with a lot of the technical stuff working directly with your eInvoicing provider.

Management

Those involved in compliance and reporting or the handling of master data can benefit from eInvoicing. It gives these decision makers visibility of procurement and payment information.

Getting your software ready

Have a look at your software to see if they already provide Peppol eInvoicing as an option. If so, find out whether it would require and update or an additional cost. If your software isn’t ready, that’s not a problem, you can work with an eInvoicing service provider and Access Point like MessageXchange. They’ll be able to help you with all the file and connection protocol requirements to get you connected. All you generally need is the ability to import and/or export some sort of invoice file.

Testing messages

For businesses implementing e-invoicing there is some testing required before you can send and receive e-invoices. This is where help from your IT team will come in handy. One requirement is connectivity testing with your Access Point to ensure you can both exchange messages correctly. Testing is also performed on your file to ensure it is correctly structured.Need more help getting ready for eInvoicing? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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E-invoicing Retailers Suppliers

24/02/2023

Five automated checks in MessageXchange to get the invoices you need the first time around

Many large organisations have processes setup in their accounts payables systems to review invoices and approve them for payment. Often the rules are quite complex and can rely on certain information being present on the invoice for the process to run effectively. Introducing eInvoicing can appear to throw a spanner in the works here, but with MessageXchange, it can make it even easier in automating the presence and validity of the data. Have a look at these tips to help you get the invoice you need the first time around.

1. Ensure a purchase order number is present

If your invoice matching requires a purchase order number to be present, MessageXchange can check that it’s there before sending the invoice onto your software. If it’s not, MessageXchange can automatically reject the invoice and send feedback to the supplier with information as to why it was rejected. Another alternative is to still receive the eInvoice in your software but send a notification to the supplier to ask them to include the order number on their future eInvoices.

2. Ensure the purchase order number is correct

This can be done in a couple of ways – you can check that the order number has the same format of those you issue, like always 10 digits, or starting with certain numbers, or you can even share (automatically, of course) a list of your order numbers from your software, and MessageXchange will check that it matches, before sending the invoice onto you. We can even go one step further and check that the purchase order number and ABN combination are correct.

3. Only receive eInvoices from ABNs you know

Our customers can provide a list of their suppliers’ ABNs. When an eInvoice for the customer comes in, MessageXchange can check the sender ABN against this list. Again, if it matches, we’ll send it onto you. And if not, we can reject it and notify the supplier, or continue to send it onto you while notifying the supplier.

4. Check the BSB and account number

Some invoice approval processes check the BSB and account numbers on the invoice. You can check for correct formatting, or even ensure they match those you have on file. When an eInvoice comes through, MessageXchange can check for these to make sure you get only the eInvoices that you’ll be able to process.

5. Mandate attachments from certain suppliers

If you use an outsourced HR company, for example, and expect timesheets with your invoices, MessageXchange can check that eInvoices from certain ABNs always have an attachment. We can even go one further to specify that the attachment must always be an Excel sheet, for example.All of these checks, and more, can be implemented in your eInvoicing Gateway. These are just some examples, but the only real limitation is your imagination. Have a chat to our team today about how to make sure you get the invoices you want the first time around.

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E-invoicing Retailers Suppliers

30/01/2023

eInvoicing with MessageXchange in a nutshell

If you’re just starting out with eInvoicing, or looking for an eInvoicing provider, the process can be pretty daunting and confusing. The good news is, this blog is just for you. Keep reading to find out the A to Z of eInvoicing with MessageXchange.

What is eInvoicing?

For those really new to eInvoicing, have a look at this whitepaper that explains in layman’s terms what eInvoicing is, how it’s used, its benefits and more.Ok, now you’re all up to speed with the basics…

It doesn’t matter what software you use for invoicing

The good news with our eInvoicing service is that it doesn’t matter what invoicing software you use. Our service is software-agnostic, which means we can connect to any software. In the diagram above, your software will be corners 1 or 4. We’ll handle all the nitty gritty between corners 1 and 3 (for sending invoices) and corners 4 and 2 (for receiving invoices) so you don’t have to worry about any added stress of finding new software. After all, we all know what a process and investment changing software can be.

