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
If you’re looking at implementing eInvoicing, fill in the form below and we’ll get in touch with more information.

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