2010 Trends in Electronic Invoicing

There are already indications that 2010 will be the year of the Electronic Invoice. OnePosting, a leading provider of integrated online invoicing solutions, reveals key trends that will effect invoicing for the year ahead.

1. The recession is accelerating adoption rates of e-Invoicing

The recessionary economy is accelerating the adoption rates of Electronic Invoicing as companies look for ways to streamline their internal processes and make their staff more efficient. With a short Return on Investment, e-Invoicing immediately reduces invoice processing costs. The European Commission estimates that companies using electronic and automated invoice processes can achieve savings of 80% over their postal counterparts.¹

2. Late payments are driving transactions online

According to ISME, small businesses are being hit hard by late payments, as delays in payments for small firms have increased dramatically to 76 days on average, which is the longest period on record. Almost half (48%) of companies now have to wait over 3 months to be paid². As a result, electronic invoices are gaining popularity since they can be turned around in minutes rather than days. Additionally, administrative errors such as mislaid invoices are removed, which can be costly to suppliers who are looking to reduce debtor days.

3. Retaining customers has become more important than ever

With Electronic Invoicing, there is a real opportunity for businesses to improve their customer service. A significant number of account related calls are invoice queries and these are virtually eliminated with e-Invoicing since customers can access their account and retrieve both recent and archived invoices at the touch of a button. With administrative staff no longer chasing old or missing invoices, they can focus on other aspects of customer service.

4. Web based services are replacing in-house technology

More and more companies are accessing services from web browsers rather than investing large sums into technology and are reaping the cost benefits of cloud computing. For example, Extranet and Email invoicing solutions are being abandoned in favour of secure, independent cloud-based Electronic Invoicing services, such as OnePosting, where deployment is faster, costs are lower and risk is minimal.

5. Businesses are empowering their customers

As more people move online towards electronic payments, Internet Banking and self-service transactions³, suppliers are encouraging customers to accept electronic invoices and pay online. Customer adoption rates for e-Invoicing are extremely high as they opt to save time, money and trees by accepting receipt of their bills electronically. By having their transactions online, they can review both current and archived invoices and statements. Document storage and handling issues are therefore eliminated, along with the hassle of missing paperwork and the effort wasted chasing it.

6. Online security plays an ever increasing role

Security concerns with paper and email invoicing has led to an increase in Electronic Invoicing, which offers a level of security far beyond paper billing or sending invoices by email. For example, all transactions on OnePosting are stored on a secure portal, and can only be accessed over a secure link similar to the way that Internet banking works, so there is no opportunity for third parties to view or tamper with invoices. This removes any opportunity for phishing and other fraudulent activities. Businesses can even verify that their customers have viewed invoices, something that is not possible with traditional post and very difficult with email.

Gregory Duffy, CEO of OnePosting, a leading provider of integrated electronic invoicing solutions comments, “We anticipate that these trends will continue to drive Electronic Invoicing throughout 2010. Businesses now recognise the benefits of Electronic Invoicing and as we work through the economic downturn, e-Invoicing will gain momentum as companies look to streamline their internal processes and reduce costs. In fact, I predict that e-Invoicing will contribute towards economic recovery as companies become more efficient, innovative and customer-focused.”

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About OnePosting™

OnePosting is an electronic invoicing solution that provides a secure means for sending, receiving, storing and retrieving invoices, credit notes, statements and PODs (Proof of Delivery e.g. delivery dockets). OnePosting has more than 3000 registered businesses worldwide. Customers include Ballygowan, Glenpatrick, Publicity Mailing and Waveform Solutions. OnePosting is the proprietary software of Sentrio Technologies Limited.

For further information on OnePosting, please visit OnePosting's Electronic Invoicing Homepage . For further corporate, product and service information on Sentrio Technologies, please visit: www.sentrio.com.

For more information contact:
Finbarr McCarthy, OnePosting (a product of Sentrio Technologies Limited)
Tel: +353 (0)1 5143585, finbarr.mccarthy@sentrio.com