Step 1 – Prepare
Know your suppliers
- Develop your supplier list using your entity’s procurement supplier master as a guide.
- Analyse your suppliers including:
- how many invoices do they send?
- which format – paper, PDF, EDI?
- how often?
- what types of purchasing arrangements or contracts are in place?
Know your business
- Identify your business’s accounts payable and procurement touchpoints and contact details for your suppliers.
- Outline your business requirements for invoice processing and validation, in addition to the mandatory eInvoicing data elements.
Know the changes and impacts
- Make sure your change management and communication plans also include supplier onboarding actions and requirements.
Step 2 – Segment and prioritise
Segment and prioritise suppliers
- Segment suppliers (for example, by invoice volume, transaction frequency, digital readiness, invoice handling requirements, organisational size, or by accounting software such as Xero and MYOB).
- Identify priority suppliers to onboard.
Step 3 – Plan
Plan supplier onboarding (if your entity isn’t yet eInvoicing enabled)
Progress supplier onboarding in parallel with technical implementation.
- Include sufficient supplier onboarding funding in your business case to maximise ROI.
- Include supplier onboarding as a Phase 1 deliverable in the Project Plan to ensure benefits can be realised early.
- Allocate a project resource to focus on supplier onboarding and internal change management.
- Incorporate supplier onboarding into change management and comms plans and in business/technical readiness assessments.
- Develop a phased supplier onboarding approach to achieve quick wins early.
- Establish a mechanism to monitor and measure onboarding activity (for example, how many suppliers have agreed to adopt and have started sending eInvoices).
- Consider outsourcing larger supplier onboarding work programs. To do this, include supplier onboarding as a business requirement when selecting a Peppol service provider (also known as an Access Point).
Step 4 – Onboard
Engage and communicate
- Collaborate with key stakeholders to inform and guide tailored supplier engagement and communications (for example, finance (AP), procurement (contract mangers), project team, communications team, supplier account managers).
- Address key changes in supplier communications, including any new invoice data or formatting requirements, or actions required that will be different from how things are currently done.
- Define supplier-centric key messages, communication artefacts and engagement channels. Ensure these are reflected in the communications plan.
- Communicate with and engage suppliers as early as possible including working through contract managers and suppliers’ account managers.
Test
- Test specific requirements with a test group of suppliers as part of onboarding.
- Communicate any additional organisation-specific invoice requirements to suppliers to ensure these are met when they send an eInvoice.
Ongoing procurement activities
- Update relevant procurement documents and templates to make eInvoicing the new normal.
- Include an eInvoicing preference into new procurement requests (for example, request for tender) as well as supplier panels and standing offer arrangements.
- Discuss eInvoicing capability with suppliers as part of contract reviews and/or renewals. Embed your eInvoicing preference in all renewed or new contracts.