15/12/2020

eInvoicing and goods not for resale (GNFR): A recipe for success

Retailers are forever looking for ways to cut costs. Typically, it’s operations and supply chain that are targeted to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Retailers often adopt electronic data interchange (EDI) to automate the procure-to-pay process. But another, often overlooked area where processes can be optimised is also in procurement; it’s goods not for resale, or GNFR.

What is ‘goods not for resale’?

Goods not for resale covers anything that’s purchased without the intent of being re-sold. Things like:
  • store fittings
  • training
  • facilities and office space
  • utilities
  • professional services
  • marketing
  • travel
  • IT.
Procurement in these areas can be forgotten because they’re often managed by individual departments and can fall through the cracks, making it difficult to get an overall picture. A solid GNFR strategy gives you better visibility and understanding of your total costs, allowing you to identify unnecessary spending and achieve business objectives.

Find new areas to reduce costs. Enter, GNFR.

During tough times, businesses often push their efforts to cost reduction. And this normally happens in supply chains and operations like:
  • reducing locations
  • reducing staff
  • cutting prices and increasing discounting
  • looking for cheaper suppliers and products.
Continuing this path is unsustainable, so it’s important to look at other areas for efficiencies. Some sources claim GNFR can represent around 25% of a retailer’s total operating costs. One way to manage and improve GNFR procurement processes is eInvoicing.

eInvoicing: one small change for business, one giant leap for cost savings

eInvoicing enables organisations to exchange invoices electronically, directly between invoicing software. eInvoicing happens through a four-corner model, where corners one and four are the supplier and customer, and corners two and three are Access Points, like MessageXchange. Access Points connect to each other to exchange eInvoices. You can think of it like a telephone network – your phone and your friend’s phone are corners one and four, and your network provider (like Telstra, Optus or Vodafone) are corners two and three.When purchasing goods for your business, invoicing is one of the most time-consuming and costly processes. As a result of the automation from eInvoicing, a few benefits are:
  • Cost savings Studies have found that it costs, $27.67 to process a PDF invoice, and only $9.18 to process an eInvoice.
  • Easier invoice processing Removes the need for unnecessary data entry - the invoice just appears in your software. And by exchanging invoices directly between software, there’s less risk of them going astray.
  • Faster invoice payments The average eInvoice is processed in 5 days (compared with 23 days for a regular invoice).
  • Fewer errors Because much of the data entry is removed, reducing the risk of paying more for goods. This also improves data accuracy for use in reporting and optimising processes.
  • Better security Security measures, like encryption at rest and in transit, are implemented throughout the eInvoicing network so your data remains secure along the way.
GNFR typically accounts for 20% of a retailer’s spend but covers 80% of its suppliers and a high percentage of transaction volumes. If you compare the cost of a manual procurement process and an automated eInvoicing process in the GNFR space, it’s easy to see the cost savings add up. Request a call from one of our experts to learn more about how eInvoicing can help manage GNFR costs.

Request a call

Chat with one of our experts

Just fill out your details below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

E-invoicingRetailers

25/11/2020

OCR vs eInvoicing

Some of the challenges that finance teams, particularly accounts payable teams, can often face include:
  • too many manual processes
  • data entry errors
  • high costs from labour, printing and archiving
  • paying fraudulent or misleading invoices.
Two of the most common approaches to overcoming these issues are optical character recognition (OCR) readers and eInvoicing. So what should you choose?

What is OCR?

OCR is a technology that distinguishes printed or handwritten text characters of physical documents, such as a PDF document. The basic process of OCR involves examining the text of a document and translating the characters into code that can be used for data processing. OCR can be hardware using a physical scanner or software which takes advantage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for character recognition.

How does it work?

Generally accounts teams upload the PDF or scanned document to their OCR software where the invoice is read, captured and input into their accounting software.

