Why is e-invoicing not the same as a PDF?

| 6-9-2017 | PowertoPay – Unified Post | Sponsored Content |

When they hear e-invoicing, companies often think that this is sending invoices by e-mail. However, e-invoicing is more than that. Not only sending the invoice is part of this, but also the electronic booking, payment and collection of the money belongs to this process. Electronic invoicing leads to a major save of costs. For the sender, but especially for the receiver. Since e-invoicing is digitalizing invoicing for the sender as well as the receiver, a PDF-invoice is not seen as electronic invoicing.

When receiving a PDF the receiver still has to, with or without the help of OCR software, manually put data into a systems or he has to correct it. In the case of e-invoicing, the receiver gets all the data electronically which can be automated with their accounting systems. Manual input is not necessary anymore and the control of the content of the invoice can be automated.

Automated

When a sender decides to do e-invoicing instead of just sending a PDF, there is a world of benefits for the entrepreneur. First of all, e-invoicing is like registered post but then faster. You always know for sure that the invoice is received and you’re always being informed about that. Since the payment period usually starts at the moment the invoice is registered, the e-invoice can shorten the payment period with a couple of days.  Without intervention of the post or post rooms or other internal departments, the e-invoice lands directly into the financial system of the receiver. Reminders can be sent automatically and payment options can be built into the invoice or reminder. E-invoices can be simply archived digitally which makes them easy to find and this way they’re always accessible within the organization. With e-invoicing you are ready for the future. It’s only a matter of time until receivers don’t want to receive invoices any other way. The (Dutch) government even made e-invoicing (so not PDF’) mandatory as from the 1st of January.

E-invoicing Method

Paper invoices and PDF invoices via e-mail are most of the time directly exchanged between two parties. Of course this is the case with e-invoices. In this so-called two-corner model, two parties make arrangements on the e-invoice format they use and about the technical connection. However, there are a lot of different formats in the electronic invoicing world and that variety has a function. A format (invoice standard), often reflects the specific needs of a sector or collaboration. Every sector has its own order and invoice process, that one format can even be undesirable.

Billing Service Provider

In the three-corner model, a Billing Service Provider (UnifiedPost) takes the burden away for both the sender and the recipient in the invoice process. The sender that uses its own sector standards, the billing service provider makes sure that the invoice gets to the receiver in their correct format. Preferably electronic, but e-mail or post are also optional. Another advantage for the sender is that there is only one technical link that should be realized with the billing service provider. The billing service provider is taking care of different links on the receiver-side. By translating different formats, the billing service provider is making sure that the receiver receives all his invoices electronically the same way and that the authenticity and the integrity of the invoice is determined the right way. Billing service providers have got a large network and make agreements with (large) accounting systems.

Simple with great advantages

By using an billing service provider, companies can easily exchange electronic invoices directly with many providers from different sectors and suppliers. This requires one link (one-time setup) between the accounting system and the platform of the service provider. Small companies can also use a webportal for sending and receiving e-invoices.

If you want to read more about the services of PowertoPay or about e-invoicing please click the following link:

Learn more about e-invoicing with these facts and figures. 

 

PowertoPay – Unified Post

[button url=”https://www.treasuryxl.com/community/companies/powertopay/” text=”View company profile” size=”small” type=”primary” icon=”” external=”1″]

[separator type=”” size=”” icon=””]

Startup FinTech company Facturis and the traditional bank: How do they do it?

| 23-8-2017 | PowertoPay – Unified Post | Sponsored content |

Facturis, a partner of UnifiedPost, is an online platform that helps to optimize the financial situation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Netherlands. The platform facilitates a more efficient flow of incoming and outgoing invoices, debtor management, retrieval of digital debit authorizations, dynamic discounting and dynamic working capital credit. In this interview, Nico Ten Wolde, CEO of Facturis, is telling more about developments in the financial technical (FinTech) world.

 

How did Facturis originate from the Rabobank?

