Its survey of 1,000 SMEs found that four in 10 understood e-invoicing to be the direct, electronic exchange of invoices between suppliers’ and buyers’ financial systems, with 53 per cent calling for it to be made mandatory.
“This data illustrates there is no need for Australia to take a softly-softly approach with the e-invoicing mandate; other countries have successfully brought the mandate in and SMEs are ready to go,” said MYOB chief executive Greg Ellis.
“They understand how it works and the benefits of faster payment times and reduced admin that it brings. It is therefore in the interest of the Australian economy to bring in the B2B mandate as soon after the government deadline as possible.”
MYOB’s push comes as the government considers making it a mandatory requirement for all businesses to adopt e-invoicing.
The government believes mandating e-invoicing will ensure that it becomes part of the broader digitisation of businesses, and bring forward significant benefits, including time and cost savings, and reduce the risk of email scams and ransomware attacks.
It has already committed $3.6 million to facilitate the adoption of e-invoicing across all levels of government, with large government agencies required to be e-invoicing ready by 1 July 2021, followed by all agencies in 2022.
The government believes each e-invoice will deliver up to $20 in cost savings for each paper invoice it replaces, citing research by Deloitte Access Economics that estimates economy-wide benefits of up to $28 billion over 10 years.
MYOB has since partnered with e-invoicing providers Link4, LUCA Plus and MessageXchange, with functionality set to be ready by the second quarter of 2021.
“MYOB is primed to support SMEs in their adaptation to e-invoicing. We are proud to have partnered with a selection of Australia’s top e-invoicing providers — Link4, LUCA Plus and MessageXchange — to ensure MYOB customers have complete flexibility over the way they transact with their customers and can securely send and receive their e-invoices,” Mr Ellis said.
“E-invoicing is the best enabler we have for the digital economy. Let’s get this done and help our SMEs lead Australia’s recovery and growth.”
You are not authorised to post comments.
Comments will undergo moderation before they get published.