Ensemble e-invoicing solution

In a recent report, the European Commission (EC) set out to respond to the challenges of economic globalization, predicting that European electronic invoicing (EEI) will be a fundamental enabler in contributing to European competitiveness. Furthermore, the creation of a common EEI framework will be the basis for industries to develop and implement products and services that allow their customers to send invoices and receive corresponding payments electronically.

EC research identified the average processing cost of a paper invoice across Europe to be approximately €30 and maintained that with e-invoicing, an 80% cost savings could be achieved. Conservative estimates published in this research indicate that this percentage equates to a €243 billion savings across Europe in the business-to-business sector alone.

In accordance with EC guidelines and emerging national standards, Ensemble developed its e-invoicing solution to streamline and automate existing invoicing processes using Adobe^® LiveCycle^® Enterprise Suite 2 (ES2) software.

Implementing a European e-invoicing solution is complicated by the fact that EU Member States have differing requirements, such as level of security, and employ different practices, such as method used to ensure authenticity. As a result, compliance for any e-invoicing solution, whether for tax or other legal purposes, is a complex issue from both a legal and an IT perspective. In its dealings with various European customers, Ensemble identified the following solution criteria:

• Authenticity certification from originator—Invoice must conform to specific tax authorities’ rules.
• Invoice document archival and retrieval—Generated and received invoices must be stored in a secure archive for a period of 7 to 11 years.
• Outbound invoice delivery—Solution must comply with customers’ accounts payable practices, be they EDI-based, manual, or semi-automated.
• Inbound invoice processing and delivery—Solution must integrate with a variety of vendor infrastructures.
• Dispute raising and resolution—Clear audit trail must be kept of detailed conversations concerning a dispute.

The Ensemble e-invoicing solution allows organizations to realize huge potential cost savings by streamlining and automating their invoicing processes. The solution can be customized to retrieve invoice data from existing ERP systems, such as SAP. External systems can consume generated invoices for further processing. The solution supports localized versions of PDF invoice templates and accommodates volumes of up to 2,500 invoices per hour. In addition, it offers the following key capabilities:

• Outbound invoices are generated into language-specific invoice templates using data from a central system. A digital signature is applied to them to certify authenticity, after which they are sent to the customer using a preferred method. They are then stored in a secure archive for 7 to 11 years.
• Incoming invoices can be received as PDF files, on paper, or via electronic data interchange (EDI). Paper invoices are scanned and then joined with emailed invoices, which are passed through optical character recognition to extract key invoice information that is attached to the PDF file as metadata. A digital signature and timestamp are applied to the invoice before it is stored in the secure archive.
• To manage invoice disputes, the user logs on to a secure web portal, where the system coordinates all dispute inputs and sends the appropriate emails to all parties involved until the dispute is resolved. Once the process is completed, the solution can generate the appropriate outputs such as a debit/credit note.

Apart from the obvious advantage of avoiding the cost of paper printouts, envelopes, postage, and paper storage, the Ensemble solution provides other significant benefits:

• Reduces the opportunity for human error
• Reduces cost per invoice by 60% to 80%
• Reduces standard invoice Days Sales Outstanding by 50% to 75%
• Integrates existing back-end systems into a unified solution
• Supports the production of both electronic and print invoices
• Assures invoice authenticity and integrity

Organizations keen to reap the benefits and cost savings of electronic invoicing, but with a need to comply with European Commission directives, can turn to Ensemble to fulfill their requirements with a comprehensive solution that will grow with the organization and that can integrate with a wide variety of internal systems.

Benefits of the Ensemble e-invoicing solution

• Decreased invoice costs (outbound and inbound)
• Reduced disputed invoice cycles
• Improved customer and supplier relationships
• Assured conformity with national standards and EC guidelines
• Reduced carbon footprint
• Tracking and acceleration of invoice transmission and account settlement
• Enhanced regulatory monitoring