Nico: “Rabobank started a strategic orientation in 2010 to increase its added value and uniqueness for its business customers. Rabobank wants to provide services within the customers’ business processes whenever and wherever they are needed. Where Rabobank has traditionally focused on offering products such as transactions, finance and insurance, she wanted to offer services to support the full order-to-cash flow process of her customers. This goes further than the execution of transactions and the provision of funding. By offering different services that work in synergy on one platform, the customer has lower operating costs and a lower need for external financing. In order to achieve this, Rabobank has established a partnership with UnifiedPost in the form of Facturis. UnifiedPost delivers the invoicing platform technology.”

What is the target group of Facturis? What do you do to connect the product to this target group?

Nico: “Facturis focuses on the business market, with the primary focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These types of organizations need to obtain services from many different parties in order to optimize the financial and administrative processes. Because they buy services from different parties, there is insufficient insight into and grip on the overall financial process. By integrally providing services from various partners on one platform, we give entrepreneurs more insight into their financial situation. That goes further than sending invoices – it’s about getting bills paid as quickly as possible.”

Fin Tech initiatives – what changes?

Everyone talks about the changing role of the banks, partly through the FinTech initiatives. What do you think are the things we already notice?

Nico: “What I see is that 10 years ago a bank was the only place you would consider for financial services, this is no longer always the case. Think of FinTech parties like Adyen, which offer a wide range of financial products from banks and other financial institutions on a platform. The customer no longer deals directly with a traditional bank. In addition, we see a strong growth of (crowd) funding platforms. The financing is no longer obtained through a bank. More recently, several blockchain initiatives and the oncoming implementation of PSD2 will create new opportunities for players outside the traditional banking world.”

Why do you think banks will increasingly work with FinTech companies? What is the benefit for the banks?

Nico: “On the one hand, banks often have to deal with complex legacy systems which limit the possibilities to quickly implement new solutions. On the other hand, banks have to deal with implementing and maintaining new rules and regulations with the current processes. This makes it almost impossible to quickly implement innovations. FinTech companies can quickly launch new concepts for specific target groups. Through cooperation with banks, the power of the existing brand and distribution channel is optimally utilized. A win-win situation for the customer, the FinTech company and a bank.”

What was the biggest success in Facturis?

Nico: “The launch of the pilot Invoice Credit. The Invoice Credit is a dynamic working capital credit that moves along in real-time with the (outgoing) invoice flow of a company. As a result, the entrepreneur does not always have to return to his bank to make an adjustment on his credit line. Due to the flexibility of InvoiceCredit, companies can streamline the flow of money, thus optimizing their working capital. InvoiceCredit fulfils the companies need for a credit that reflects fluctuations in the invoice flow and that grows along with the company.”

What is your biggest challenge within Facturis?

Nico: “Our biggest challenge is to maintain the speed you need as a FinTech to be successful and to be able to continue to innovate. Laws, regulations and legacy systems sometimes limit the speed to launch new services quickly within large corporate organizations. In cooperation with large organizations, such as banks, we face the challenge of balancing speed and adopting new banking services.”

How has such a creative thinking startup within the (traditional) bank been adopted so well?

Nico: “On the one hand, with a lot of missionary work within Rabobank in the form of presentations and writing many memo’s to convince the right stakeholders inside and outside the Rabobank. On the other hand, the arrival of Wiebe Draijer (Chairman of the Board of Rabobank) helped us greatly with the adoption of Facturis within the Rabobank. With the establishment of a FinTech & Innovation department, Rabobank made a clear choice for the adoption of FinTech companies in the future.”

What do you think is the most successful FinTech initiative in the market?

Name 1 launched and 1 that has not yet been launched.

Nico: “Launched: Kabbage: Kabbage is an American FinTech that can assess a consumer’s or SME’s financing request within a few minutes.

Not launched: Easytrade, an innovative currency hedging solution for hedging currency risks of (international) companies. Easytrade is a new FinTech initiative created by Rabobank Moonshot Program, an internal acceleration program aimed at realizing the advancing ideas of employees.”

What do you think are the most important FinTech developments in the near future?