Your software doesn’t support UBL files? No worries

Now that you’re all up-to-date with eInvoicing, you’ll know that UBL is the file format used between Access Points (corners 2 and 3) to exchange eInvoices. In reality, many software packages don’t support this file format. And this is something we’ve catered for. We can take your software’s native file format and translate, or map, this to and from the eInvoicing UBL file. For those non-technical people reading this – usually a software package exports an imports one specific file format, like XML or JSON.

MessageXchange provides both Access Point and SMP services

The introduction to eInvoicing whitepaper describes how the eInvoicing process works. When an eInvoice is received at the sender’s Access Point, it looks up where to send the eInvoice to. This lookup is done in an SMP, or service metadata publisher. So, when you register to receive eInvoices, you’ll need to register your ABN, NZBN or whatever identifier you use, in an SMP. MessageXchange provides this service for free for all its eInvoicing customers so it’s one less thing you need to worry about.

Options to suit every business

We offer a couple of different eInvoicing options, which should suit most, if not all businesses out there.

eInvoicing Connect

This is the perfect option if you want to get up and running quickly and cost-effectively. This product can be used for sending and receiving eInvoices, or just one or the other. It also caters for business response messages, which is sent from a recipient of an eInvoice to a sender to update them on the status of the eInvoice, for example, whether it’s been accepted, rejected, paid and more. We’ve got an existing integration with TechnologyOne CiAnywhere, but if you’re not using that software, you can connect to MessageXchange via SFTP or our AS2 to exchange UBL, XML or CSV files. We have a message implementation guide for our XML and CSV files so you can familiarise yourself with the structure. When it comes to pricing, get setup for as little as $950, which includes registration of one ABN or NZBN. Then it’s just $50 per annum (this covers the subscription to our Access Point) and $50 for a pack of 1,000 credits. One credit covers 1MB of data or part thereof of a single message, including attachments. eInvoicing Connect users get access to a portal, which allows you to view a log of the invoices you’ve sent and received and you can see your credit balance too. Find out more about eInvoicing Connect here.

eInvoicing Gateway

If you’re going to be an eInvoicing power user, or are looking at eInvoicing more strategically, our eInvoicing Gateway is for you. It’s got much more flexibility in that we can connect to any software using any secure connection protocol to exchange any file format (MessageXchange configures maps to translate your format to/from the UBL format). Plus, it’s got additional functionality. Our Gateways allow you to implement business rule validation, which can do things like reject an invoice if it doesn’t have the data you need. It can also enrich invoice data, like adding an internal vendor number based on the ABN it’s sent from, to make sure the invoice data your software receives is what you need. The data enrichment can also cater for outgoing invoices. This helps if your software doesn’t populate all the mandatory eInvoicing information, or the information that your customers require from you. Another benefit of our eInvoicing Gateways is it’s reporting and analytics functionality. Get access to custom reports based on any data in the invoices and even call on data from other sources. One case we’ve seen is top-level reporting on multiple business units. The functionality is all there, but how you use it is really up to your imagination and your business’ needs. Find out more about our eInvoicing Gateways here.

Onboarding suppliers

Yes, getting setup for eInvoicing is the thing we think about first, but onboarding your trading partners is what you’ll turn your attention to once that’s done. With our 20+ years in supply chain trading, we’ve got a few tips at the ready. We’ve developed a guide to help you engage and onboard your supply chain. Plus, we’ve got no- and low-cost solutions for your trading partners to send and receive eInvoices. Just ask us more.

Security is a top priority

We know invoice data is commercially sensitive and that’s why we do everything within our power to keep it secure. We’re ISO27001 accredited, we use encryption in transit and encryption at rest plus a range of other security, DR and BCP processes. Have a look here for more info.Ready to find out more? Have a chat with one of our eInvoicing experts.

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E-invoicing Retailers Suppliers

17/11/2022

Could mandatory eInvoicing be on the cards? Business eInvoicing Right (BER) explained

The Government’s roll-out of eInvoicing started with a mandate for Federal Government agencies to adopt eInvoicing by July 1, 2022. Several State Governments have also taken the initiative to adopt eInvoicing, with one driving force being to support the Federal Government’s initiative and to help boost adoption among businesses – after all, what business wouldn’t want their invoices paid in 5 days? This has been a good step in eInvoicing adoption. In late 2021, around 10,000 businesses were registered for eInvoicing, but with over 2.4 million businesses in Australia, there’s still a long way to go.If we rewind to November 2020, Treasury released consultation paper that looked at a possible mandate for businesses to adopt eInvoicing, suggesting three different options:

A phased mandate for all businesses
A mandate for only large businesses
No mandate.

