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    5 Challenges For Electronic Invoicing

    If you’re thinking of cost-cutting, you might consider electronic invoicing. By definition this involves the exchange of bills and invoices between suppliers and clients in any electronic format. Electronic billing is the best way to save time. On top of it, paper invoices incur redundant processes and sometimes suffer from human errors too.

    Employers do not risk overpayment and electronic invoicing for freelancers generally leads to faster payments. According to recently compiled statistics, 2026 is likely to see nearly 20.5 billion e-invoices exchanged between parties as the electronic billing industry grows at a compounded annual rate of over 20.4%. Still, e-invoicing is not without certain drawbacks.  Review five challenges that arise when adopting electronic invoicing for your business.

    Onboarding Partners & Clients

    When switching from paper to electronic invoicing, there are definitely challenges to overcome. An onboarding seminar for partners and executives to get acquainted with a new accounts payable automation process is an obvious first choice to quickly climb the learning curve. You need the approval of key company leaders besides your own consent for processing electronic invoices as a company.

    Oftentimes, other leaders are hesitant to transition to new systems. You can resolve this with a good presentation explaining the benefits and risks of digital invoices. Large-scale businesses are also afraid of exhaustive processes like creating digital copies. In such cases, you can also offer incentives for your internal leaders and external clients to adopt new invoicing methods.

    Overlooking Legal & Tax Compliance Matters

    Roughly 30% of the GDP of every country comes from sales tax and VAT. This is the main reason why legal and tax compliance is mandatory and a lack thereof can lead to tougher challenges to resolve down the road. It is easy to miss the fine print on digital signatures or geographic locations when invoicing electronically. However, it can also lead to legal trouble right away.

    Failing to follow jurisdictional tax and regulatory requirements can lead to fines, penalties, and wasted resources depending on the locations of suppliers and the companies issuing invoices.  

    The best solution in such a case is to hire a legal authority. This body should coordinate the legal compliance in the contracts you create with professionals and companies both within and outside the country of operation.

    Coordinating Processes Within the Business Itself

    The first step towards resolving internal coordination is ensuring the compatibility of the invoicing systems between suppliers and clients. Large-scale companies with complex payment structures will need to spend more time transitioning, unlike smaller companies.

    From choosing types of invoice formats PDF files or Excel files to delivery methods, there are many processes to coordinate inside the business. The best solution is to commission a team from multiple departments to reduce conflicts. E-billing requires effective integration to ensure a hassle-free billing process in the future.

    Accordingly, it is best to begin by educating the staff on the needs and requirements of transitioning to E-invoicing before beginning any implementation.

    Validating Security Benefits

    Most clients fret about the safety of invoices when transitioning to solely digital copies. Invoicing software needs integration with common security features based on the size of the business. Technical issues with security can lead to transactional problems with invoices.

    Yet, digital invoices offer secure handling and are more accurate than paper invoices. Most e-invoicing services offer encryption services too. Data handling is a separate focus for reputed e-invoicing companies worth exploring before picking an appropriate solution.

    Moreover, you can access and assess invoices in digital formats conveniently. That’s why we recommend an interactive session to troubleshoot security concerns. You can also create a presentation citing the positive of e-invoicing which is tailored for key decision makers.

    Upgrading and Transitioning Storage Capabilities

    Invoices must be kept for 10 years in Germany and for 6 years in the UK. Hence, invoicing storage rules vary widely from country-to-country. While paper invoicing requires printing, stamping, processing, delivery, and eventual storage, e-invoicing wraps up all these activities in one process. Moreover, the accuracy of e-billing reduces complaints, hassles and customer service calls too.

    Decision makers might need comprehensive onboarding and education on cloud or other digital storage options given that concerns over producing invoices for tax audits is valid. On the other hand, clients might be apprehensive about losing data. You need to cite facts as to why digital and cloud storage is superior to traditional physical storage in every case. The best solution is to summarize the option of manual backups offered by the invoicing company you choose.

    Some Final Thoughts

    With a high degree of attentiveness, it is easy to switch to electronic invoicing. While not necessarily a cakewalk given you will encounter challenges along the way to adoption, each reason for avoiding implementation can be overcome. Better yet, expediting existing processes and eliminating redundancy are real bonuses.

    With every industry embracing increased automation, e-invoicing keeps you a step ahead and ready to adapt to changing global business conditions.