Increasing your eInvoicing capabilities may change the way you currently receive and process invoices. It will likely also impact your suppliers. The following principles will help:
- Do not reject any eInvoices before you review them. Let all eInvoices through if they comply with the invoice specification (namely, there is some data in all mandatory fields). If you introduce extra validation on eInvoices as they arrive (for example, PO format or length checks, or ABN-to-seller's name look-ups), you should manage these business-level rules just as you would with a PDF invoice in your accounts payable process and as exceptions if required (see Exception management).
- Search for data if it does not appear where you expect it. This searching may be automated the same way OCR systems scan unstructured PDFs. If you can't automate this process, check the full set of eInvoice data your supplier sends you (namely, a human-readable rendering of the XML – see principle 5), plus check any attachments. This way you maximise your chances of being able to process and pay the eInvoice.
- Contact your supplier if you can’t find what you need, or if the supplier hasn’t provided the same information they would have previously in an emailed PDF invoice. If you have different data requirements for eInvoices, you will need to tell your suppliers what’s needed.
- Always consider your suppliers’ potential software limitations. Work with them to understand their situation and find a balance between what you need and any extra burden on them. For instance, you may be able to use either negative invoice or a credit note to achieve the same outcome.
- Your system should ideally be able to display a human-readable version of the complete eInvoice (for example, a HTML or PDF rendering of the XML data file). It is not mandatory for, nor do we recommend, your suppliers to send PDF versions of eInvoices.
In line with these principles, develop a change management approach to support uplifting your eInvoicing capabilities. Consider what guidance and support will need to be updated and communicated to staff as systems, workflows and what they see and be asked to approve may change. Consider the following:
- Work towards automating as many AP and eInvoicing processes as possible. For example, search for a PO or reference number or a buyer contact email address to automatically route for approval, and check against master vendor, PO and any goods receipt records. If the eInvoice cannot be processed automatically, see Exception management.
- eInvoices will arrive in your central AP system. They do not arrive in email inboxes. Everyone involved in procurement across your organisation – AP teams, contract managers, purchasers and financial delegates – will see the differences. System-generated alerts, viewing and approving invoices in ERP software and perhaps noting goods receipts against purchase or work orders are all possible changes.
- Procurement policy, contracts and payment terms may need to be updated (see Appendix 1). Suppliers will need to be notified and may require help with the change too.
Example: eInvoice delivery and routing change
Before adopting eInvoicing, Agency A had all its suppliers email their invoices directly to the purchasing officers or teams before being approved and entered in the finance system for payment. As part of its eInvoicing transition, it set up a series of resource pools made up of several approvers.
When eInvoices started to be delivered to its central AP system, it automatically sent eInvoices to the appropriate resource pool for approval based on matching a buyer reference number.
They also required suppliers that didn't use eInvoicing to send emails to a central mailbox to be processed though the AP system the same way. As a result, both invoices and eInvoices are managed consistently and the agency processes and pays all suppliers on time.
End of example