Protect the integrity and authenticity of data and people

Europe and all its member states have legislated on electronic invoices, with the aim of promoting them and thus encouraging companies to reduce the costs and effects of processing paper as much as possible. Since 1 January 2010, following the application of a royal decree adopted by the government in late 2009, electronic invoices have been placed on a completely equal footing with hard copy invoices, provided that the integrity and authenticity of these electronic invoices can be guaranteed. This applies to the sending, receiving, processing and archiving of invoices. The FEB (Federation of Enterprises in Belgium), which originated these new rules, said on the subject: "Given that in future the state will no longer define the obligatory methods for guaranteeing the authenticity and integrity of an invoice, companies will be able to choose the method that suits them best. This flexibility is bound to stimulate electronic invoicing".

This is very good news!

The advantages gained by replacing hard copy invoices with electronic invoices are numerous (sources: Belgian Ministry of the Economy, the FEB and the Walloon Employers' Association):

• it is very expensive to process hard copy invoices. The estimated average cost is 8 to 10 euros for an outgoing invoice, and 10 to 15 euros for an incoming invoice (the substantial cost of "reconciling orders with invoices"). These costs can be halved, at least, when electronic invoices are used ;
• disputes, which are extremely costly to handle (costing at least five times more than an undisputed invoice), can be substantially reduced and simplified if the process is entirely electronic ;
• the issue–receipt–payment chain can be markedly accelerated and its accuracy considerably increased if the invoice is sent in electronic format. This facilitates faster payment and allows substantial financial savings to be made.

Studies at European level estimate that the transition to electronic invoicing offers a financial gain of at least 1% (or even 2%) of the total value of purchases: i.e. the impact on overall competitiveness within the European economic framework is considerable.

Besides these financial advantages, electronic invoices should have a significant ecological impact in terms of CO2 reduction (fewer documents transported, for example between a company and its accountants, and less consumption of paper: an estimated 15,000 tonnes/year in Belgium).

At present, companies already exchange numerous commercial documents electronically. Currently, hard copy invoices are often the only documents preventing companies from switching over to a fully integrated and automated processing system for these documents (as regards ordering, delivery with invoicing, processing, payment and archiving). Nevertheless to facilitate the automated processing of their invoices, many companies send both an electronic invoice (easier to use) and a hard copy invoice (for security).

With this aim in mind, we offer you our solution for your electronic invoices: E-Sign it™, allowing the electronic signing of your invoices in PDF format:

E-Sign it™ allows you to electronically sign your PDF invoices, either in the name of the company (for example by means of a legal person certificate issued to you by us) or in the name of individual managers within your company. This tool allows you to process invoices individually or in bulk, manually or in an automated manner on a server or servers.

The advantages of our electronic invoice signing solution

• No preliminary investment. We are thus lowering the cost of adopting a new invoicing system to a minimum. You only pay for each signed invoice ;
• Complete elimination of the complexity of electronic signatures. We are thus lowering the bar to adopting a new electronic signature system for invoices, due to complexity of use, to a minimum ;
• The product provides you with the ideal means of simplifying your administrative tasks ;
• The product provides you with the ideal means of automating processes and checks ;
• Thanks to the PDF signature, we provide you with the ideal means of stepping up the fight against fraud and invoice disputes. A signed PDF offers much greater security against tampering than a hard copy invoice. Furthermore, the electronic version can be compared very easily against any other document – purchase order, electronic original of the invoice, etc. ;
• The product allows invoices to be sent out in bulk by email with PDF invoices in attachment.

How much can money can your company save? Ask for a free and non-binding evaluation today!