Nico: “In the coming years, I see major changes in risk management. Through the application of AI and machine learning, we are able to better estimate risks and utilize opportunities with a much larger predictive ability. This has a positive impact on customers, we can deliver services exactly when the customer needs them. In addition, integrating blockchain initiatives and virtual currencies within the financial sector will take a huge run. With the implementation of PSD2, it is possible for FinTech companies to combine the old world and the new world. This allows for gradual adoption
of these new developments for customers.”

PowertoPay – Unified Post

[button url=”https://www.treasuryxl.com/community/companies/powertopay/” text=”View company profile” size=”small” type=”primary” icon=”” external=”1″]

[separator type=”” size=”” icon=””]

Minor Treasury Management at Hogeschool Utrecht increasingly successful

| 15-8-2017 | Pieter de Kiewit | treasuryXL |

In July 2017 our expert Pieter de Kiewit wrote an interesting article about the minor treasury managment of Hogeschool Utrecht (University of Applied Sciences).
Hogeschool Utrecht started with this program three years ago and Pieter had been asked by Frans Boumans, lecturer and researcher at Hogeschool Utrecht,  to contribute to create the curriculum. Pieter also assisted in finding both guest lecturers and companies providing internships. He will give a presentation to students about labour market opportunities for treasury experts on September 20th, 2017. In his article Pieter continues:

Programs like these do exist at universities in Europe and other countries. The university of Chicago has a strong reputation and we recruited two candidates from France with an extensive academic treasury curriculum. In the Netherlands the Register Treasurers post graduate program is the obvious academic way to go for a treasurer. You can only enter with experience and a degree. Graduating at master level in treasury in the Netherlands is not (yet?) organised.

By now, the Hogeschool Utrecht program has more applicants than seats. Students, not only from Utrecht, but also from other cities enroll. Their backgrounds vary from accounting, audit to business control. They find positions in SMEs, bigger corporates and the financial services industry. Recently Treasurer Search found a permanent position for a graduate with a treasury minor (again). Before we did not recruit graduates as our focus did not match the Dutch educational system. Graduates with treasury expertise were hardly available.

As from September we will continue our cooperation. Together with the people of treasuryXL we will create a brief survey in order to find out what is “hot in corporate treasury”. The results of this survey will be used to have student write papers. Interesting stuff! If you want to contribute or know more about this program you can contact Frans directly ([email protected]) or through Treasurer Search. The structure is set but for good input there is always room.

I hope all this is the preparation for an academic treasury track in The Netherlands. Time will tell.

Pieter de Kiewit

 

 

Pieter de Kiewit
Owner Treasurer Search

 

 

More articles of this author:

Fintech recruitment considerations

Consider a treasury intern

If you are not a treasurer with the ambition of a dentist

Banker to corporate treasury transfer – A topic as relevant as ever

 

Business intelligence for cash flows & cash positions

| 10-8-2017 | Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH (TIS)  | Sponsored content |

How do strategic professionals decide on the best path to success for their company? The key for strategic finance professionals and the best path to success lies in transparency and real-time reporting across company-wide cash flow and liquidity levels, bank transactions, customer and supplier relations and working capital.

When cash flow visibility is the lifeblood of your company, you want full control and knowledge. Direct access to insights on profitability and potential business risks allow you to make better decisions based on solid business intelligence that is accessible anytime and anywhere. Companies now can experience the power of the Business Discovery Manager – a business intelligence module within the TIS cloud platform. Supplier, salary and treasury payments can be easily analysed along with cash flows, liquidity and working capital via easy-to-use dashboards and reports. The tool, enhanced through state-of-the-art BI technology, enables users to access all strategic insights in a single, flexible, web-based and multi-bank, multi-ERP capable platform, available 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world.

Do you want to find out more about this interesting topic?
Do you want to discover the benefits and functions of the Business Discovery Manager in detail?

 

Treasury Intelligence Solutions (TIS)

You can request the TIS Factsheet via the red button.