Pros and cons of OCR

From afar, it can seem that OCR reduces the amount of effort it takes to process and invoice, makes for faster processing and depending on the volume of invoices, can reduce costs. But because it’s not true data exchange because it scans an unstructured document and tries to interpret it, it can produce mistakes. Some consider 70% OCR accuracy as ‘good’. Identifying and fixing up these mistakes can be time-consuming and costly. Some of the other cons are:
  • a limited range of document types can be read
  • it isn’t always accurate, so further checks and balances need to be in place (often manual)
  • technology experts may need to be hired to look after your technology
  • upfront costs can be high.

What is eInvoicing?

eInvoicing enables organisations to send and receive invoices electronically, directly to and from their software. No need to scan an invoice before uploading it into your software like you do with OCR scanners.

How does it work?

eInvoicing in Australia and New Zealand is provided through a network of interoperable Access Points, like MessageXchange, that exchange your eInvoices using the Peppol standard that has been adopted around the world. You can think of it like a telephone network.

Pros and cons of eInvoicing

eInvoicing has a few key benefits:
  • cost savings from data entry, printing and archiving
  • easier invoice processing
  • faster invoice payments
  • fewer errors
  • exchanging invoices directly to and from software
  • Enhanced security.

Next steps

There are a few things you should think about when looking at eInvoicing:

Getting your business ready

To prepare your business, think about these things:
  • Define your objectives
  • Look at your business processes
  • Get the relevant teams involved
If you want to learn more about preparing for eInvoicing, check out our whitepaper, . At MessageXchange, we try to make things easier to get started with eInvoicing:[vc_column_inner width="1/3"]

Select a product and complete your application form

[vc_column_inner width="1/3"]

Connect to MessageXchange and test connectivity and messaging

[vc_column_inner width="1/3"]

Connect to MessageXchange and test connectivity and messaging

Request a call

Chat with one of our experts

Just fill out your details below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

E-invoicinggovernmentRetailers

06/11/2020

The state of eInvoicing in AUS and NZ

eInvoicing has taken off in countries around the world. Here in Australia and New Zealand, eInvoicing is still in its infancy, but steadily gaining momentum.

What is eInvoicing?

eInvoicing enables organisations to send and receive invoices electronically, directly to and from their software. It removes the need for unnecessary data entry and inaccurate OCR scanning. eInvoicing in Australia and New Zealand is provided through a network of interoperable Access Points, like MessageXchange, conforming to the Peppol standard. The standard was developed in Europe, but has been adopted around the world, including here in October 2019.

The current state of eInvoicing

The term ‘eInvoicing’ has been thrown around here in Australia for a number of years now. It really started to gain traction in 2019 when Australia and New Zealand signed a trans-Tasman eInvoicing agreement, allowing it easier for businesses both countries to exchange eInvoices. Today, the largest users of eInvoicing are government agencies. The Australian government is providing incentives for suppliers to use eInvoicing by promising suppliers with contracts less than $1 million payment within 5 days of issuing an eInvoice. In New Zealand, the government have set a target to pay 95% of all domestic invoices within 10 business days and eInvoicing is one of the key strategies to help reach it. New Zealand Inland Revenue (NZIR) was one of the first New Zealand government agencies to use eInvoicing. The focus for NZIR was to pay invoices early to help suppliers’ cash flow and to give them a seamless experience. Check out the case study here. The New South Wales state government has been a leader in eInvoicing in Australia. The Department of Customer Service (NSW DCS) recently implemented eInvoicing as part of the NSW Digital Government Strategy. The strategy’s purpose is to offer digital services that benefit customers and suppliers. Learn more about NSW DCS eInvoicing journey here. Some of the government agencies that are currently up and running with eInvoicing include:
  • The Australian Taxation Office (Australian government department)
  • The Department of Finance (Australian government department)
  • Services Australia (Australian government department)
  • The Treasury (Australian government department)
  • New South Wales Department of Customer Service (Australian state government department)
  • New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet (Australian state government department)
  • New South Wales Treasury (Australian state government department)
  • New South Wales Health (Australian state government department)
  • New Zealand Government Procurement (New Zealand government department)
  • New Zealand Inland Revenue (New Zealand government department)

What's next?

