Last week fewer research reports than usual were published. Enterprise Times only noted one from the vendors that it follows; there are probably more, though. Xero published the findings of a survey that looked at the influence Government, and large businesses could have on the adoption of eInvoicing.
- 48% said they would consider registering if high-invoicing government agencies such as ASIC, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or state transport agencies sent eInvoices.
- 46% of respondents would likely register for eInvoicing if their frequent big business suppliers (e.g. Telstra, Officeworks, Woolworths) sent eInvoices directly into their accounting system.
Perhaps ironically, it was Sage that recently acquired Lockstep that could help build such an ecosystem.
The survey of more than 500 small businesses in Australia looked at the pain points of invoicing. It found:
- 22% of small businesses surveyed identified that the time it takes to get paid is the top issue.
- 26% also said they often feel stressed about overdue invoices
The answer
Xero believes that eInvoicing is the answer. Simon Foster, GM Product – eInvoicing at Xero commented: “eInvoicing reduces administration and errors while accelerating payment for Australiaʼs small businesses, but they need lots of entities on the eInvoicing network to make registering worthwhile.
“This is a terrific opportunity for governments to use the volume of invoices it sends in a way that helps cut red tape, speed up payment times and increase security for small businesses. Government can lead the way with registrations by replacing multi-step processes like ASIC annual review fees, ATO payment plan statements and state vehicle registration fees, with eInvoices sent directly into the software of the small business, as we have seen in leading digital economies overseas.”
The Australian Tax office has launched eInvoicing week to improve awareness of eInvoicing amongst SMEs. The challenge is similar in other countries as well. Why does this matter?
Foster explained further: “While invoice management is key to healthy cash flow, it can be overwhelming for small business owners and sole traders to get on top of. eInvoicing allows businesses and government departments to electronically exchange invoices between accounting software systems without the need for manual data entry. This has the potential to facilitate faster payment times, help boost cash flow, and reduce stress for small business owners.”
