24/05/2021

Reason for State Government agencies to implement eInvoicing

eInvoicing is growing globally with governments all around the world recognizing its benefits and financial incentives. The rising popularity of eInvoicing can be seen in countries like UK, India, Singapore and US. The National Informatics Center reports that in India, more than 49 million eInvoices were exchanged in October 2020 and in the USA, the eInvoicing market is expected to grow by US$ 15.49 billion between 2021 and 2025. Governments are implementing electronic invoicing as a way to digitise trade activities. Australia also boosted electronic invoicing by announcing mandatory adoption for all federal agencies by July 2022. As a part of the digital business plan, the Commonwealth government is promoting digital transformation to create new opportunities and drive productivity on a national level. The 2021 Federal budget commits $15.3m to accelerate adoption of Peppol eInvoicing in Australia. Many state agencies still rely on traditional invoicing processes, which result in barriers to business activities, errors and inefficiency. But with the growing movement around eInvoicing in Australia, state government agencies should start to prepare now for eInvoicing, rather than wait until it’s mandated.

Why should state governments consider adopting Peppol eInvoicing?

Piggy back off the work the Federal Government is doing

The Federal government has mandated adoption of eInvoicing among its agencies by the 1st of July 2022. Piggy back off the hard work they’re doing to get their suppliers on board while eInvoicing is hot. Once the suppliers to federal government get on board, you can capitalise by onboarding those same suppliers to eInvoicing. Invoicing software providers are also getting on board now, getting ready for their supplier to issue invoices to Government agencies. The eInvoicing conversations are happening now, so now is the time to strike.

Save time and costs when processing invoices- helping on the road to post-Covid recovery

Processing paper-based invoices has some disadvantages- its costs more, needs more infrastructure and there are high chances of errors. A paper based or a PDF invoice can cost up to $30 because of the amount of time used to manually process them whereas processing an eInvoice costs less than $10. State governments can save costs immediately by adopting eInvoicing. It can significantly reduce manual processes and help to reduce costs.

Increase security

Paper based or PDF invoices bears the risk of being compromised because they’re either handled manually or is sent via email. An eInvoice is electronically sent from the supplier to the buyer which reduces this risk. Additionally, cyber-attacks are increasing and risks will only grow in the near future. eInvoicing is an effective way to secure your agency’s financial information and also reduce the risk of security breaches. Yes, it’s still digital, but there are strict measures in place, like encryption in transit and at rest, and ATO-certified processes that service providers need to meet. eInvoicing enhances security and reduces the risk of duplicate and fraudulent invoices which costs the state governments millions of dollars every year.

Streamline internal processes

Administrative processes within agencies take significant amount of employee time and effort. eInvoicing helps in automating these processes which results in improved administrative efficiency and cost savings for the government. It also ensures that suppliers get paid faster and makes the process of invoice management transparent. eInvoicing across all levels of government can help agencies to work more efficiently, save costs and maintain service to drive economic growth. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has already mandated eInvoicing for all federal agencies. Now is the right time for state government agencies to transition to eInvoicing rather than scrambling to adopt it when the requirement is extended. If you’re interested in learning more about eInvoicing, request a call from our eInvoicing experts below.

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23/03/2021

Three reasons to act now for eInvoicing

eInvoicing is growing in popularity around the world but particularly in Australia and New Zealand. Now is the time to get started with eInvoicing. Not just because of the benefits eInvoicing brings, but also because of the financial incentives. Many businesses are also looking to improve their reporting and analytics through the use of eInvoicing. So, here are three reasons to act now for eInvoicing.

Faster payments

We’ve seen organisations promote discounts or faster payments for eInvoices. A prime example is the Australian federal government announcing 5 day payments to suppliers who send eInvoices for contracts less than $1 million. For businesses with poor cash flow, particularly small businesses, this can make a huge difference. And even if you’re not able to secure guaranteed discounts or shorter payment terms, the average eInvoice is processed in 5 days (compared with 23 days for a regular invoice).

