MYOB modelling shows eInvoicing, the new way to automatically send and receive invoices within financial software without the need to email an invoice or create a PDF, will allow SMEs to achieve cost savings of $11,000 every year* in the move from paper to eInvoice, through the reduction of manual entry.
MYOB Chief Employee Experience Officer Helen Lea urges Australian small businesses to claim back time this eInvoicing Week (15-21 August 2022) by getting the functionality up and running.
“Saving just five of the hours spent invoicing every week is equivalent to 260 hours – or 10 full days – each year. That’s a lot of time SMEs could be spending on other activities that’ll grow their business.
“We’re delighted to see awareness of eInvoicing has raised significantly since we last took a temperature check in January 2021. Sixty-four per cent of SMEs had heard of eInvoicing this July, versus 43% 18 months ago. However, now’s the time to turn that awareness into action and take advantage of this huge cost and time saving opportunity.”
The research confirmed invoicing is a significant component of a SME’s administrative tasks, with four in five (83%) spending up to 20 hours a month issuing invoices. Three quarters (75%) of respondents issue invoices at least weekly and one in 10 say invoicing takes between 20 and 49 hours of their time every month.
MYOB has partnered with experienced access point provider MessageXchange to provide its ATO accredited eInvoicing solution, with send and receive capability now live and available to MYOB customers at no additional cost as part of their software subscription.
John Delaney, Managing Director of MessageXchange, said eInvoicing Week represents an opportunity for businesses who don’t feel they know enough about eInvoicing to learn more and give it a try.
“For more than half (55%) of those who are yet to make the switch to eInvoicing, it’s because they don’t feel they know enough about it. eInvoicing Week is all about the small business support community coming together to offer information and advice that will demystify eInvoicing and make the process of getting online as simple as possible.
“eInvoicing takes no more than a couple of hours to explore the options and get set up. Using eInvoicing Week as the moment to find those handful of minutes to give eInvoicing a try, could end up being one of the best business decisions a small business can make this year.”
When asked what they viewed to be the benefits of eInvoicing, the top advantages listed by survey respondents were faster processing (58%), a reduction in admin time (51%) and a reduction in time to payment (44%).
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson said he enthusiastically encouraged small businesses to adopt eInvoicing.
“It is a great way to enable faster payment, it cuts the administrative burden and is more secure than posted or emailed invoices, so it reduces the chance of invoice fraud or scams,” Mr Billson said.
“About 1.2 billion invoices are exchanged in Australia every year but 20% are sent to the wrong person and 30% have incorrect information. It costs around $30 to process a paper invoice while an e-invoice costs less than $10.”
The ATO is hosting nearly 200 events for eInvoicing Week. To see the calendar of events and gather more information, please visit: eInvoicing week 2022 | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au)
ENDS
About MYOB
MYOB is a leading business management platform with a core purpose of helping more businesses in Australia and New Zealand start, survive and succeed. MYOB delivers end-to-end business, financial and accounting solutions direct to businesses employing between 0 and 1000 employees, alongside a network of accountants, bookkeepers and consultants. For more information visit myob.com or follow MYOB on LinkedIn.
About MessageXchange
MessageXchange is an innovative Australian-based cloud B2B integration service provider. Our solution streamlines business operations and provides visibility and business insights. Founded in 1996, MessageXchange today processes more than 300 million messages each year for customers such as Target, Harvey Norman, Costco Australia, The Good Guys, Telstra and MYOB.
MessageXchange was the first Peppol eInvoicing Access Point service provider to be certified by the Australian and New Zealand Peppol authorities.
About ASBFEO
The mission of the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) is to help Australia to be the best place to start, grow and transform a business. We celebrate the vital and deeply personal commitment made by more than 2.3 million small and family businesses to our community. The ASBFEO has three clear functions – to Assist and to Advocate for small business and family enterprises, and to showcase ‘better practice’ amongst smaller enterprises and those dealing with them. Since being established, the ASBFEO has helped more than 30,000 small businesses resolve disputes with other businesses or government agencies, outside of the costly legal system. Additionally, we provide access to mental health support and tools to help people start and grow a business, and make better business decisions.
About the research
The research was conducted by McCrindle Research on behalf of MYOB between the 18 and 26 July 2022. 1,007 Australian SME owners and operators participated in the survey.
*Source: MYOB economist January 2021