Invoices have been the heart of business cash flow for many years. They have been conveyed in various ways, including physical papers, faxing, PDFs, EDI and now e-Invoicing. But what does e-Invoicing or instant invoice delivery mean, and who would use it?
The first thing to note is that this is not about creating invoices. Continue to use your current accounting software or invoice creation solution. What we are considering is how to get the invoice from where it is created to where it is destined to end up.
Cloud accounting software now makes it possible for immediate communication of information, without the need for complex or costly installations of software. Large businesses have been involved with sending invoices via EDI for the past 40 years. Now Small Businesses can achieve the same result with cloud access points for little or no cost and no software installation.
One of the issues many businesses comment on is that of receiving and processing invoices. The time it takes to process and store these details can be considerable. But having the invoice delivered electronically saves a lot of data entry and physical storage issues. That is where instant delivery of an invoice comes in.
If a supplier is using true e-Invoicing, then an invoice is delivered direct into the accounting system of their customer, instantly. Not via email, or a portal, or using PDFs or Faxes. This is direct invoice delivery from one accounting system to another.
Suppliers benefit because it speeds up the AR (Accounts Receivable) process allowing for faster cash flow and less late payments. Customers enjoy not having to deal with all the manual data entry, or scanning PDFs and associated issues.
e-Invoicing is the most up to date way for everyone in the business network to transmit invoices. This ensures invoices are delivered from the supplier to the customer as soon as they are created.
Tools for small and medium businesses are limited, but Link4 is one of the most mature options available for Australian businesses. With nothing to install and no change in processes required, this is an add-on which small business owners should consider as a solution for their e-Invoicing needs. And it is a Freemium solution, which means you can use it for free forever unless you want to upgrade to one of the plans at a later date.
Instant invoice delivery opens up savings for small business owners. It would be wise for all business owners to have a look at how e-Invoicing can affect their business in a positive way and the impact it can have on their bottom line.
About Link4
Link4 is an Account Payables and Account Receivables automation solution that allow small and medium businesses to exchange invoices and purchase bills instantly. Designed to support small and medium enterprises, Link4 is a SaaS solution which doesn’t require any installation or long term commitments and is used in conjunction with an organisation’s current cloud accounting solution. www.link4.com.au
