Identify and work with the right person in your supplier’s organisation
In some organisations, there can be multiple people responsible for making the decision to switch to eInvoicing.
You may need to talk to your supplier contacts and ask them to escalate the request to start using eInvoicing to the right person. You may want to speak with their business’s decision makers to discuss the benefits directly.
Understand your supplier's eInvoicing solution
Most businesses require certain data elements to process an invoice. You should ensure your supplier:
- understands your data requirements
- agrees to provide them directly in the eInvoice or in an attachment.
Some suppliers may have limitations to their accounting software. Your receiving solutions may also have some limitations. It is important you work with your suppliers to understand each other's software capability to find the best way for your systems to interact.
If you work with your suppliers to find the right balance of required data, you can minimise any potential impacts from changing your processes.
Supplier help and resources
Be prepared to help your suppliers when they send their first eInvoice. They may ask you: “How do I start?”
Providing help could include collating links to supporting web content provided by the software most used by suppliers (see Appendix 3).
Point them to ato.gov.au/eInvoicing to find out more about eInvoicing and its value to them.
This approach contributes to a positive experience for both you and your supplier. For you, it means less time spent responding to supplier enquiries. For suppliers, it makes the change to eInvoicing easier.
Test where possible
When large business suppliers become enabled to send eInvoices, it’s common for them to test their new eInvoicing solution to ensure a smooth transition.
Some software solutions offer a test environment, and this should be used where it is available to both the buyer and supplier. However, one or both parties may not have access to a test environment and will need to test in a live environment.
You should support supplier testing wherever possible. Ask your suppliers to take part in controlled testing where they can validate their solutions.
Testing is an opportunity to ensure suppliers meet your requirements in a range of scenarios and circumstances. This helps facilitate smooth automation and minimise manual intervention.
In principle, ‘testing’ in a live environment should occur with live transactions, meaning ‘test’ invoices should be for provided goods and services. Communication is key when the first test eInvoice is sent. Make sure you follow up with confirmation that the eInvoice has been received as planned.