The government is currently looking for ways to increase the uptake of eInvoicing. The 2020 Budget here in Australia includes $120 million in funding to help businesses implement digital technologies. It also includes $3.6 million to make eInvoicing mandatory for all government agencies by the 1st of July 2022. If you want to get all the latest eInvoicing news, sign up for our newsletter below.

Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest eInvoicing updates

Stay up-to-date with industry news, useful blogs and whitepapers, expert tips and more.

E-invoicinggovernmentRetailersSuppliers

30/10/2020

Budget announcements and its impact on eInvoicing

The Australian government recently released its budget for 2020 and it’s clear that digital transformation is high on their agenda – it included $800 million to improve access to digital services. Some of the initiatives announced were:
  • accelerating the creation of a single national business registry
  • expanding the government’s Digital Identity Program
  • accelerating the take-up of 5G technology
  • promoting Australian finance technology overseas and
  • helping businesses adopt digital technologies.
eInvoicing is also high on their agenda. eInvoicing enables organisations to send and receive invoices electronically, directly to and from their software. It removes the need for unnecessary data entry and inaccurate OCR scanning. Some of the benefits of eInvoicing include:
  • cost savings
  • easier invoice processing
  • faster invoice payments
  • fewer errors
  • exchange of invoices directly to and from software
  • improved security.

So what eInvoicing initiatives did the Government announce?

The Government set aside $120 million to help businesses adopt digital technologies, which includes $22.2 million specifically for small businesses. Small businesses in Australia have a long way to go, with some figures showing 90% of small and medium businesses still use paper-based invoices. The Government allocated an additional $3.6 million to help Federal Government agencies implement eInvoicing, which was announced in conjunction with a government eInvoicing mandate. Larger government agencies need to adopt eInvoicing by the 1st of July 2021, followed by all other agencies by the 1st of July 2022. The Federal Government also announced they’ll be looking at ways to mandate eInvoicing for State Government departments in the near future. This is just one of the steps to a more digital economy, with reports indicating government agencies, both federal and state, are responsible for around 10% of all business-to-business invoices. Another focus announced in this year’s Budget is to improve digital skills for workers and SMEs. $2.5 million will be allocated to help businesses with digital skills training. This funding will be used to develop a Digital Skills Finder platform to help workers and SMEs find training courses to further their digital skills.

What can we expect from the measures?

The Government have made it clear from this year’s Budget that they want to boost small business capability and increase the uptake of digital technologies. Overall, there are more than a dozen initiatives already planned to support businesses to adopt digital technologies. Expect to see Federal Government agencies implement eInvoicing early to comply with the mandate dates. And if you’re a supplier to government, expect to start receiving communications about issuing eInvoices. Now’s a good time to start preparing at your end and looking for eInvoicing providers. Just get in touch to find out more.

Request a call

Chat with one of our experts

Just fill out your details below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

E-invoicinggovernment

26/10/2020

Why government is so keen to implement eInvoicing?

Many organisations around the world are implementing eInvoicing, in particular government agencies. So why is government leading the charge? Here are a few reasons:

It benefits the economy

One of the key reasons government agencies are adopting eInvoicing is to stimulate the economy. It helps increase businesses’ cash flow because payment times are generally reduced. The Australian government even promises to pay eInvoices within 5 days for contracts less $1 million. In fact, studies estimate eInvoicing could provide the Australian economy with over $30 billion in benefits over ten years.

Benefits to government agencies

eInvoicing brings many benefits to government agencies themselves. These include:
  • Streamlined processes eInvoicing saves time processing invoices and payments by automating what would be manual processes. You don’t need to enter invoice information into your software, it just appears.
  • Fewer errors Less manual inputting also means less errors and more accurate data for reporting.
  • Reduced costs Because of the automation, workload and labour costs are reduced. And because there’ll be less errors, agencies avoid the added costs of fixing mistakes. Another critical cost that can be reduced is printing and filing. Overall, studies have found that it costs $30.87 to process a paper invoice, $27.67 a PDF invoice, and only $9.18 to process an eInvoice.
  • Faster payments eInvoicing can significantly speed payment processing due to automation. The average eInvoice is processed in 5 days, compared with 23 days for a regular invoice. This can help government agencies improve their supplier relationships and meet their promised payment terms.

