Large markets accelerate B2B e-invoicing adoption worldwide – report

The research, made available by Finnish e-procurement and e-invoicing software company Basware in partnership with Billentis, also indicates that large markets such as Germany, Mexico and France have contributed to the acceleration of the e-invoicing adoption curve.

Legislative changes to mandate e-invoices or reinforce the value of electronic formats have also contributed to this increase in adoption rates, the research also found.

Among the legislative changes mentioned in the report as having a positive impact on e-invoicing adoption rates are the announcement in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Treasury that by the end of fiscal 2012, all Treasury Bureaus will implement an electronic invoice processing solution as part of President Obamas Campaign to Cut Waste, as well as e-invoicing becoming mandatory for Mexican enterprises. Also, in 2011 Germany, the Nordic countries and Benelux states introduced moderate legislation to encourage the use of e-invoicing.

Globally, the joint Basware – Billentis research has found that e-invoicing has been adopted by countries at different rates and the legislation varies between these regions. In Asia, specifically Japan and China, the electronic version of an invoice is only regarded as a copy and the paper version is required for compliance purposes. This is in contrast to other Asian countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea, where the approach to e-invoicing is advanced and electronic invoices are accepted as official financial documentation.