Mississippi State Auditor Stacey Pickering released a report last week explaining how he could save the state $97 million dollars. One of the main changes he recommends is a switch to electronic invoicing. He has done this in his own office, Pickering explained, and so he knows the difference it can make.

Even without his personal experience, Pickering could have predicted that. The U.S. Department of Defense found that paper invoices' costs were triple the costs of electronic invoices. Corporations report 40-75% savings when they make the switch. According to Hackett Group, companies that do even half of their invoicing electronically complete five times as many invoices per worker as those that go entirely with paper.

Pickering makes the point that being conscious of costs should be the norm, not something saved for desperate circumstances. "We should not wait for these times," he said of the current economic downturn, "to determine how to save money or spend more wisely." Pickering went on to say that his plan won't work if many state offices decide not to join in.

This is what we're seeing with small and medium-sized businesses. While larger coprorations have embraced EIPP at significant rates, the movement toward paperless offices is slowed by smaller firms that continue to put bills in the mail.

There is widespread agreement that electronic invoicing improves cash flow, increases security, cuts costs, reduces errors, and increases productivity. It's hard to see why anyone would choose not to participate. 

But there are reasons. 

Compatibility is one. While enterprise-size companies choose from a handful of accounting systems, smaller businesses use a wide array of programs to keep up with their bookkeeping and accounting.  An office that has been creating invoices in Microsoft Word and keeping the books with Excel may see the implementation of e-invoicing as a big project to be put off to another time. Choosing a solution like SmartPay which allows you to import and manage customer data from your in-house system is the answer to this concern.

Another reason for dragging feet is that some people just like paper. A local business owner recently shared the story of a client of his who reads email by having his secretary print out emails and bring them to him. He then dictates responses, which the secretary types in and emails out to the recipients. For people this fond of paper, it's hard to shift to a paper-light office. They have trouble believing that electronic invoices will really work. SmartPay offers a first-tier service that lets companies try e-invoicing with just a few clients to make sure it works well in their particular work environment before rolling it out for the whole company. When you're ready, shiftingto larger numbers of invoices is automatic -- no new set-up fees or upgrades required. You can take it at your own pace. 

Finally, there's a residual nervousness about the security of e-billing. In fact, your information is much safer in a secure internet portal than your check is in the mail. But there continue to be customers who are nervous about e-invoicing. Just one or two vocal members of this group can be enough to make a business hesitate. Fortunately, SmartPay has solutions for that. First and foremost, the system allows you to make phone payments on behalf of those customers who want them. Beyond that, research has shown that having control over the information reassures customers. SmartPay allows customers to visit their accounts, see their payment history, and update their own information.

The point that the Mississippis state auditor made is a strong one. Envornmentally and financially, we'll all see the greatest savings when we all get on board with e-invoicing. At SmartPay, we're doing our part to make electronic invoicing convenient and comfortable for SEMs. Contact us today to see how easy it can be.