Invoices can be sent and received in several ways, such as paper, email, portable document format (PDF), or electronic invoicing. Interestingly, there is much confusion between digital invoicing and electronic invoicing, even though they are fundamentally different. Let’s dive a bit deeper into the details to help you identify these differences.
Digital invoices can be viewed and processed digitally. They usually exist as a physical document, PDF, Word file or a scanned paper invoice. A digital invoice is easy for a human to read. With optical character recognition (OCR), digital invoicing can be recognized and transmitted to an accounting software. Digital invoicing is still a semi-automatic invoice process that requires invoices to be manually sent to inboxes or accounting software.
Electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) can exchange the invoice information automatically and directly between buyers and suppliers. The standard formats of e-invoicing contain structured data that makes it easy for a computer to capture and assimilate automatically.
Therefore, when you send an invoice by email, you are doing digital invoicing. It is not real-time, whereas e-Invoicing is instant. Digital Invoicing is still prone to errors. Yet e-Invoicing does not require human intervention, making it more reliable and accurate.
Key Differences
|
Digital Invoice |
e-Invoicing |
|
PDF, Word, Scanned paper invoice |
CSV, EDI, UBL, QuickBook formats |
|
People can read |
Easily machine-readable |
|
Needs processing to go into accounting software |
Transferred between systems |
|
Semi-automatic |
Fully automatic |
|
No significant reduction to your labour cost |
Saves time and money for your business |
The benefits of electronic invoicing – the most advanced way of invoicing
e-Invoices can be sent directly between buyers’ and suppliers’ software if both systems are using the same standards, even if they are using different software. Singapore is the first country in Asia implementing Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line (PEPPOL) e-invoicing standard which is internationally recognized.
Benefits of e-Invoicing:
Saves time – All the procedures are electronic and automatic
Saves money – Reduce labor and printing costs
Environmentally friendly – less printing, scanning and paper wastage
Faster payment – increased cash flow for your business
LinkFor can help your business benefit from seamless invoice delivery. Sign up for free and start e-Invoicing.
Information sourced from:
https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/E-invoicing/
Tags: digital invoicing, e-invoicing, fintech, PEPPOL, save time and money, software as a service