Most SMEs have a manual invoicing process where Accounts Receivable teams generate and track paper invoices. Even though it could be easy to implement, a manual process is labor-intensive and error prone. While a manual process usually suffices when a company is small, it can quickly become overwhelming when the number of transactions start to grow.
What’s more, 81% of SMEs in Singapore reporting they experience delayed payments. This means it’s challenging for teams to monitor and track mountainous invoices.
As Singapore moves towards adopting the Peppol E-Invoicing standard, it becomes imperative for businesses to start going digital.
Digitalising your invoicing process could sound daunting, but the benefits of having your invoices up in the Cloud easily surpass the challenges implementing it. Here are 4 benefits of digitalising invoices for your organisation:
1. Faster Processing with Automation
When you digitalise your invoicing, automation takes over the labor-intensive work. Generating invoice drafts, manual data entry and cross-checking invoices against POs or Goods Receipts are some of the tasks that could be automated when you digitalising your invoicing process.
This helps to minimise human error, and it leaves you and your team with more time to focus on higher-value tasks
2. Format Conversion
With a rise in adoption of Peppol E-invoicing Standard in Singapore, your customer could require either an electronic invoice or a digital invoice (PDF copy of invoice). A manual process means having to know which your customer accepts and maintaining 2 processes for each.
Format conversion software allows you to easily manage both types of invoices, so you can just click “Send” when you are ready to bill your customer.
3. Minimise Costs
The many costs associated with paper invoices, such as stationery or man-hours spent on manual processing are no longer a worry with digitalised invoicing. According to BluePay, time saved from going digital reduces your cost per transaction by between $4 – $20 on average.
Digitalising your invoices allows you to generate, store and send invoices directly online, giving you easy access to your invoices while reducing costs.
4. Get Paid Faster
With software being able to send invoices instantly online, you no longer have to wait for your invoice to be printed, stamped, mailed and received by your customer. Sending invoices online also means “Lost in the mail” scenarios are no longer an issue.
In addition, more accurate processing of your invoices will lead to less billing disputes and a quicker payment cycle.
Changing an internal process can be painful for both the company and employees, so finding the right vendor who provides the best fitting software and guidance will contribute to your successful transformation journey.
With TenderBoard’s Supplier Portal, our Invoicing System is Peppol E-invoice Ready so you can now send both digital invoices and e-invoices quickly and easily through a single platform.
On TenderBoard, we’re creating a seamless experience for your team to tender and manage transactions easily on 1 platform. With the help of digitalisation and automation, manpower and effort spent on your invoicing processes can be reduced and made more efficient. And with the upcoming trend of e-invoicing, moving onto an Invoice Management System further connects you with your customers and speeds up payment cycles. Learn more about E-invoicing on TenderBoard
