he flexible nature of electronic invoicing allows for a phased approach, moving a tranche of accounts at a time and creating a hybrid system of physical and electronic accounts paperwork. For the small to medium business, such a system is workable but for the larger enterprise completely impossible.

For any business running physical and electronic invoicing systems in tandem, the overhead of managing such a workflow places a huge additional burden on accounts staff and thereby reduces many of the cost benefits associated with e-Invoicing. The greatest single motivator for migration to electronic invoicing tends to be the promised financial savings of the medium; if these savings are being reduced because of inefficiencies, your business loses out.

Electronic invoicing also provides a way to centralise accounts records, drawing information which would normally be held on a departmental basis into a single repository. Cash flow information can finally be retrieved immediately easing business decisions and allowing for a more agile trading model.

So although the hybrid system may work for a while, the overall goal must be a total switch to electronic invoicing. This goal may be easier to achieve in some industries than others, but with careful planning and by securing the agreement of suppliers and customers, any business can eventually manage total migration.

Unfortunately there will always be a level of resistance to change from certain key suppliers, much of which is caused by ignorance of e-Invoicing and the fact that suppliers also stand to reap benefits from electronic invoicing. Successful supplier on-boarding should therefore be a consideration when choosing a platform for electronic invoicing; if the supplier of your invoicing system can assist, so much the better.

Fortunately Celtrino are masters of outsourcing electronic invoicing services and uniting supply chains for the mutual benefit of all involved. If you need help going the whole hog with your e-Invoicing roll-out, please get in touch – we’re happy to help!