The Australian government is driving a push to speed up the selection of e-invoicing. For this, it has declared financial aid of $15.3 million to the organisations to decrease expenses and lift productivity. The heavy utilization of e-invoicing has the potential to assist businesses in effortlessly getting paid much quicker.
Savvy Australian firms are continuing forward from the problem of paper-based and PDF work. This depends upon email, printouts, and even snail mail for conveyance.
E-Invoicing is becoming a new trend as it provides a variety of advantages to ever-busy firms. For example, guaranteeing an invoice is more productive, precise, and secure than any other time.
Below, we have talked about the things offshore accountants & bookkeepers have to know about this initiative.
What is e-Invoicing?
Remember that sending a PDF receipt via email isn’t e-invoicing. Electronic invoicing, or e-invoicing, is the most recent automated innovation. In this case, the merchant’s invoice arrives directly in the buyer’s accounting framework.
This technology eliminates:
- A large part of the time,
- Any misinterpretations, and
- Costs that Australian organisations face pursuing and fixing invoicing issues.
The actual advantage of e-invoicing is that it saves your business valuable time and cash. This permits you to focus on your work efficiently.
The federal government and the ATO have chosen the Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line (PEPPOL) as the standard for e-invoicing. Through this standard, firms can send & receive documents like invoices and remittances, between their Accounting systems despite the software they use to make those documents. Every year, more than 1.2 billion invoices are sent.
Also, the PEPPOL standard is already in use by 30+ countries including some big economies such as England, New Zealand, Germany, and Singapore. In Australia, it recognises a recipient of an invoice by checking an Australian Business Number (ABN).
Advantages of utilising e-invoicing
Talking about e-invoicing, it’s a horrible idea to pause or oppose this amazing initiative by the government. This is because of its overpowering positives. e-invoicing guarantees the invoicing interaction is productive, precise, and secure for both the buyer and seller.
According to a study by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), they estimated that:
53% of invoices are either paid late or remain overdue 23 days on average. These late invoices value around $115 billion.
For the buyer, they don’t have to physically enter or scan the invoices into their accounting system. This decreases:
- Time wastage,
- The potential for human mistakes, and
- Related monetary expenses.
It likewise implies automatic payment booking and no loss of the invoices.
For the seller, there is the assurance that the buyer has gotten the receipt. Plus, the receipt has entered their system, which thus adds assurance and time saving to when they get paid.
For both, e-invoicing is more reliable and secure than those sent by email or by post. Likewise, e-invoicing supports cash flow, as they are paid all the more rapidly.
How is it “worth considering” for Accountants & Bookkeepers and their clients?
Quicker and easier payments are probably the greatest advantage related to e-invoicing.
Accountants or bookkeepers can send invoices directly from their accounting systems, then onto the other. This eliminates the chance for them to become mixed up, neglected, or accidentally missed in an inbox.
It’s anything but harmless to the ecosystem. Since it diminishes the need to print paper. Thus, firms can make their due contributions to the environment.
The ATO says that manually processing an invoice can cost you up to $30 on paper and $28 through email or PDF. However, an e-invoice will cost you just $10.
E-invoicing reduces the possibility of fraud. This is because PEPPOL needs your ABN number to further process. It becomes essential as it stops the high costs associated with fraudulent activities.
In 2019, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) stated in their study that:
Fraud invoices made companies lose $132 million.
e-invoicing likewise helps nearby firms to purchase and sell across global boundaries, most remarkably into New Zealand through the Trans-Tasman Electronic Invoicing Arrangement. Through this, the two countries have consented to seek ways to deal with e-invoicing.
Australia additionally has approached to work with Singapore one-invoicing and will want to work with different nations utilising PEPPOL later on.
Who is managing it?
The ATO is the lead office encouraging the government and businesses to adopt e-invoicing in Australia. It makes guidelines based on the PEPPOL standard.
It has worked intently with the New Zealand government to guarantee a common methodology. This is to steer the creation of a single digital economy market between the two countries.
The government has focused on preparing 80% of invoices electronically before the end of this year. For the remaining invoices, the deadline is June 2022. Further, the government is in talks with both small and big firms on the more extensive usage of e-invoicing from the word go.
Closing Note
Thus, the initial step is for accountants and bookkeepers to urge their clients to receive e-invoicing.
This will require clients using the old accounting frameworks to adopt the current cloud-based accounting software. For example, QuickBooks that are attempting to boost PEPPOL.
Companies need to begin approving ABNs and entering this information into systems to send e-invoices.
There is a huge amount of work on the government’s part and private sector level to proceed to e-invoicing. A significant change will provide multiple benefits directly across the economy.
Outbooks is a leading bookkeeping firm in Australia. It’s the primary choice of thousands of accountants in Australia for e-Invoicing purposes. Get in touch to book an appointment!
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