eInvoicing in New Zealand

Electronic invoicing, also known as eInvoicing, is a business-to-business solution for the exchange of invoice data directly between the financial systems used by a supplier and the organisation purchasing their goods or services.

Datam and eInvoicing

Datam’s service translates invoice data from large volume billers such as utilities, telcos, insurance and financial service providers into Peppol* formatted eInvoice transactions. Peppol is the New Zealand Government approved standard for eInvoice transactions with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) responsible for promoting and supporting the uptake of eInvoicing in New Zealand.

The eInvoicing framework is integrated by ‘in-house’ systems, often used by large businesses, Government agencies and enterprise. Smaller businesses can access eInvoicing capability through their accounting or financial software provider, such as Xero or MYOB.

 

Why eInvoicing

For small and large businesses accounts payable, the savings are considerable with eInvoicing reducing the cost to process a print or email-based invoice from between $16-$18 per invoice, down to under $10 per invoice**.

For the billers, saving's come from improved efficiency, faster payments, and improved customer experience.

BOC Australia were impressed with the result: the introduction of the service saw an increase in on-time payments of 50%. ***

More case studies are available online: https://www.einvoicing.govt.nz/case-studies

Benefits of eInvoicing

  • Save Costs – error reduction reduces account reconciliation workload and call centre support.
  • Increase Customer Satisfaction – the reduction in administration for your customers makes it easier for them to do business with you.
  • Certainty – confirmation the invoice is accurate and has been received via automated reports.
  • Consistency – A New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) does not change, unlike email addresses, and you can even have your customers NZBN added to your database for free.

Contact Us

eInvoicing set up

Visit https://www.einvoicing.govt.nz/ for further detail on how to become eInvoice enabled or alternatively please talk to us.

Datam are an MBIE approved eInvoice software service provider and as New Zealand’s largest billings and transactional services company, we offer you the experience and capability to access cost-effective eInvoicing - in comparison to the more complex software integration considerations.

The process

A supplier’s financial system generates invoices for their business customers i.e. an electricity bill from a power company.
The invoice information passes on to Datam as a single input data file. Datam is able to split the invoice data into the selected customer billing formats: print, email or eInvoice.
If the preference is eInvoicing, a datafile is then sent to our processor where key information including the NZ Business Number (NZBN) is checked and confirmed. (The NZBN is the mandatory identifier to ensure the eInvoice is directed to the right buyer).

The file is then formatted to align with Peppol requirements and transmitted via secure file transfer to our Peppol accredited Access Point Provider, who forwards the data on to the buyers Access Point Provider (via a look-up process). It is then automatically presented within the buyers account payable software, ready to be approved for payment.

Contact us now to book your free initial consultation

 

*Peppol is an international eProcurement framework. It's developed and maintained by OpenPeppol , an international non-profit association. OpenPeppol standardises the way information is structured and exchanged. Peppol uses a 4-corner model to exchange procurement documents and data. The Peppol network is an independent, secure environment for data transmission and does not store the invoice data it transmits.

** Costs sources from 'eInvoicing - The potential benefits savings for New Zealand Businesses. Final report", Informetrics and currently use Internet or Desktop accounting solutions o estimate the expected benefit for NZ.

***Case study 2018 Link4 BOC Australia. 850+ email/print mail invoices converted to eInvoice. On Time payments increased from 40% to 60%. See P2-Case-1-BOC.pdf (link4.co)