Internal capabilities
Any e-Invoicing project will affect an entire range of internal business processes, business partner agreements, financial transactions, tax and legal compliance as well as the IT infrastructure that supports your business. The multi-disciplinary nature of e-invoicing can place a stress on internal resources.
You should be clear from the outset that your e-invoicing initiative will need a cross-functional team that includes representatives from different business areas. In addition to the IT team, you will need finance, procurement, treasury professionals and line-of-business managers from areas affected by the programme. You will also require tax experts to ensure that your e-invoicing solution remains compliant with tax laws in the territories where you operate and fulfils the requirements of the relevant tax authorities.
Co-ordinating this amount of resource is difficult for any organisation and this challenge is compounded by the global e-invoicing environment constantly changing – e-Invoicing regulations around the world are continually evolving.
Data translation and mapping
In addition, it is likely that. to achieve the real process automation benefits of e-invoicing, your solution will involve a form of EDI (electronic data interchange). This will require internal IT staff with the right levels of EDI skills. Even if your organisation is already using EDI, there is likely to be a requirement for additional people with data translation and mapping skills.
Successful e-invoicing implementation means planning the right level of internal resources with the right set of knowledge and skills to deliver an effective, integrated solution. It isn’t easy.
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