 

Decentralised data capture, centralised data analysis: a case study

| 10-7-2017 | Hubert Rappold | TIPCO Treasury Technology GmbH | Sponsored content |

From now on, Faber-Castell will be organising its cash flow forecasting, accounts and derivatives with TIP. Regardless of where in the world, TIP allows the many subsidiaries of the multi-national to forecast and plan without major time inputs. Data capturing is decentralised while data analysis is centralised.

Case study

Groups with international subsidiaries need to regularly request all financial data from their subsidiaries spread around the world. This requires a lot of time and robust review procedures. Our web-based treasury information platform, TIP, allows the decentralised input of these data, irrespective of the various source systems, and their automatic reporting to Group Treasury. On behalf of the well-known family-owned company Faber-Castell, we recently implemented a solution which allows this stationery manufacturer to access and plan its group-wide data, ranging from its financial status and cash flow forecasting to its derivative management. Find out more about the implementation and how Quick Guides helped Faber-Castell subsidiaries to get started with the new system in their case study.

TIPCO Treasury Technology

TIPCO provides treasury reporting and cashflow forecasting solutions for over 120 companies. TIP automatically compiles existing data from various systems (TMS, ERP, etc.) and prepares analyses of these. This avoids the need to capture data manually, which is one of the most common causes of inaccurate data. Huge data volumes can be processed within seconds and reports can be set up and managed flexibly, even if the company’s requirements change. A smart cashflow forecasting module utilises that data and allows modification and simulation of forecasts.

You can read more about their case study by clicking on this link.

If you want to find out more about TIPCO and their services and products please refer to their company profile on treasuryXL.

Hubert Rappold – CEO at TIPCO Treasury & Technology GmbH

[button url=”https://www.treasuryxl.com/community/experts/hubert-rappold/” text=”View expert profile” size=”small” type=”primary” icon=”” external=”1″]

[separator type=”” size=”” icon=””]

 

7 reasons why you should do e-invoicing too

| 30-6-2017 | Mark van de Griendt | PowertoPay – UnifiedPost – Sponsored content |

E-invoicing is more than just a PDF that you send via e-mail. It’s a fully-automated process that enables receivers to get the invoice directly into their financial system. In this blog our expert Mark van de Griendt van Power toPay/Unified Post has summed up some of the key benefits for senders and receivers of electronic invoices.

Key benefits

1. Shorter payment periods: Since with e-invoicing invoices are being processed faster, they can be paid sooner. E-invoices are directly sent to the financial system, which make the chance that they end up in the wrong hands almost impossible.

2. Lower costs, fewer actions: Saving money on things as paper, ink and post stamps. Sending a paper invoice is 57% more expensive than e-invoicing and receiving a paper invoice is even more than 60% more expensive than receiving an e-invoice (Billentis).

3. E-invoice is delivered directly with confirmation of reception: Since you can track whether the invoice is delivered or not, it’s easier to have a clear insight of the status of your invoices sent. Now that you know for sure that the receiver actually received their invoice, you can confidentially do a follow up (if not automated).

 

 

4. Contributing to durability: Of course less paper is good for the environment. An e-invoice solution will remove at least 80% of paper from most accounting departments. Replacing unnecessary waste of paper by electronic invoicing, will save a lot of paper which means more trees.

5. No more need of manual input or scan recognition software
The the e-invoices are automatically loaded into financial system of the receiver. That is why manual input is not necessary anymore since all the data of the invoice are correctly loaded into the position where it needs to end up at. Scan recognition software is basically built in e-invoicing, since data is automatically recognized.

6. Safety – less chance on “ghost invoice”: A ghost invoice means that the invoice is fake. It’s an invoice for services or products which have never been delivered. The e-invoices are automatically checked on authenticity.

7. Clear insight into business processes: The financial department is very important to a business When it’s a mess, it’s stressful for the employees but it’s also bad for the prospects of the company. E-invoicing takes this mess away, since invoices cannot go wandering around ending up at the wrong persons. A clear and solid insight into the status of all invoices is a clear and solid insight into a company’s business processes.