34 companies made a submission on this paper, with all of them acknowledging the benefits of eInvoicing but many of them suggesting a well-considered approach, given costs can be incurred to implement eInvoicing and the time that may be required to both implement eInvoicing and change processes around it. Fast forward to December 2021, The Treasury released another consultation paper to the public, explaining the widespread benefits of eInvoicing if it was adopted at large. It mentioned the Budget’s inclusion of $15.3 million to help accelerate adoption of eInvoicing among Australian businesses. They sought feedback from stakeholders in the industry as to how to support business to adopt eInvoicing and to give businesses certainty that when they adopted eInvoicing, they’d be able to use it with their trading partners. This would be done through Business eInvoicing Right, or BER. Another 39 submissions were made, many of which included the same rhetoric as the previous ones – eInvoicing has huge benefits, but the Government must support businesses and make it easier, rather than force a mandate. Now back in late 2022, what’s happened? Well, a lot politically. We’ve had a change in Government, to start with. While eInvoicing is supported by both parties, we’ve not heard anything definitive on BER or an eInvoicing mandate for businesses. We’ve seen software companies like Xero, MYOB and Reckon all include eInvoicing in their products, which takes eInvoicing a long way – they represent a large majority of small to medium businesses, which make up a big portion of all businesses. There is a lot still happening in this space. So stay tuned.Interested in learning more about eInvoicing? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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E-invoicing

27/10/2022

Accounts receivable automation using eInvoicing

Getting bogged down in manual processes can really hurt an accounts receivables team. After all, invoices that take a long time to process cost a business and make for an underperforming team. Thankfully there’s technology out there to deal with this. eInvoicing automates the exchange of invoices directly from your software to your customers’. eInvoicing works like this:

You find your customer’s purchase order (PO) in your software and create an invoice from it. Your team then sends the invoice electronically from your software. The invoice is sent, almost magically, through the Peppol network directly to your customer’s software. They don’t need to scan it, type it in or anything.
Your customer’s software may then be able to match the received invoice against the PO for payment authorisation.

Here are some of the benefits of using eInvoicing in your accounts receivable team.

Get paid faster

If you’re in accounts receivables, you want to send out invoices and get paid as quickly as possible. That’s where eInvoicing comes in. Studies have shown eInvoicing can reduce processing cycle time by up to 65%. Some government agencies even promise to pay their suppliers’ eInvoices in just five days.

Reduce disputes

The automation of eInvoicing also makes it very unlikely for any errors to show up on invoices when your customers get them into their software. This reduces the chance of your customers ringing you up asking about invoices with the wrong quantities or costs… yikes!

Get more visibility

Typically when you email an invoice, you only know it's approved once you receive the payment into your bank account. Or sometimes your customers might be nice enough to send you a remittance advice. The eInvoicing model supports eInvoice responses, which can tell you when an invoice is acknowledged, approved, paid, rejected and more. It can even tell you why it's been rejected.

Reduce invoice processing costs

eInvoicing digitises the whole invoicing process so it’s one less thing you need a printer for. Plus, an added bonus of eInvoicing is less need for archiving invoices, which reduces costs by up to 32%. Overall, studies have shown it costs $30.87 to process a paper invoice, $27.67 a PDF invoice, and only $9.18 to process an eInvoice.Interested in learning more about eInvoicing for your accounts receivable team? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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E-invoicing

28/09/2022

What’s next for eInvoicing?

eInvoicing continues to grow in popularity and it’s expected to expand further. There’s a lot coming to eInvoicing in the future so we thought we’d look at some of the developments.

More message types on the Peppol network, not just eInvoices

Studies have shown that 72.5% of invoices globally are paid late . In 2016, Australian companies were an average of 26.4 days overdue on their invoice payments. With the help of eInvoicing, we’re seeing sellers being paid in less time. This improves cash flow and allows businesses to use their funds more strategically.

Could there be a business mandate for eInvoicing?

