These AP platforms require suppliers to log into them and manually key in invoice data in order to get paid. A recent Gartner study states that, by 2025, over 50% of mid-market and large businesses will have deployed procure-to-pay suites. Accounts payable platforms / portalsĪccounts payable platform adoption is a growing trend in business. If the self-service portal is provided by an automation vendor that can manage integrated payments, then buyers can pay their invoices directly within the portal itself. These portals allow buyers to log in and see their open and past invoices. Some invoicing automation vendors, like Billtrust, offer the ability for buyers to pay their emailed invoices directly from the email itself. This required human intervention can sometimes lead to a delay in payment processing and ultimately a slower payment. Emailed invoices are more cost effective to send than paper invoices because they eliminate printing and mailing costs.īut the buyer will often still need to manually key the invoice data into their ERP system unless they have implemented an automated solution. Emailed invoices will often appear very similar to their paper counterparts. Often delivered via PDF, but sometimes also within the body text of an email. The main methods of e-Invoicing are: Emailed invoices What are the main methods of e-Invoicing? Easily searchable current and past payables documentation.And faster invoicing leads to faster payment – helping suppliers increase their cash flow and reduce their DSO.Įlectronic invoices have benefits for buyers as well: These insights lead to less errors and better customer service.Įlectronic invoices are transmitted to buyers more quickly than paper invoices sent in the mail. When presenting invoices electronically, suppliers gain the ability to quickly search through all current and past invoices. Via a supplier-hosted self-service portal.federal government estimated that implementing e-Invoicing across the government would lower costs by 50% and save $450 million every year.Į-Invoices save suppliers time because they can be automatically generated using the data in the supplier’s ERP system.Į-Invoices can be electronically presented to buyers in a number of ways: More and more companies are adopting e-Invoicing solutions because they save time and money and lead to less errors and faster payments.Īccording to a Billentis report, the U.S. With the development of new technology from the 1990s forward, new formats and more flexible applications were made available. As computing and networking evolved, standards were created. These early systems were rigid and unique. The earliest attempts at “paperless invoicing” were undertaken in the 1960s as trading partners established proprietary data links between each other and developed the first EDI (electronic data exchange) systems. Managing all invoicing documentation in paper formats is challenging and prone to error.

These documents are simultaneously numerous, vital to business and time-sensitive and are multiplied across a company’s total number of transactions. These documents can include: invoices (bills), purchase orders, debit notes, credit notes, payment terms and instructions and remittance slips.

When two companies enter into a trading agreement, documentation is required throughout the process to aid communication and ensure that terms and conditions are being met. E-Invoicing or electronic invoicing is the practice of transmitting transactional documents to trading partners electronically.

Electronic invoicing