Mark van de Griendt – Cash Management Expert at PowertoPay

[button url=”https://www.treasuryxl.com/community/experts/mark-van-de-griendt/” text=”View expert profile” size=”small” type=”primary” icon=”” external=”1″]

[separator type=”” size=”” icon=””]

More articles from this author:

How to combat payment fraud

PSD2 is coming soon: Some information about PSD2 summed up.

[separator type=”” size=”” icon=””]

 

Bank Account Management – A Treasurer’s Guide

| 22-6-2017 | Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH (TIS) | Sponsored content |

Bank Account Managment knows many issues and the Guide of TIS reviews them,  lists best practices and various suggestions to improve the process at your organization.

Risk and liquidity management are top of mind for treasurers in today’s business climate highlighting the importance of bank accounts. They are necessary to pay, receive and store money and also to protect resources and facilitate treasury management. Companies must have at least one bank account, some have hundreds and a few require thousands of bank accounts to conduct their business. Bank accounts are also the means by which companies are connected to other businesses, people and the banks where the accounts are held. This makes the business of bank account management not only an important task but in the current hyper-connected environment of cybercrime, terrorism, fraud and tax evasion a mission critical function. Failure to properly manage bank accounts has the potential to cause material disruption or business failure for the account holders.

If you want to read more about this subject please click on in this whitepaper.

Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH (TIS)

Since 2010, Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH (TIS) has been combining their treasury management experience and know-how with their cloud computing and virtualisation expertise. The TIS solution is the result of these efforts: comprehensive, highly scalable and extremely secure SaaS solution to process, analyse and document all treasury management processes.

 

Succesful breakfast session at Proferus

|21-6-2017 | Proferus | treasuryXL | Sponsored content |

We reported earlier that Proferus BV, Amsterdam organised a breakfast session, the first of a series, dedicated to CFOs, Senior Cash Managers and Treasures, this time focusing on Cash Flow Forecasting. The session has taken place yesterday and we want to share a short impression with you.

In their first session Proferus focussed on sharing best practices aound the topics cash forecasting strategies, direct vs indirect approach, the need for cash flow forecasting and forecasting software from CashForce. Nicolas Christiaen,  founder of CashForce gave real life examples of how CashForce is deployed to help companies efficiently deploy cash force forecasting for treasury management.

During the meeting there was a livley discussion about the need of cash flow forecasts and the difference between the direct and indirect method. Ideas were shared as well as experiences and practical examples. The presentation of the cash forecasting system of Cashforce by Nicolas Christiaen was well received and very interesting.

The breakfast session had a good attendance and positive reactions! Proferus already started to plan and organize the next meeting!

If you want to know more about the breakfast session you can download their presentation: [button url=”https://www.treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Presentatie-liquiditeitsplanningen-Proferus-1-2.pdf” text=”View presentation” size=”small” type=”primary” icon=”” external=”1″]

treasuryXL & Proferus BV

[button url=”https://www.treasuryxl.com/community/companies/proferus-bv/” text=”View company profile” size=”small” type=”primary” icon=”” external=”1″]

[separator type=”” size=”” icon=””]

 

 

 

Breakfast Session: Cash Flow Forecasting

| 2-6-2017 | Olivier Werlingshoff | Proferus BV | Sponsored content |

 

Proferus helps companies enhance their forecasting processes to fully take advantage of new opportunities and to get in control over their cash flows. Proferus will host their first breakfast session of a series dedicated to CFOs, Senior Cash Managers and Treasures, this time focusing on Cash Flow Forecasting.

Proferus

Proferus has expertise developing tailored solutions to improve cash management and treasury processes and has a strong partnership network to help companies introduce new tools and techniques to achieve their goals.

Breakfast Session

On June 20th, Proferus will host the first breakfast session of a series dedicated to CFOs, Senior Cash Managers and Treasures, this time focusing on Cash Flow Forecasting.

