PricewaterhouseCoopers Survey on the take-up of e-invoicing by businesses and related difficulties Key Findings 2008
Contents Profiling the participants Key Findings - Invoice Handling - Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing - Implementation of Electronic Invoicing
Profiling the participants
Profiling the Participants Worldwide turnover Under 50 million 19 50 to 99 million 16 100 to 499 million 34 500 to 999 million 13 More than 1 billion 17 1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 4
Profiling the Participants Annual Balance Sheet Under 43 million 26 43 to 99 million 15 100 to 499 million 20 500m+ 15 25 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 5
Profiling the Participants Number of employees worldwide Less than 250 29 250 to 499 19 500 to 999 16 1,000+ 35 2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 6
Profiling the Participants Organisation Size SME 22 Large Enterprise 78 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 7
Profiling the Participants Main line of business Financial services 16 Consumer products 12 Business services 9 IT/Technology Automotive Media&Communication Construction&Engineering 6 7 7 7 Others include: Recruitment Manufacturing Retail / Wholesale Industrial Pharmaceuticals 5 Trasportation 5 Real Estate 5 Energy 4 Other 17 0 10 20 Page 8
Profiling the Participants Operating markets 2008 B2B 77 B2C 59 Other 3 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 9
Profiling the Participants Operating markets 2005 2008 Domestic markets 92 Domestic markets 88 EU member states 50 EU member states 55 Other Included: European markets outside of the EU 28 European markets outside of the EU 28 Africa Australia Latin America Asia 24 Asia 20 South America Middle East North America 22 North America 22 Other 7 Other 13 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Page 10
Profiling the Participants Number of member states in which it is necessary to comply with VAT legislation 0-5 60 6-10 13 11-15 3 16-20 4 20+ 15 4 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 11
Profiling the Participants Number of customers and suppliers - Domestic Customers Suppliers Less than 10 5 Less than 5 3 11 to 100 8 5 to 9 2 101 to 500 8 501 to 1,000 10 10 to 49 13 1,001 to 5,000 13 50 to 99 14 5,001 to 10,000 11 100 to 499 16 10,001 to 100,000 17 500+ 45 100,000+ 23 6 8 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 Page 12
Profiling the Participants Number of customers and suppliers Within EU Customers Suppliers Less than 10 17 Less than 5 14 11 to 100 17 5 to 9 10 101 to 500 8 501 to 1,000 8 10 to 49 18 1,001 to 5,000 7 50 to 99 12 5,001 to 10,000 3 100 to 499 15 10,001 to 100,000 6 100,000+ 7 500+ 12 26 20 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 Page 13
Profiling the Participants Number of customers and suppliers Outside EU Customers Suppliers Less than 10 24 Less than 5 27 11 to 100 11 5 to 9 8 101 to 500 8 501 to 1,000 1 10 to 49 12 1,001 to 5,000 5 50 to 99 4 5,001 to 10,000 4 100 to 499 11 10,001 to 100,000 5 100,000+ 5 500+ 10 38 27 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 Page 14
Key Findings Invoice Handling
Invoice Handling Customer Invoices Approximately how many customer invoices has your organisation issued in the last 12 months? 2005 2008 Less than 1000 7 Less than 1000 22 1,000 to 4,999 6 1,000 to 4,999 13 5,000 to 9,999 7 5,000 to 9,999 13 10,000 to 49,999 15 10,000 to 49,999 12 50,000 to 99,000 11 50,000 to 99,000 12 100,000 to 499,999 15 100,000 to 499,999 11 500,000+ 28 500,000+ 12 /NA 11 /NA 5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 16
Invoice Handling Supplier Invoices Approximately how many supplier invoices has your organisation exchanged in the last 12 months? 2005 2008 Less than 500 3 Less than 500 7 500 to 999 2 500 to 999 5 1,000 to 4,999 16 1,000 to 4,999 18 5,000 to 9,999 9 5,000 to 9,999 11 10,000 to 49,999 30 10,000 to 49,999 31 50,000 to 99,000 10 50,000 to 99,000 8 100,000 to 499,999 10 100,000 to 499,999 9 500,000+ 16 500,000+ 4 5 7 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 17
Invoice Handling Inter-company Invoices Approximately how many inter-company invoices has your organisation issued/received in the last 12 months? 2005 2008 Less than 500 38 Less than 500 38 500 to 999 6 500 to 999 12 1,000 to 4,999 16 1,000 to 4,999 11 5,000 to 9,999 10,000 to 49,999 7 11 5,000 to 9,999 4 50,000 to 99,000 2 10,000 to 49,999 5 100,000 to 499,999 7 50,000 to 99,000 5 500,000+ 3 100,000 to 499,999 2 11 25 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 18