In 2020, the Commonwealth government’s Treasury sent out a request for feedback from businesses on options to accelerate the adoption of eInvoicing an. One option involves requiring all businesses to have the capability to send and receive Peppol eInvoices, with large businesses being the first. Another option would be to require only large businesses to have the ability to send and receive Peppol eInvoices. The last option is a non-regulatory option that offers more flexibility for businesses to choose their own pathway to adoption. This is by no means a mandate for eInvoicing at the moment, but some of the options, if implemented, could bring a mandate. We’ve also seen the Government push the Business eInvoicing Right (BER) initiative to encourage the adoption of B2B eInvoicing. The BER allows companies to request their trading partners to send them eInvoices in the Peppol format. The objective of the BER initiative is to gradually introduce the obligatory use of eInvoicing among Australian companies, based on their size.

Push by government to get suppliers onboard to eInvoicing

With government agencies and departments going through mandatory implementation of eInvoicing, it’s only a matter of time before their suppliers follow suit. There’s already been talk about government agencies mandating their suppliers to implement eInvoicing. The ATO is currently focusing on a push to large businesses, particularly in the utilities and telecommunications sectors, to support eInvoicing.Have more questions? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.

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E-invoicing

22/08/2022

5 reasons why companies are choosing eInvoicing

We continue to see eInvoicing gathering momentum. Here in Australia, the number of companies registering for eInvoicing is growing hugely. Here are five of the reasons companies are choosing eInvoicing.

They’re getting paid faster

They’re saving time by reducing manual processes

With an outdated system, processing invoices involves lots of steps. With eInvoicing there’s no need to enter invoice data, saving you time. MessageXchange can even automate more processes such as matching invoices to PO numbers and more. All these things let your staff focus on more important tasks.

They’re saving costs and reducing errors

The ATO estimates paper and PDF invoices can cost between $27 and $30 to process. eInvoicing reduces the costs to less than $10. In Australia alone, 1.2 billion invoices are sent each year, so you can already see the savings that are to be made. You can save on:

paper costs
printing costs
additional scanning equipment costs.

Manually inputting invoices exposes businesses to human errors. The automation from eInvoicing can reduce errors by up to 37%. Errors can be costly for any business, and especially the costs involved to rectify them.

They’re using a more secure way to exchange invoices

Invoices are often a targeted way for scammers to commit fraud. A recent study by XERO found 18% of Australian SMEs have fallen victim to invoice fraud and this costs a business an average of $15,500. This number has only grown with the increase of scams during the pandemic. To avoid this, eInvoicing messages go through the secure Peppol network, which has processes in place to reduce the risk of fake or comprised invoices.

They’re on a digital transformation journey

Digital transformation is the move to digital technology to improve existing processes. eInvoicing does exactly that and is a great starting point. Can you imagine if you were still issuing invoices by fax? We’ve well and truly moved on from that, and eInvoicing is the new way.

Getting started with eInvoicing

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Check your software

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Our team connects you to the Peppol eInvoicing network

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Go live!

Want to get started with eInvoicing? Get in touch with our eInvoicing team below to learn more.

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E-invoicing EDI

08/08/2022

The future used to be paperless. Now it’s PDF-less.

Not too many moons ago, there was a big push towards a paperless office – everything needed to be digital. No more faxes and no more mail – email was the new hero. This was a big progression at the time. It was more sustainable, there was less chance of things going awry and it was just more efficient. But times have changed.Nowadays, technology has advanced a lot more. And yes, while emailing PDFs is still much more efficient than snail mail or faxes, there are still downfalls. Many companies ‘scan’ or use optical character recognition (OCR) to truly make their invoices digital. However, many companies who come to us report only a 70% accuracy rate with OCR. Imagine then having to find the errors and on top of that, fix them. No thank you! And companies who don’t use this technology are still typing invoices in letter-by-letter, number-by-number. Yikes! We’re lucky to be in such a time where we now have better options. You might have heard of electronic data interchange, or EDI. It gets data from a supplier’s software to their customer’s software. Instead of the customer having to scan (or OCR) a PDF invoice or manually type it in, a machine-readable file is sent to the customer’s software. There’s no manual intervention required and it just appears, almost like magic. This also happens for other procurement documents like purchase orders and shipping notices. The Australian and New Zealand Governments have also identified that going truly digital brings massive benefits. $28 billion in benefits to the Australian economy over the next 10 years, to be specific. Because of this, the Australian and New Zealand Governments have worked collaboratively to bring an electronic invoicing (eInvoicing) standard to businesses: Peppol. This works in a similar way to EDI – it sends invoices from the supplier’s software straight to the buyer’s software. No typing, no scanning, no nothing. And major accounting software providers are onboard too. Both MYOB and Xero allow their customers to send and receive eInvoices. How good is that. So next time you find yourself typing another invoice into your software or fixing up an invoice mistake, have a look into eInvoicing or EDI. After all, the future is no longer paperless, it’s PDF-less!