Leading from the front

The government here in Australia is looking for ways to facilitate the adoption of eInvoicing. They’re leading from the front by implementing it with their own agencies first – they’ve mandated the use of eInvoicing for all Commonwealth government agencies by July 1, 2022. They’ve even promised $3.6million to help government agencies transition to eInvoicing and allocated $2.5 million to upskill workers and SMEs. There are a few agencies that are already accepting eInvoices. Some of them include:
  • The Australian Taxation Office (Australian government department)
  • The Department of Finance (Australian government department)
  • Services Australia (Australian government department)
  • The Treasury (Australian government department)
  • New South Wales Department of Customer Service (Australian state government department) – check out our case study
  • New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet (Australian state government department)
  • New South Wales Treasury (Australian state government department)
  • New South Wales Health (Australian state government department)
  • New Zealand Government Procurement (New Zealand government department)
  • New Zealand Inland Revenue (New Zealand government department) – check out our case study
If you’re looking at implementing eInvoicing, fill in the form below and we’ll get in touch with more information.

Request a call

Chat with one of our experts

Just fill out your details below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

E-invoicinggovernment

15/10/2020

Why finance needs to become friends with technology

Finance teams constantly find themselves battling things like:
  • a need to reduce costs
  • greater workload with the same amount of staff
  • manual processes, which often lead to errors and
  • disparate sources of data, making it hard to find information when they need it.
The good news is that technology can improve these issues. And that’s why finance needs to become friends with technology.

Here’s where technology can help

Automate your whole procurement process with electronic data interchange (EDI)

This can significantly improve the processes of ordering and invoicing for any finance team. So, what is it? Simply put, EDI is the exchange of business information directly between business software. Think of a purchase order being created in one company’s accounting package, and it ‘magically’ appearing in the supplier’s software. EDI can help:
  • Reduce manual processes EDI can ease a lot of pressure on finance teams that find themselves processing an increasing amount orders. You’ll no longer need to input data into multiple systems or email documents to buyers and suppliers. This leaves you more time to focus on the other tasks that might come up.
  • Reduce costs EDI reduces manual processes and significantly reduces the amount of labour needed to process orders. This is especially beneficial during peak times of the year where casual assistance can be required. On top of this, EDI is all digital so you can save a lot on printing and filing.
  • Reduce errors and improve data accuracy EDI also reduces the risk of errors, making the data more reliable for reporting. You could use that data to monitor suppliers’ performance around responding to orders or delivery times.

Remove manual handling of invoices with eInvoicing

Another bit of technology that can help finance teams is eInvoicing. Invoicing makes up a huge chunk of finance teams’ time. Electronic invoicing, or eInvoicing, enables organisations to send and receive invoices electronically, directly to and from their software. It removes the need for unnecessary data entry and inaccurate OCR scanning.

eInvoicing can:
  • Reduce manual processes eInvoicing automates a lot of the manual processes involved in invoicing. No need to input the invoice information into multiple software and attaching to an email before sending to the customer. Everything is done within your existing ERP or accounting software.
  • Reduce costs Reducing manual processes simplifies invoicing for any finance team leaving you more time to work on other tasks. It also helps reduce the need to additional staff cover during peak times. The sending and filing of these eInvoices are electronic reducing your paper use and filing costs.
  • Data accuracy Manual processing is reduced limiting the risk of errors and improving data accuracy. Fewer errors means fewer disputes with partners and the need to follow up or correct invoices.

