What we’ve learned from five years of eInvoicing adoption

Five years ago, eInvoicing in Australia and New Zealand was just beginning to gain traction. Fast forward to now, and it’s become a key component of digital finance strategy across government and business sectors.

With both countries adopting the Peppol framework and establishing compliance requirements, eInvoicing is no longer a ‘nice to have-, it’s becoming an industry standard.

Here’s what we’ve learned from half a decade of real-world implementation.

1. It’s easier to get started than most people think

In the early days, many businesses assumed eInvoicing required costly custom IT setups, major internal process changes and technical knowledge or external consultants. But today, thanks to widespread support from cloud accounting platforms and Peppol-certified Access Points, getting started is often as simple as enabling a setting in your software.

Businesses using systems like Xero, MYOB or Reckon can:

• register on the Peppol network quickly
• send and receive eInvoices directly from their invoicing software
• avoid manual data entry and email-based invoicing altogether.

This low barrier to entry means even micro and small businesses can start enjoying the benefits of electronic invoicing.

2. Government leadership matters

Both the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) played a vital role in kickstarting adoption through:

• mandates for federal and state agencies to receive eInvoices
• encouraging government suppliers to register on the Peppol network
• providing education, webinars and toolkits to support uptake.

This top-down approach has given suppliers confidence and clear direction. With more potential mandates in the future, adoption will continue to grow. Government continues to work with private sector players to grow the benefits of eInvoicing even further.

3. Onboarding is one of the biggest barriers

Changing business processes, particularly invoicing, can seem like a daunting task. On top of that organisations that think eInvoicing is just sending a PDF, are unaware their software supports it, or don’t understand the benefits or process. To overcome these hurdles, successful businesses have learned to approach onboarding like a project by:

• communicating benefits clearly (for example, faster payments or less admin)
• sharing easy ‘how-to’ guides
• offering support during the switch
• starting with a small, manageable group of trading partners.

4. The benefits are real. And measurable.

Over our years as an eInvoicing Access Point, we see how eInvoicing benefits aren’t just theoretical. Businesses across Australia and New Zealand have reported:

• Reduced processing time by up to 65%
• Reduced errors by up to 37%
• Reduced costs to less than $10 an invoice
• Reduction in paper use

And these benefits aren’t just for large enterprises. SMEs are often the biggest winners, as they gain access to faster cash flow and less back-office admin with minimal investment.

5. eInvoicing is just the start, not the finish

At first, eInvoicing was seen as a finance automation tool. But now, it’s a stepping stone to wider digital transformation across entire organisations. Once organisations see the benefits of digitising their processes, it’s not long before you think about automating more processes like procurement.