Electronic invoice exchange – the key points

Electronic invoices have been gaining importance in Switzerland for years. Suppliers to the Federal Administration, for example, have been submitting their invoices digitally since 2016 for contracts of more than CHF 5,000. And eBill, the invoicing solution for private customers, already boasts over three million users. If you’re toying with the idea of switching to electronic invoicing, we have a few tips for you here – because digital exchange has many benefits.

What is an electronic invoice?

An e-invoice is issued, sent and received in a predefined, structured format (e.g. XML). In this way, invoices can be processed completely automatically and electronically from software to software or sent digitally via an invoice portal.

It is important to distinguish between B2B e-invoicing and eBill. B2B e-invoicing is perfect for the business customer segment. The invoice issuer sends the B2B e-invoice directly to the business partner’s accounting software, where this can be directly and automatically processed further. eBill, on other hand, is also great for private customers. With The link will open in a new window eBill, the customer receives the invoice in e-banking, where this can be checked and approved for payment easily and conveniently.

What you should bear in mind when exchanging invoices electronically

• You can use electronic invoices with or without software (ERP). If you already have your own software solution (ERP), you can create the invoices as usual in your ERP. The invoice data is transferred from your system as a data file before being processed and forwarded to the recipient automatically in electronic format. Receipt is also automated. Check whether your software has an interface for sending and receiving digitally structured invoices, or use the online check.
• Alternatively, you can use the eInvoicing portal which also allows you to send and receive invoices electronically. The PostFinance portal, for instance, is handy for customers who only send or receive a few invoices or whose ERP does not have an interface to the PostFinance platform. The invoice can be uploaded as a PDF document or entered manually straight into the eInvoicing portal.
• Make sure you achieve reach with electronic invoicing by networking with other invoice issuers and recipients who also want to exchange invoices in a digitally structured manner. The The link will open in a new window eDirectory is a good solution for B2B e-invoicing. Companies are finding more and more Switzerland-based business partners in this directory that send and receive e-invoices. You are best off using the “Look-up” feature with eBill. You can use this feature to identify customers who want to receive eBill invoices automatically. 

These are the advantages of electronic invoice exchange

Above all, sending invoices electronically saves invoice issuers time and cuts costs:

• Invoices are sent electronically. This saves on printing and postage costs – and from having to make the trip to the letter box. 
• Due to automation, many invoices can be issued within a short time, and this is particularly beneficial for large companies.
• Improved payment behaviour among invoice recipients – resulting in lower costs and less workload for reminder processes.
• The delivery rate is higher because changes of address don’t affect the process.
• Shortened payment deadlines lead to faster receipt of payment.

Above all, receiving digital invoices is convenient, direct and quick for the invoice recipient:

• they can easily receive the invoices electronically via an interface and process the invoice data automatically.
• There is still the option of direct further processing via the usual payment channels.
• The recipient does not have to worry about physical archiving, as the data is all automatically processed and managed.

These are all good reasons to switch to electronic invoices.

“Digitizing” paper invoices? – Yes, you can do that too

What if, as an invoice issuer, you want to digitize your invoicing processes as much as possible, but your customers aren’t ready yet? An interim digitization stage is Paper Bill. The solution for paper bills, which outsources printing and shipping to an interface, offers maximum digitization for shipping: the invoice issuers deliver invoice data electronically – in the same format as B2B e-invoicing and eBill. The interface delivers the invoice based on the recipient’s preference. Recipients who don’t want electronic invoices receive paper invoices. Additionally, companies that use Paper Bill benefit from an automatic check as to whether the recipients would actually be able to receive the invoices electronically. If this is the case, the invoice issuer can switch to electronic invoicing next time they send an invoice. This allows companies like BWT Aqua AG to digitize their accounts receivable processes by nearly 100 percent. Find out more in the article “How BWT AQUA AG is digitizing its business and invoicing processes”.