Use the data from your automated processes for more

If you leverage technology, the likelihood is that you can now use the data at your fingertips in more in-depth, insightful ways.
  • Two-, three- or four-way matching Is your team manually checking orders before they pay invoices? This is something that can be completely automated. Two-way matching checks the quantity and price on the order and the invoice to make sure you’re paying for exactly what you ordered. Three-way matching also checks what was shipped (on a despatch advice). And the bee’s knees, four-way matching, checks what the suppliers has agreed to send from the order response.
  • Invoice reconciliation With a feed from your bank and visibility of your invoices, our technology can reconcile your invoices. Imagine the time that could save!
  • Reporting Now that all the raw data is at your fingertips, you can use it to report on anything. It might be DIFOT (delivered in full on time) performance, the amount of invoice discrepancies or something else. The options are only limited by your imagination.
If you’re interested learning more about how eInvoicing or EDI can help you, request a call from one of our EDI experts.

Request a call

Chat with one of our experts

Just fill out your details below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

E-invoicingEDIRetailersSuppliers

04/09/2020

When is the right time to implement eInvoicing?

eInvoicing lets companies exchange invoices electronically, directly to and from their software. It removes the need for unnecessary data entry and inaccurate OCR scanning. Businesses are increasingly adopting eInvoicing to:
  • reduce costs involved in processing invoices
  • process invoices faster
  • make faster payments
  • reduce data entry errors
  • move to a more secure way of exchanging invoices.
So when is the right time to implement eInvoicing? Here are some signs that it’s now time.

Your customers and suppliers are implementing eInvoicing

As businesses and government agencies enable eInvoicing, there’ll be a bigger push for their customers and suppliers to join them. Some organisations are providing incentives to make the transition more attractive. For example, government agencies here in Australia who can receive eInvoices have promised to pay them in five days for contracts up to $1 million. So, if you have multiple partners who are using eInvoicing, now might be the time to get on board. You’ll can start exchanging eInvoices with them, and future proof your investment by connecting with other customers and suppliers as they come on board.

Data entry is taking up too much time and resources

If you’re struggling to keep up with all your work, or if you’re looking to hire extra staff to help with invoice processing, it might be time to look at eInvoicing. Invoice processing can be time consuming for accounts payable and receivables teams because of the manual inputting, which is prone to errors. Processing a paper invoice is estimated to take 23 days, and that’s when the process runs smoothly. As a business processes more invoices, this can take even longer. eInvoicing is significantly streamlined and automated, reducing processing time. eInvoicing can reduce it by up to 65%.

You’re seeing too many data entry errors

Processing invoices manually or using OCR scanning can be error-prone. If you’re seeing a high error rate, it could be worth considering eInvoicing. The data is only input once – when the supplier inputs it into their software. And it’s no re-entry or scanning required – the source data is used all the way through the process. eInvoicing can reduce errors by 37% compared to manual invoicing.

You want to reduce costs

All businesses are looking for ways to reduce costs. One process that’s often forgotten is invoicing. Traditionally, costs attributed to invoicing can be:
  • Printing: even if you’re using PDFs, invoices may be printed. You’ll need to pay for paper, ink and even printer maintenance.
  • Labour: you need people to process invoices and this only increases as your business grows.
  • Filing: if you’re storing hard copies of your invoices, the costs can add up.
Overall, it’s estimated to cost $30.87 to process a paper invoice and $27.67 for PDF invoices. If you’re processing more and more invoices, these numbers start to add up. For suppliers, eInvoicing can:
  • reduce accounts receivable costs by up to 44%
  • reduce archiving costs by up to 32%
For buyers, it can:
  • reduce the cost of receiving an invoice by up to 90%
  • reduce the cost of archiving accounts payable invoices by up to 67%
  • cost less than $10 to process
  • reduce accounts payable labour by 25-40%.

You’re undertaking a digital transformation review

Businesses often look to digital transformation to improve business process and performance. The result of it should also provide more accurate data to help with analysis and decision making. Finance teams can realise fantastic benefits when they implement eInvoicing. eInvoicing can automate the invoicing process and significantly reduce manual inputting. This improves data accuracy for reporting and decision making, making it easier to see real-time liability position. The other great thing is that it works with your existing accounting software, so there’s no need for further investment.

