It’s eInvoicing Week, and the ATO says adopting the next-gen system could save your business time and money

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and bookkeeping providers have hailed the launch of eInvoicing Week, celebrating the new digital invoicing process which promises to save time and money for small businesses across Australia.

eInvoicing is a nationwide digital upgrade allowing buyers and suppliers to send and complete invoices without ever putting pen to paper or converting a physical document to PDF.

The standardised system connects a business’ accounting software to the Peppol network, which can connect with other businesses across the nation.

The ATO states businesses which use eInvoicing can slash the cost of issuing an individual invoice by as much as $20, potentially saving small businesses a significant sum over time.

Automated processing means there are fewer human errors caused by manual entry. This same automation makes invoicing processing faster, the ATO says, aiding business cash flow.

While the tax office and accountants are singing the system’s praises, new data shows a significant number of small businesses are yet to learn about eInvoicing or how it could improve their processes.

While eInvoicing awareness has improved significantly since 2021, just 64% of SMEs had heard of the system in July this year, according to data collected by bookkeeping software platform MYOB.

Of businesses yet to adopt eInvoicing, just over half are holding off because they do not know enough about it.

MYOB has partnered with MessageXchange for its eInvoicing solution. The firm’s managing director, John Delaney, said eInvoicing Week can help in “demystify eInvoicing and make the process of getting online as simple as possible.”

“Using eInvoicing Week as the moment to find those handful of minutes to give eInvoicing a try, could end up being one of the best business decisions a small business can make this year,” he said.

The week centres on training courses and information sessions hosted by the ATO, in partnership firms like MYOB, Xero, Intuit QuickBooks, Reckon, and other leading business bookkeeping providers.

The ATO has also encouraged small businesses which have adopted the process to share their experiences online and on social media, using their own platforms to expand the program’s reach.

A rundown of eInvoicing Week activities and sessions can be found on the ATO website.