Invoicing is a crucial process within business workflows. Not only for the most natural reason, namely that payment from customers is tied to the issuance of invoices, but also because, particularly in a complex tax system such as the Italian one, performing error-proof operations introduces important levels of complexity, while being indispensable to avoid the risk related to penalties of various kinds. Automation of invoicing-related workflows is the ideal support, even in the case of electronic invoicing to foreign countries, to reduce the critical issues related to administrative operations.
Automatic billing is an opportunity
Every year, companies issue billions of invoices and, according to some studies, this number è set to quadruple. This, for companies that have decided to put digital transformation into practice, constitutes undoubtedly an opportunity. Leveraging techniques and tools for automating billing-related workflows, in fact, yields some important benefits, including reduction of costs and human errors that often accompany manual or otherwise traditional invoicing management.
If we add to these the additional critical issues introduced by electronic invoicing and the specific requirements of interchange systems, it is not difficult to imagine how workflow automation tools are the perfect solution to gain competitiveness also from the point of view of speed and reliability in document issuance.
The benefits of invoicing workflow automation become even more interesting when they also enable us to solve the complexities associated with outbound electronic invoicing: let’s look at the main ones.
The benefits of workflow automation
When a company decides to use an automated billing system, it is imperative that it integrate with any information systems already in place. Indeed, the ability to interchange data is one of the cornerstones of digital transformation. If the billing system integrates with the digital workflows already in place, the expected benefits are as follows:
Reduced time per invoice required
This is probably the most immediate benefit to explain: in an automated invoicing workflow, staff does not have to issue invoices manually, but check the validity of the data and handle any exceptions. This results in a considerable reduction in the time required to issue each document.
Cost reduction
Workflow automation, particularly if an electronic invoicing system is used, results in a reduction in time-related overhead costs, but also in a reduction in costs related to, for example, printing and document circulation. In addition, full integration with the interchange system also makes it possible to automatically resolve issues related to, for example, electronic invoicing for foreign countries, effectively also reducing costs related to any errors or discrepancies detected at the administrative level.
Improved efficiency
The use of workflow automation tools for invoice management introduces two important improvements. The first is related to precise management for deadlines: an automated system does not suffer from business workloads, which in some cases in traditional management can prevent operators from issuing invoices on time. In addition, the Inaccurate, inaccurate or error-ridden invoices still constitute a considerable cost item for companies, which with automated management is drastically reduced.
Improved compliance
A well-structured workflow automation system can handle without error any any number of specificities and exceptions, once configured in the correct way. This means that, even if errors or inefficiencies related to particular taxation, exceptions of some kind, or other singularities occur, once handled at the system level are destined not to be repeated. In addition, leading billing solutions already have extensive libraries that can cover most cases, reducing the need for intervention by accounting or finance experts.
Comprehensive, integrated solutions for automated billing
We have seen how a solution capable of connecting to the interchange system for electronic invoicing is an indispensable piece in the management creation of an effective automated workflow. In the field of solutions SAP we can rely on SAP Document Compliance, which is available in Italian and for the Agenzia delle Entrate interchange system, allowing the entire electronic invoicing process to be managed internally within the infrastructure, including for foreign countries, and creating highly efficient automated workflows.
