Is electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) the future of billing? The technology for e-invoicing is already making strides into the business world, and companies of all sizes are beginning to adopt e-invoicing, not just the larger organisations. Ditching paper invoices for e-invoices will offer even more value as the technology continues to mature. What will the future of e-invoicing look like in 2023?
Poll results
In our most recent LinkedIn poll, we asked our social media followers what they thought the biggest e-invoicing trend would be in 2023.
E-Invoicing trends for 2023: what we found
Increased automation
71% of respondents said they thought increased automation would be the biggest trend in e-invoicing in 2023 making it by far the most selected response.
Automation allows e-invoices to be processed by an organisation’s IT systems which removes time, cost and data errors caused by human intervention when transferring invoices over different medias. Making the data machine-readable removes the need for manually viewing and reading a visual form of the invoice. It also removes the manual work of entering the invoice information into a separate system. This provides savings in human resources and significantly reduces errors in data entry. Automation is a large part of the advantages today of e-invoicing and the respondents continue to think it will continue this way into 2023.
Demand for personalisation
14% of respondents said a demand for personalisation would be the biggest trend for e-invoicing in 2023, while a low response it did rank in second place among the poll.
Personalisation plays an important role in our consumer’s lives which creates the desire for this to be replicated in B2B. Recent studies show that 90% of customers find personalisation appealing so it’s only natural this trend would fall into B2B invoicing. Sending well-designed invoices allows organisations to brand themselves and increase their recognition by their customers which can help leave a good first impression and nurture a bond with clients. It helps demonstrate that a business is organised, and invested in the satisfaction of their customers.
Legislation
7% of respondents selected legislation as the biggest trend of e-invoicing in 2023, one of the lowest ranked results.
Legislation is an important factor of e-invoices due to the complex and differing legislations dependent on where organisations do business. For example, the US has liberal regulations regarding e-invoicing with no special legal directives in place, the EU has implemented e-invoicing regulations since 2001, and India and China have not permitted electronic invoicing. This means organisations wanting to use e-invoicing need to ensure they meet all requirements for whatever country they’re operating in. In terms of trends however, many third party providers help with these requirements so organisations have to worry less about them.
Other
Finally, 7% of respondents selected ‘other’.
Other can often be a range of different options, for example using cloud technology could be an important e-invoicing trend in 2023. Many technologies are operating from the cloud and invoicing is not an exception. SaaS technology, particularly solutions made to help companies streamline their invoicing and accounting processes, will become more popular in 2023. The importance of being able to store, or review older invoices wherever you are becomes more important as AP departments work from home.
Learn more about B2BE’s Customer e-Invoicing and Supplier e-Invoicing solution.
More information
B2BE’s experience in the supply chain sector allows our customers to build, expand and adapt successfully, enabling greater effectiveness. To engage with B2BE and offer feedback on what matters most to you and your business, make sure to follow us on LinkedIn and across social media. You can also vote in our latest LinkedIn poll. If you’d like to discuss your supply chain strategy, get in touch with us.