Real-time insights

Another reason to jump on eInvoicing is that it makes it really easy to get financial data for more accurate decision making. eInvoicing significantly improves the accuracy of your data because of the automation and reduced manual inputting. With eInvoicing, you can generate reports and analytics in an instant. eInvoicing can capture data such as:
  • the number of invoices sent and received
  • the value of invoices sent and received
  • the number of invoices rejected and accepted.
It allows you to monitor everything from the convenience of one platform. And because it’s digital, you can access your financial data from anywhere with internet.

Efficiencies to your business

The benefits eInvoicing brings to both buyers and sellers is also a reason to act now and implement. These include:
  • Cost savings 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.
  • Easier invoice processing Removes the need for unnecessary data entry - the invoice just appears in your software.
  • Fewer errors Because much of the data entry is removed.
  • Exchange of invoices directly to and from software To reduce the risk of invoices going astray, reduce the time to receive them and reducing data entry errors.
  • Secure Security measures, like encryption at rest and in transit, are implemented throughout the eInvoicing network so your data remains secure along the way.
If you’re interested in learning more about getting your teams ready for eInvoicing, request a call from our eInvoicing experts below.

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16/03/2021

Getting your IT department ready for eInvoicing

Preparation is key when implementing eInvoicing, especially with your internal teams. Your IT team will be a particularly important cog in your journey. Here’s how we suggest getting your IT team ready for eInvoicing.

Introduce them to eInvoicing

eInvoicing is a pretty new thing, so not everyone is going to know about it. It can helpful to go over the basics including:
  • what eInvoicing is
  • how it works
  • an introduction to Peppol
  • an introduction into Access Points.

Let them know how it will impact them

It’s a good idea to review the changes your IT team will need to make before you implement eInvoicing. These could include asking your team:
  • what eInvoicing is
  • will new hardware or software need to be purchased?
  • will additional resources be needed to implement eInvoicing?
  • does your eInvoicing service provider or Access Point adhere to your security policy?
They’ll also be able to tell you if your software is eInvoicing enabled, allowing you to start sending and receiving eInvoices. If it isn’t eInvoicing enabled, your IT team will need to work with an Access Point. Your IT team should be able to answer questions from you Access Point, including:
  • Can your software produce the Peppol file (this is the file type that’s used through the eInvoicing network)?
  • Is your software cloud based or on-premise?
  • What connection protocol can your software work with? E.g. API, sFTP, AS2, etc.

Create progress meetings

Keeping track of progress is important in any project. A good way to go is to organise meetings with your internal departments, including your IT team, to set actions and monitor progress. Having these meetings in place will ensure deadlines are met and your project doesn’t go over deadline.

Start testing

This stage of eInvoicing is critical as it determines whether everything is working correctly. Your IT team will need to work with your Access Point in order to ensure the connection between them and your software is working. This normally involves sending a file and ensuring it is correctly received, and receiving a file to make sure it’s processed correctly on your end.

Create a process for issues

If any issues arise, you need to have a process in place to deal with them. It’s important to plan ahead to make it clear what each of your internal teams, including IT, need to deal with. There are a few scenarios that IT may need to assist with when using eInvoicing, including:
  • if a supplier says they’ve sent an invoice but you can’t see it in your software
  • if your team are contacted by a supplier who’s received a notification to say their invoice has been rejected.
Having a clear plan for these types of issues is important to reduce delay of payment for your partners. If you’re interested in learning more about getting your teams ready for eInvoicing, request a call from our eInvoicing experts below.

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16/02/2021

The benefits of eInvoicing for Government: An infographic

eInvoicing is gaining popularity especially with government. The Australian government has even mandated the use of eInvoices for government agencies by July 2022. This is how many invoices are sent annually in Australia and New Zealand:With that amount of invoices, you can imagine the savings to the economy that could be made by switching. Here are other benefits that government agencies can expect by moving to eInvoicing:

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16/12/2020

Tips for successful onboarding of your partners to eInvoicing

eInvoicing is gaining popularity as more organisations look to benefits from its efficiencies. 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. To get the most out of eInvoicing, one of the most important things is successfully onboarding your customers and/or suppliers.

Why is onboarding so important?

It maximises your ROI

Every invoice you can process through eInvoicing increases your ROI. Generally, your setup cost is fixed, so get the most out of it through onboarding as many customers or suppliers as possible. Having all of your partners trading through the same method also reduces your costs because you don’t have to maintain several processes.