Low cashflow

High competition in the business environment has led to an increase in credit sales, particularly in Australia. This has led to a high volume of suppliers struggling with cashflow. Economic downturns have added further pressure, so now more than ever, businesses are looking for ways to collect receivables as quickly as possible. eInvoicing helps to speeds up the time it takes to get to a customer. It also speeds up invoice processing and payment for buyers. Studies show eInvoicing can improve on-time payment by more than 15%. If you think it’s time for your business to implement eInvoicing, request a call from one of our EDI experts.

Request a call

Chat with one of our experts

Just fill out your details below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

E-invoicingRetailersSuppliers

04/08/2020

What are my eInvoicing options?

eInvoicing is changing the way we send invoices and other documents to our partners. Simply put, eInvoicing enables organisations to send and receive invoices electronically, directly to and from their software. It removes the need for unnecessary data entry and inaccurate OCR scanning. eInvoicing happens through a four-corner model, where corners one and four are the supplier and customer, and corners two and three are Access Points. Access Points connect to each other to exchange eInvoices. You can think of it like a telephone network – your phone and your friend’s phone are corners one and four, and your network provider (like Telstra, Optus or Vodafone) are corners two and three.We’re seeing eInvoicing rapidly expand around the world, especially in government agencies. In Australia, the government has promised to pay suppliers with contracts less than $1 million in 5 days if they issue eInvoices. It can be difficult for suppliers to decide what’s best for their business. Here are some of the eInvoicing options you have as a supplier.

What are my options

Portal based eInvoicing

This option is the fastest to implement and has the least up-font costs. You can enter your eInvoices in a website and send them to your customer via the Peppol eInvoicing network. These are then received into your customer’s software.

MessageXchange offers businesses a free portal, Colladium, which can be used to send eInvoices to businesses on the Peppol network.

There are a few benefits of using portal-based eInvoicing:
  • It’s easy to set up
  • There’s generally no establishment fee and low to zero monthly costs
  • It can be accessed anywhere – you only need an internet connection
  • They often have an easy-to-use interface.

eInvoicing integration/gateway

The more automated option is an eInvoicing gateway or integration. This allows you to send and receive eInvoices directly from your ERP or accounting software. This means you don’t need to do any additional manual processes. Once you’ve entered the invoice in your existing software, it’s then sent to your customer’s software for them to process. There are a number of benefits to an integrated eInvoicing solution:
  • It uses your existing software
  • You can find cost savings (paper, printing and labour costs)
  • There’s no need for data re-entry
  • You’ll see fewer errors
  • It’s secure through encryption at rest and in transit.

What are my options

It’s important to choose an option that is adaptable and flexible for your business. Two of the main factors to consider are:
  • The amount of orders you receive As your orders increase, so does the amount of manual inputting.
  • Your strategic goals Whether you’re looking to automate your processes or just comply with your buyers eInvoicing requirements or incentives.
Use this table as a rough guide:[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565317545162{padding-top: 0px !important;background-color: #00b7f1 !important;}"]

Consider portal based eInvoicing if…

[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565315132956{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #1b75bb !important;}"]

Consider an eInvoicing gateway if…

[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565317604253{padding-top: 0px !important;background-color: #eeeeee !important;}"]

You issue a small number of invoices a month

[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565317619229{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #eeeeee !important;}"]

You issue a large number of invoices a month

[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565317604253{padding-top: 0px !important;background-color: #eeeeee !important;}"]

You have a small amount of eInvoicing enabled customers

[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565317619229{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #eeeeee !important;}"]

You have large amount of eInvoicing enabled customers

[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565317604253{padding-top: 0px !important;background-color: #eeeeee !important;}"]

You just want to comply with a handful of buyers’ requirements

[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565317619229{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #eeeeee !important;}"]

You don’t want to double-enter data

[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565317604253{padding-top: 0px !important;background-color: #eeeeee !important;}"]

You’re just starting out in eInvoicing

[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565317619229{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #eeeeee !important;}"]

You need a flexible solution that grows as your business does

[vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1595395392804{padding-top: 0px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}"][vc_column_inner width="1/2" css=".vc_custom_1565317619229{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #eeeeee !important;}"]

You want to reduce errors

If you’re interested in learning more about eInvoicing options, fill in the form below and one of our experts will get in touch.