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E-invoicing EDI

08/08/2022

How eInvoicing delivers a better procure-to-pay (P2P) experience for your suppliers

eInvoicing is strongly emerging here in Australia and New Zealand as one of the key digital transformation activities in 2022. Its dominance is being led by the Government because of its massive benefits to the economy (think $10 billion to the Australian and New Zealand economies). But that’s not its only benefit – it can deliver a much better procure-to-pay (P2P) experience for suppliers too.

What is eInvoicing?

In short, when your suppliers create an invoice in their invoicing software, it’ll almost ‘magically’ appear in your accounting software. To find out the nitty gritty, have a look at our whitepaper, an introduction to eInvoicing.

So how does it benefit your suppliers?

It’s sent directly from the supplier’s software into the customer’s software

Once your supplier enters it into their software, they can be rest assured that it’ll be delivered straight into their customer’s software. And if, for whatever reason it can’t be, the supplier will be sent a notification, so they’re always in the loop. This means their invoice will be received in record time, and the payment process can begin. Winner!

It doesn’t get lost among emails or people forgetting to forward it on

Gone are the days of emailing a PDF invoice, waiting for the person the supplier deals with to approve it, pass it onto the accounts payable team for processing and then joining the payments queue. eInvoices go straight into the customer’s software, so there’s not getting lost in emails – it joins the queue, which is often automated by the customer, to speed up the process.

Suppliers can get notified of the status of an invoice

One of the real benefits for suppliers is getting notifications of the invoice status. The eInvoicing network (Peppol here in Australia and New Zealand) has a ‘response’ message that goes back to the eInvoice sender to let them know if the eInvoice has been received (or failed or rejected for whatever reason) and can also update the supplier on things like whether it’s been approved for payment, whether it’s been paid, and more. eInvoicing has heaps of benefits for you too, not just your suppliers. You can have peace of mind invoices won’t go missing, plus you don’t have to worry about entering the data incorrectly into your software.

Ready to get yourself or your suppliers onboard to eInvoicing? Here’s how…

First, get yourself eInvoicing-enabled

You’ll need an eInvoicing service provider. This is called an ‘Access Point’. The Access Point gets the invoices into your software (and also out of your software if you’re using it for accounts receivable invoicing too). It’s your gateway to the eInvoicing network. Get in touch with us to find out what the best option is, or have a look here.

Then get your suppliers onboard

Depending on our suppliers, it could be worth breaking them down into groups to get them onboard. This is handy so that you’re not overwhelmed with the task, but also allows you to tailor your communications, depending on your suppliers. Take a look at our whitepaper, a guide to successfully onboarding trading partners to eInvoicing.

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E-invoicing Suppliers

03/08/2022

eInvoicing around the world: A March 2022 update

eInvoicing is continuing to gain momentum here in Australia. More incentives are being offered, with businesses with a turnover of up to $50m now eligible for a $120 tax deduction on every $100 spent on digital technologies, including eInvoicing. And don’t forget the Federal government mandate is set for July this year, so all Federal government agencies will be able to receive eInvoices. NSW has followed suit too, requiring all state agencies to be able to receive eInvoices by July 1 this year. There’s also talk of a possible mandate for B2B transactions, so stay tuned on that one. The Federal government made the promise to pay eInvoices from suppliers with contracts under $1m within five days. And come the 1st of July, this will apply to all suppliers, regardless of their contract size. But Australia isn’t the only place where eInvoicing is gaining momentum. Let’s have a look at where the rest of the world is at…

Europe

Poland

The Polish Government is mandating B2B eInvoicing countrywide by 2023 through their national eInvoicing system (KSeF). All suppliers will be required to issue eInvoices and all buyers will be required to receive eInvoices via KSeF.

