INTHEBLACK February 2023 - Magazine - Page 48
F E AT U R E
policy to support businesses that are
e-invoicing-enabled.
He notes that another key benefit is that
there is less complexity “because businesses
can use their own software to send the
e-invoices, such as QuickBooks, MYOB,
Xero or others, and there’s no need to log
on to various portals or to navigate different
systems”.
There is also the aspect of increased
security. “It operates 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. The address database is based
on the ABN [Australian Business Number]
to make sure that the invoices go to the
right people, and there is inbuilt security
because it does not rely on email.”
In addition, the Australian accreditation
process relies on “stringent security
requirements, above and beyond the global
requirements”. There is also an ABN
validation process.
“All these factors combined greatly
mitigate the risk of fraud by using
e-invoicing.”
HELPING CLIENTS
Krunal Patel CPA, founder and partner of
CountX Business Solutions, is one of the
early adopters of e-invoicing in Australia and
48 INTHEBLACK February 2023
has helped many of his business clients make
the switch from paper-based invoicing.
“I rolled out e-invoicing to my clients
well before COVID-19,” he says. “I like the
idea of it, because I have seen it working
successfully in other countries, like India.
“There is a benefit for every level of
government, business and industry.”
For businesses to be able to adopt
e-invoicing, he says they need to have
“all their ducks in a row”.
“Your business name has to be up to date.
Your ABN has to be up to date. You can’t
send an invoice from one system to another
unless you have the ABN, business name and
other system identifiers in place.”
Patel says there are significantly more
benefits from the adoption of e-invoicing,
such as greater efficiency and faster payment
processing, than there are challenges.
“Practitioners need to take the lead with
their clients. I’ve started a program with my
clients – because some of them have been
frustrated by not being able to relate their old
system to the new system – by training them
on how to do it.
“It’s important to do some hand holding
and to work closely with your clients, right
down to the granular level.”
ACCESS
CPA Australia’s
Public Practice
e-learning program
LISTEN
to a CPA Australia
podcast on
e-invoicing