Request a call

Chat with one of our experts

Just fill out your details below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

E-invoicing

26/06/2020

The benefits of eInvoicing for businesses: An infographic

eInvoicing automates the exchange of invoices directly between businesses’ software and its use is growing across the globe as a result of the benefits it brings. Australia and New Zealand have joined forces to to make trans-tasman eInvoicing easier using the internationally-adopted Peppol eInvoicing framework. Any business within this network can now send and receive invoices straight from their accounting software to their customer's software. No more emails, no more PDFs and no more manual data entry. If you're new to eInvoicing, check out our blog, traditional invoicing and eInvoicing: a comparison. Here are just some of the reasons businesses are turning to eInvoicing.

For buyers

A major benefit for those receiving eInvoices comes from the fact you'll no longer have to manually enter an invoice again. Think of the time savings and the mis-keying errors that'd disappear. Here are some stats:

For suppliers

A major benefit of eInvoicing is the speed of it. It can ultimately lead to faster payments, which means better cash flow for you. Let's have a look:

Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest eInvoicing updates

Stay up-to-date with industry news, useful blogs and whitepapers, expert tips and more.

E-invoicingRetailersSuppliers

15/05/2020

5 ways to make savings in your business when times get tough

A lot of us have had a chuckle at this meme:But it’s no joke. It’s times like these that often spur us into action. Whether you’re looking for ways to overcome the current economic downturn, prepare for the next one or you’re just looking for ways to reduce costs, have a look at these five things you can do to make savings:

Automate your supply chain

If you’re still emailing orders and invoices, you’re probably doing more data entry than you need. It might look like this:
  1. Buyer manually enter purchase order in their software.
  2. Buyer send order to supplier via email or post.
  3. Supplier receives order and manually enters the purchase order details into their software.
  4. Supplier manually enters the invoice into their software.
  5. Supplier send invoice to buyer via email.
  6. Buyer manually enters the invoice in their software.
This is where EDI can help. EDI connects your software with the software of your partners, automating most of the process. Here’s the difference:
  1. The buyer enters the purchase order in their software.
  2. It’s automatically sent to the supplier and appears in their software.
  3. The supplier actions the PO and then creates the invoice in their software and sends back to the buyer.
  4. The invoice then appears in buyer’s software.
This can save your staff a lot of time, allowing them to work on more high value tasks. It helps suppliers process and send invoices faster, which can improve cash flow. For buyers, invoices can be processed faster and some suppliers even offer discounts for early payments. The automation from EDI can also generate significant cost savings for businesses. Manual data entry errors and the costs associated with fixing them are also reduced through automation. Suppliers can send shipment information through EDI, allowing buyers to prepare in advance and better allocate their warehouse staff and resources. This can reduce receiving costs, particularly labour, for buyers. Check out our blog for more information.

Automate your accounts payable

Often errors are made by incorrectly entering invoice data. Not only does it stop staff from working on higher value tasks, but it can be costly to rectify the errors. EDI makes it easy to implement two- or three-way matching. Two-way matching involves automating the process of checking invoice quantities and values against that on the purchase order. Three-way matching goes one step further and also checks delivery information to verify the invoice is for the same quantity that’s been sent. It not only saves your team time, but can also reduce labour costs.

eInvoicing

eInvoicing allows you to send invoices directly from your software to your partners’. It uses the international Peppol standard to send and receive eInvoices. It’s different from EDI in that you only need to connect to the Peppol network through an Access Point to you can exchange eInvoices with anyone else in the network. eInvoicing produces savings by:
  • Reducing the amount of work required send invoices. This reduces costs and allows your accounts receivables teams to focus on value adding activities.
  • Helping increase cash flow for suppliers by speeding up the preparation and sending of invoices.
  • Helping buyers speed up their payment processing, allowing them to make good on early payment discounts.
Want to learn more about eInvoicing? Check out this blog.