Invoice Handling Which of the following invoicing functions is outsourced by your organisation? Archiving 16 Issuing of sales invoicing 7 Receipt of purchase invoices 7 None 73 4 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Page 19
Invoice Handling Which type of provider do you use for the outsourcing of invoicing functions? Other Professional Services firms 41 Shared Service Centre (EU) 37 Accountancy firm 4 IT consultancy 11 Other 22 4 0 10 20 30 40 50 Page 20
Invoice Handling Systems Which of the following systems does your company make use of? A standard ERP system 89 An internally developedbilling platform 26 An alternative billingsolution 21 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Page 21
Invoice Handling Systems Which Enterprise Resource Planning system is used by your organisation to bill your customers? SAP 42 Oracle JD Edwards 4 13 Others Include: IFS Resolution Qvaliac MS Business Sol. Other 42 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 22
Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing
. Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing How well informed do you feel about the following technologies? Very poorly informed Fairly poorly informed Fairly well informed Very well informed Neither/Nor Don t Know Other Means (scanning, PDF, secured website) -4-8 30 38 18 2 Electronic Archiving -5-10 34 29 19 3 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) -5-12 34 21 25 3 Electronic Signatures (both advanced and qualified) -9-15 32 15 24 5-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 Page 24
Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing Which of the following statements best describes your organisation s position in relation to Electronic Invoicing? 2005 2008 We already operate EI with our customers 27 We already operate EI with our customers 41 We already operate EI with intercompany invoices 21 We already operate EI with our suppliers 27 We already operate EI with our suppliers 29 We are in the process of implementing EI 20 We are in the process of implementing EI 8 We plan to start implementation in the next 12 months 29 We plan to start implementation in the next 12 months 14 We have decided not to implement EI 3 We have decided not to implement EI 4 We have not yet fully considered EI 23 We have not yet fully considered EI 17 None 1 Other 3 Don't know 5 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 Page 25
Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing What do you regard as the benefits / potential benefits of Electronic Invoicing? 2005 2008 Increased efficiency 71 Increased efficiency 79 Cost reduction 61 Cost reduction 74 Faster customer payments 38 Faster customer payments 42 Less customer/supplier disputes 21 Less customer / supplier disputes 29 In tune with customer preferences 19 In tune with customer preferences 29 In tune with supplier preferences 26 Other 12 5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 26
Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing What do you regard as the problems / potential problems of Electronic Invoicing? 2005 2008 Customer compatability /readiness 35 Customer compatability /readiness 40 Supplier compatability /readiness 21 Supplier compatability /readiness 38 Readiness /compatability of internal systems 30 Readiness /compatibility of internal systems 25 Expensive /high investment required 25 Complexity 23 Complexity 23 Regulation /legislation /dealing with tax authorities 10 Regulation /legislation /dealing with tax authorities 21 Reliability of the system 8 Reliability of the system 18 Concerns over return on investment 10 Concerns over return on investment 12 Other Other 14 Don 't know Don 't know 15 0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40 50 Page 27
Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing Which of the following storage formats are used within your organisation for the archiving of invoices? 2005 2008 Paper 80 Paper 82 Files stored on a server 72 Files stored on a server 64 Scanned version of paper invoice only 47 CD Worm 29 CD Worm 15 DVD 15 DVD 12 T ape 28 Tape 7 Other 1 1 Don't know 3 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Page 28
Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing Are your invoices archived locally or abroad? 2005 2008 Locally 96 Locally 93 Abroad 5 Abroad 6 2 1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Page 29
Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing For approximately how many years are your invoices archived? <2 2 2 to 4 1 5 to 6 24 7 to 9 17 10+ 53 2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Page 30
Implementation of Electronic Invoicing