Content

In this session Proferus we will focus on sharing best practices and a round table about the following topics:

  • Cash Forecasting strategies Direct vs Indirect approach
  • Round table The Need for Cash Flow Forecasting
  • Cashforce Cash forecasting 2.0

Joining us in this breakfast session, Nicolas Christiaen Founder of CashForce will give real life examples of how CashForce is deployed to help companies efficiently deploy cash force forecasting for treasury management.

Date & Time

Tue 20 June 2017, 08:30 h  – 10:00 h
Add to Calendar

Location

Proferus
87 De Entree
1101 BH Amsterdam-Zuidoost
View 

Proferus would be pleased to welcome you.
If you want to register for the event please click on this link.

 

Better Decisions through real-time Reporting: Business Intelligence about Cash Flows & Cash Positions

|17-5-2017 | Joerg Wiemer | TIS | Sponsored content |

How do strategic professionals decide on the best path to success for their company? The key is in transparency and real-time reporting. If it comes to the responsibility of the treasurer or financial professional this means deciding about company-wide cash flow and liquidity levels, bank, customer and supplier relations and working capital.

When cash flow visibility is the lifeblood of your company, you want full control and knowledge. Direct access to insights on profitability and potential business risks allow users to drive better decisions based on solid business intelligence, accessible anytime and anywhere.

 SCENARIO

Better decisions: Companies now have the power of the Business Discovery Manager – a business intelligence module within the TIS cloud platform. Supplier, salary and treasury payments can be easily analyzed along with cash flows, liquidity and working capital via easy-to-use dashboards and reports. The tool, enhanced through state-of-the-art BI technology, enables users to access all strategic insights in a single, flexible, web-based and multi-bank, multi-ERP capable platform available 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world.

 

Source: TIS Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH

Challenges

You can’t manage what you don’t measure

  • A lack of visibility over liquidity, working capital and cash flows at the C-level, in treasury, controlling, accounting, Sales and
    purchasing departments.
  • No transparency regarding bank relationships, liquidity positions and account turnover
  • No transparency regarding customer and supplier relationships, as well as incoming and outgoing cash flow

TIS Business Discovery Manager

Company-wide unified automated analysis of cash flow, liquidity and working capital in various departments of Corporate headquarters and in local subsidiaries

  • Multi-bank capable
  • SAP ERP integration via certified plug-in; connection to any ERP, HR and treasury system
  • State-of-the-art BI technology and functionality in a single SaaS solution
  • Support of customer-specific BI tools; support of self-service BI functionality
  • Business Intelligence as a Service: Ready for use throughout the company within seconds without any complex IT projects
  • No changes to bank or system landscape required; the solution is flexible and easily adaptable
  • ISO 27001 certified for data security

 Customer value

  • Better decisions based on complete visibility of liquidity, working capital and cash flows
  • Ability to quickly answer essential questions without the need for any extensive IT projects

Your benefits

C-Level executives:

  • Instant reports about cash flow performances (total of all inflows and payments) of the various local subsidiaries compared to one another over a specific time period
  • Identification of corporate risks and value-adding activities to drive future growth
  • Tangible insights to support internal and external audits
  • Power and data to provide strategic advice to sales and procurement departments

Treasury and controlling teams:

  • Answers to key questions, such as: How much liquidity is available at which bank? What is the net cash flow for a specific currency over a specific time period for a group of companies (natural hedge)? How much working capital does a local subsidiary require in a specific time period?
  • Increased compliance, transparency, and more efficient processes paired with reduced costs

Accounting teams:

  • Visibility of when a supplier was paid, or when a customer paid a local subsidiary over a certain time period
  • Insight into the value of inflows made by customers via various bank accounts and ERP systems over a specific time period

Sales teams:

  • Insight into the value of inflows made by customers and the overall payment behavior of the customer base

Purchasing teams:

  • Transparency across values of overall payments to a supplier via various bank accounts and ERP systems over a specific time period

Source: TIS Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH

Business Discovery Manager: never struggle to answer any of these business-critical questions again

 

joerg wiemer

Joerg Wiemer

CSO and Co-Founder of TIS