Electronic Invoicing
03 Mar So you want to be paid promptly? At least meet your customer half way
It’s accepted wisdom that to pay suppliers promptly, that is on time according to agreed terms, is fair. It astonishes me when businesses – and it seems that big businesses are the worse culprits – deliberately fail to pay on time and seem to think that this is a legitimate business practice. But it is equally astonishing to see small businesses failing to help themselves when their customers pay late. Some businesses are their own worse enemy when it comes to being paid on time and there is a few simple steps that they could be taking to minimize the pain of late payment.28 Feb Squandering money on inefficiency
I suggested to the Paymaster General this week that the UK needs an e-invoicing Tzar. I'm not sure what amused him more - the idea of an e-invoicing Tzar or my scouse pronunciation of the word Tzar.*26 Feb Tradeshift secures $75 million and a foothold in the Far East
There’s a distinct change in tone in the latest press release from Tradeshift. It’s happy. I’m not saying that press releases in the past were miserable, it’s just that I would have used other words to describe their character - frenetic or excited perhaps. And the Tradeshift team has good reason to be happy. The headline announces the $75 million investment that they’ve just secured but what is really good news for the Tradeshifters, their customers and investors is the foothold they just gained in the third largest economy in the world.19 Feb The e-invoicing mandate and the reality of “free”
There’s a guy that wants to know how to learn how to negotiate. His friend, a professional buyer, explains to him that all he needs to do is to offer half of what he’s asked for when buying anything. Armed with this new skill, he goes off to buy himself a suit. “That will be $200 sir” says the tailor. Our negotiator responds with an offer of $100. “You drive a hard bargain” the tailor replies “but as I like you, you can take the suit for $100” Our negotiator fixes the tailor with a stare. “$50” he snaps. Realizing what's going on and keen to serve other customers, the exasperated tailor gives the suit away. “Take it. It’s free. Just get out of here” Negotiator: “I’ll have two”13 Feb E-invoicing – back to basics
Today we're pleased to welcome a post from Richard Manson from CloudTrade.
E-invoicing means different things to different people. For some it can be an enabler for supply chain finance and initiatives such as dynamic discounting. For others it provides visibility of spend and support for sourcing and rationalisation opportunities.
Complementary services and related marketing jargon have evolved hand in hand over the years but they mask the real reason why most organisations want to roll out e-invoicing: Organisations have paper - loads of it. Most companies simply want to remove as much of it as possible from their processes to reduce operating costs and increase control and visibility. So if the goal for most is to simply remove paper – and it’s an accepted fact that e-invoicing benefits all – why aren’t more people doing it?30 Jan Parliamentary inquiry on e-invoicing invoicing – a session of contrasts
Posted at 15:11h
in AP Automation, e-invoicing, Electronic Invoicing, Public Sector Procurement, Purchase to Pay
On Monday morning I had what I thought was a slight cold. Sniffing, I headed to London. By late morning, it was a proper cold and by the time I arrived in Westminster for the second sitting of Stephen McPartland’s parliamentary inquiry into e-invoicing, I’d developed full blown man-flu.
This was a session characterised by contrasts. Forthright opinions together with cautiously expressed views. Good news mixed with disappointing revelations. But overall a great second session.