You use one process with all your suppliers

Businesses that don’t onboard all their partners have different processes for each. This makes invoicing for your teams more complicated and time consuming. If you still receive email and PDF invoices your accounts payable team still need to manually input the figures into your system.

The process of onboarding

There are a few steps in the process of onboarding partners to eInvoicing. It’s important to prepare for each one.

Segmenting

This stage assesses the ability of your partners to implement eInvoicing. Segment your partners into different levels of capability such as:
  • Those already using eInvoicing They’re ready to start sending you eInvoices and you send them eInvoices.
  • Those with the capability to start using eInvoicing Mainly those with ERP or accounting software and just need to enable eInvoicing.
  • Those currently not using software and physically receiving and sending invoices They could be using paper or sending documents via email.
These segments will require tailored communications and onboarding methods.

Communications

When onboarding your partners, it’s important to have a plan for communicating your transition to eInvoicing. This provides clarity and direction for the project. First things first, let your partners know you’re transitioning to eInvoicing. Communicating any type of change internally or externally is always daunting, but it’s important. At some stage, you may want to include requirements and message implementation guide (MIG) documents if you have them. MIGs are guides that detail what data in what format will be required to be exchanged. When onboarding your partners, it’s important to have a plan for communicating with them. It’s more than just announcing that you’re moving to eInvoicing. The main things you want to do when communicating with them is:
  1. Bring them along on the journey You may want to communicate with your suppliers giving them updates on the progress of your onboarding.
  2. Get their buy in Talk about why you’re transitioning to eInvoicing but also mention the benefits for your partners to use eInvoicing.
  3. Give them the info they need and make it as easy as possible At some stage, you may want to include requirements and message implementation guide (MIG) documents if you have them. MIGs are guides that detail what data in what format will be required to be exchanged.
If you’re interested in learning more about the process and best plan for onboarding, read our whitepaper, A guide to successfully onboarding trading partners to eInvoicing.

Certification and testing

The Peppol eInvoicing framework has certain fields that can be used within eInvoices. If you require certain fields on your invoices outside of these you’ll need to test your partners messages to ensure they include these fields. Once you’ve decided on these additional fields make sure to document it in a MIG or elsewhere. You will then need to ensure the eInvoices that your suppliers will send to you include these fields and are Peppol-compliant. MessageXchange provides customers with message compliance testing (MCT) service that is customised to each business’ needs. Your supplier will upload their Peppol eInvoice file to a portal, which will check its syntax, business rules and more against your requirements. It’s a simple interface for suppliers to test their messages and ensure it meets your requirements before they start to send you production-ready invoices. It also saves you from manually testing with your suppliers, which can require constant back and forth.

Managing a hybrid process while you onboard

It’s normal and expected that businesses maintain multiple invoicing processes while they’re onboarding suppliers. After all, not every business is in the same level of readiness when it comes to eInvoicing. Some may be more advanced than others. Some may be reluctant to change. For this reason, you’ll need to have different processes for different businesses. Initially you will need to continue operating in the same way with some businesses as you transition others to eInvoicing.

Tips for success

There are a few things to keep in mind to make the process go smoother.

Stage your onboarding process

It might be a good idea to start with the partners you know are ready and get them onboarded first. Then you can focus on other partners that might be less capable. Start with a small number at a time to make it more manageable, and to give you an opportunity to learn what to do, or not to do.

Remind partners of the benefits for them

It’s one thing to communicate your reasons for jumping on eInvoicing but it’s a good idea to make it clear how it’ll benefit your partners too. Reinforce these benefits in your communications throughout each stage. This will help them transition and comply with your process.

Give them options for compliance

We touched on your partners’ ability earlier on. It can be helpful to suggest options for compliance. You might think suggest a web portal to issue eInvoices for those who use their existing invoicing software. This can make it cheaper and easier for them to comply. We provide a free portal, Colladium, for these types of businesses to issue and receive eInvoices.

Seek help

If you’re stuck at any point in the process or need help always look for help. Your eInvoicing Access Point, or provider, can be a good starting point. They’ve likely seen the issue before, or know someone who has. If you’re interested in implementing eInvoicing for your business, request a call back below.

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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"]

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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.

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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.

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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
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