France

In France, mandatory B2B eInvoicing will begin from 1 July 2024 for the 300 largest enterprises. All large enterprises will be required to receive eInvoices from the 1 July 2024. 8,000 medium-sized enterprises will need to be able to receive eInovices from 1 January 2025 and remaining businesses will need to have the ability to receive eInvoices by 1 January 2026.

Portugal

The Portuguese Government is implementing mandatory B2G eInvoicing from 1 January 2022.

Cyprus

The Cyprus Government is also implementing mandatory B2G eInvoicing from 1 January 2022.

Spain

Spain has planned to pass law to mandate B2B eInvoicing from 2023.

Belgium

Belgium has also planned to pass law to mandate B2B eInvoicing from 2023.

Middle East

Saudi Arabia

Saudia Arabia are in progress with their two phase implementation of eInvoicing applicable to all B2B, B2C and B2G transactions:

Phase 1: Suppliers can no longer generate or store paper, picture format or PDF invoices.
Phase 2: Mandating eInvoicing countrywide using Saudi Arabia’s eInvoicing platform (ZATCA).

Asia

Japan

Japan has joined the PEPPOL network and will look to implement with B2B and B2G transactions but no mandate is in place at the moment.

Philippines

A pilot scheme for B2G eInvoicing will start in the Philippines on 1 July 2022.

Vietnam

A mandatory B2B electronic invoicing in Vietnam for companies in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Phu Tho and Binh Dinh by March 2022. The other provinces will do the same by July 2022.

Americas

United States

The Government are commencing a pilot program to standardise the use of B2B electronic invoicing in the United States to start in the coming year.

Panama

Electronic invoicing will be mandatory in Panama in 2022

As of 1 January 2022, it will be mandatory for taxpayers registered with a tax identification number (RUC).
And as of July 2022, it will be mandatory for all other companies.

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E-invoicing

12/04/2022

Tips for writing a tender document to find an eInvoicing provider

Many organisations are starting to go through the process of finding an eInvoicing provider. Some, particularly larger, organisations need to go through a formal procurement process to find a supplier. Given eInvoicing is a new area for a lot of people, here are some tips to help you write your tender document.

Get to know the ins and outs of eInvoicing

The last thing you want is to be unprepared. Getting to know the basics of eInvoicing makes this process much easier. Make sure you get to know what eInvoicing is and how it works. Learn about the use cases, the benefits, what it will mean for each of your teams (like accounts payable, accounts receivable, IT and others), what it will mean for your customers and suppliers, find out how others have used it as a start.

Get to know what eInvoicing providers provide beyond just eInvoicing

Just like most industries, there are some eInvoicing providers who merely pass the invoice from A to B. But there are others who have capability to do much more. Here at MessageXchange, our powerful software can insert missing information, check the information you require is on the invoice and perform complex lookups, workflows, rules and more. This functionality is particularly useful for organisations who have complex business rules, automated payments and integrations with multiple systems.

Have a clear view of how eInvoicing will fit into your architecture and processes

For smaller organisations, it can be as simple as eInvoices coming in and out of your software. Even in this simple case, you’ll need to know how they will come in and out – through an API, can it drop and pickup files from an SFTP folder or does it need to use another method – and what format they will come in and out in – will it be an XML format, a CSV or something else? For larger organisations, accounts receivable invoices may come out of one system and accounts payable invoices may go into another. You may have a single integration point for any data coming from the outside world, rather than connect to your systems directly. Be very clear on what this process will look like for your company. On the accounts payable side, many organisations have automated matching against an order, or checking the vendor number or ABN or other data. Make sure you know how eInvoices will fit into this process.

Get familiar with your company’s IT policies for external vendors

Some companies require IT vendors to have backup, redundancy and service SLAs. Make sure you’re familiar with what your company requires so you can be clear about this in your tender.

Start writing!

Document your setup and key information like:
- The software you use (and go into detail if your setup isn’t straightforward, for example if you have multiple systems)
- Whether you want to send and/or receive eInvoices
- How many eInvoices you expect to send and/or receive
Break it down into sections. Example:
- Company information
- Technical requirements
- Business process requirements
- Procurement requirements
- Contract
- Pricing

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