Implementation of Electronic Invoicing Which of the following functional areas was / will be involved in the implementation of Electronic Invoicing in your organisation? 2005 2008 Finance department 85 Finance department 80 IT department 79 IT department 69 Sales department 33 Sales department 45 Tax department 43 Tax department 36 Procurement department 43 Procurement department 34 Legal department 37 Legal department 27 Other 3 Other 5 4 8 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Page 32
Implementation of Electronic Invoicing Indication of the cost related to ensure compliant e-invoicing system No cost at all 21 A little cost 32 Neither/Nor 18 A significant cost 10 A very significant cost 2 12 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Page 33
Implementation of Electronic Invoicing Which, if any, of the following e-invoicing technologies has your organisation...? Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) 9 15 64 Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment (EIPP) 17 15 52 Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP) 17 13 48 Advanced electronic signatures Qualified electronic signatures 19 21 21 19 21 32 Already implemented Planned to implement in the next 12 months Planned to implement in the next 3 years Other means: scanning 9 19 57 Other means: e-mail (PDF) 6 15 68 Other means: supplier e-invoicing portal 13 13 23 9 42 57 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 34
Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing In your opinion, to what extent do you feel that your organisation is currently involved in Electronic Invoicing in the following areas? To no extent at all To a little extent To some extent To a great extent Don t Know/Refused Domestic electronic invoicing -14-24 23 31 7 Electronic invoicing to another Member State -39-17 9 10 26 Electronic invoicing to non- EU countries -42-17 5 6 29-80 -60-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 Page 35
Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing In your opinion, to what extent do you feel that your organisation will be involved in the next 12 months in the following areas? To no extent at all To a little extent To some extent To a great extent Don t Know Domestic electronic invoicing -6-13 34 36 11 Electronic invoicing to another Member State -23-18 18 11 31 Electronic invoicing to non- EU countries -32-15 10 8 35-80 -60-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 Page 36
Implementation of Electronic Invoicing Which of the following best describes the development of your e-invoicing technology? 2005 2008 Company-led 64 Company-led 45 Customer-led 15 Customer-led 29 Supplier-led 11 Supplier-led 14 Oursourced 2 Oursourced 6 Other Other 1 9 5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Page 37
Implementation of Electronic Invoicing Which of the following processes and controls does your organisation operate in relation to Electronic Invoicing? 2005 2008 Parallel exchange invoices of paper 38 Parallel exchange of paper invoices 51 Customer einvoicing agreements 44 Customer e-invoicing agreements 44 Supplier einvoicing agreements 44 Supplier e-invoicing agreements 40 Automated matching 38 Automated matching 35 Exchange of order or delivery codes via EDI 51 Exchange of order or delivery notes via EDI 30 Automated approvals 27 Automated approvals 30 Intercompany einvoicing agreements 20 Inter-company e-invoicing agreements 24 Don't know 17 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Page 38
Attitudes to Electronic Invoicing How satisfied are you with the following aspects of implementation? Very dissatisfied Fairly dissatisfied Fairly satisfied Very satisfied N/N Don t Know Speed of implementation -1-6 34 28 20 11 Legal compliance -10 39 16 20 16 Performance of outside consultants -4 42 12 23 19 Customer readiness -3-10 31 19 19 16 Control of implementation costs -3-4 33 17 26 17 Tax compliance -9 41 16 18 16 Supplier readiness -1-13 22 19 25 19-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 Page 39
This report provides general guidance only and has been produced with the support of PricewaterhouseCoopers e-invoicing and e-archiving network. It does not constitute professional advice. You should not act upon the information contained in this report without obtaining specific professional advice. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this review, and, to the extent permitted by law, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, its members, employees and agents accept no liability, and disclaim all responsibility, for the consequence of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this review or for any decision based on it. Page 40