Automate goods receipt

Receiving goods from suppliers can be a time-consuming process. It can be difficult to know when goods will arrive and therefore can be difficult to plan. This only wastes time, money and resources. A way to make savings in this area is to ask suppliers to send you advanced shipping notices (ASNs) directly to your software through EDI. ASNs detail what your supplier is sending, how it’s packed, when it’ll arrive and more. This allows you to prepare to have the right warehouse staff to receive the shipment, saving you money on labour and allowing you to allocate staff more efficiently. Receiving ASNs from suppliers will also allow you to automatically record stock as it comes in. SSCC labels (the barcodes on each unit your supplier sends) correlate to a unit (e.g. a box or container) on the ASN. Scanning each pack as it comes in reduces manual inputting, saving your warehouse team time and reducing the risk of costly inputting errors. It also means your stock levels will always be up-to-date.

Consider alternative models with suppliers

A large cost for retailers can be for warehousing and logistics and that’s why savvy retailers are turning to drop shipping. The drop shipping model sees the supplier hold stock. When the retailer makes the sale, they pass the details onto the supplier to ship the order to the customer. EDI can create even more efficiency in this model by:
  • Sending orders directly to suppliers when the order is placed
  • Reducing errors and the related costs
  • Keeping you updated on suppliers’ stock levels, helping you avoid shortages of goods.

Request a call

Chat with one of our experts

Just fill out your details below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

E-invoicingEDIRetailersSuppliers

26/03/2020

Benefits of eInvoicing for software providers: An infographic

eInvoicing automates the sending and receiving of invoices directly between businesses' software. Countries in Europe and South America were among the first to mandate eInvoicing and others around the world are starting to follow after seeing the benefits. In Australia and New Zealand, more and more government agencies and their suppliers are connecting to the eInvoicing network. Often the benefits of eInvoicing are focused on end users, but what are the benefits for software providers? We’ve gathered some statistics to explain some of the benefits for software providers and their customers at a quick glance.

Request a call

Chat with one of our experts

Just fill out your details below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

E-invoicingSoftware providers

27/02/2020

What do you need to prepare for eInvoicing? Your readiness checklist

So, you’re interested in implementing eInvoicing but unsure where to start? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together a few things you’ll need to think about.

Look at your business processes

This is to understand your current business processes and where eInvoicing could fit. Ask yourself:
  • How many invoices are you processing?
  • Are you sending invoices, receiving them or both?
  • Do you work with suppliers or customers overseas?
  • Are you looking to implement this with customers or suppliers, or are you complying with a partner’s requirement?
You’ll need this information to determine what solution is best for your business.

Gather information

If you’re going to send eInvoices, you’ll need to gather your trading partners’ eInvoicing identifiers – it’s usually an ABN or NZBN, but can be a GLN. The identifier is used by your eInvoicing Access Point to find your customers in the eInvoicing network. Your Access Point will also need your own identifier to register you in the network.

Get the relevant teams involved

It’s easy to have just one team take ownership of the project but it’s best to get all relevant business departments involved. By getting them involved, you’ll ensure that the solution suits everyone. The main departments are normally the finance and procurement teams, but it’s also important to include the IT team as it will involve your software.

Define your objectives

It’s important to think about what you’re trying to achieve – your business objectives – and how eInvoicing will help you achieve them. Defining these up front will help you keep on track throughout the project.

Review your software for eInvoicing

Before getting started with eInvoicing you will need to make sure your software is ready. Here are some things you should ask your invoicing software provider. Your Access Point may need this information to get you setup.
  • 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?

Find an access point

There are a few things you should think about when looking at Access Point providers. These include:
  • 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.
Having the information in all the sections above will help you start the process of enabling eInvoicing.

Request a call

Chat with one of our experts

Just fill out your details below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

E-invoicing