Pilot to bring e-invoicing a step closer

The NSW and Federal Governments have joined forces to embrace e-invoicing and make life easier for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), with a pilot set to commence in NSW in December.

Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said a pilot was agreed following last week’s Australian Data and Digital Council meeting in Brisbane between Federal and State Ministers.

“E-invoicing is a game changer for buyers and suppliers, by eliminating paperwork, slashing administrative costs and reducing error,” Mr Dominello.

“We are embracing technology to improve the way suppliers and buyers interact when invoicing for goods and services. This pilot will help ensure we get it right here in NSW before rolling it out further.”

Minister for Finance and Small Business Damien Tudehope said: “E-invoicing is a big win for small businesses, by reducing payment times and improving business cash flow, meaning they can spend more time running and growing their business.”
“By simplifying the process and making it faster we are also saving businesses money by reducing costs.”

Australian businesses process around 1.2 billion invoices each year. Deloitte Access Economics estimates that e-invoicing could result in benefits to the Australian economy of $28 billion over 10 years.

According to the ATO, it is estimated that it costs businesses $30.87 to process a paper invoice, $27.67 a PDF invoice, and only $9.18 to process an e-invoice. This means it is approximately 70 per cent cheaper to process an e-invoice than traditional paper or PDF invoices, saving businesses time spent manually entering invoices.

The pilot will initially focus on the IT sector and how the Government can work with this sector to embrace e-invoicing, before expanding to other sectors. Further details on the pilot will be announced in the coming weeks.