Step One: recognize your 'as-is' process:
I knew only too well in my days of merchandising e-invoicing, that if an opportunity did not recognize their 'as-is' method, they were a decent twelve to twenty four months from implementing e-invoicing. therefore do not skip the 1st step.
If you do not recognize your method, you almost certainly do not know key metrics like your 1st Time Match Rate. this implies you will not recognize the degree to that e-invoicing may assist you (and you'll have issues in your method which require different solutions, as well).
And, you almost certainly do not know verity value of your invoicing method, and so won't be ready to place along a water-tight business case.
By mapping out your 'as is' method you may return to understand:
Why invoices fail, How e-invoicing will remedy issues in your method flow. How many invoices would be 'in scope' do you have to proceed with e-invoicing. What your 'as-is' value is, and the way a lot of it'll go down by moving to electronic.
How many days it's presently taking to method Associate in Nursing invoice, and the way e-invoicing would cut back the time.
How, by reducing the quantity of days, your capturing of negotiated discounts could be favourably established. Step One is probably going to require you three to six months, however by the tip of it you will be clearer and additional realistic after you build your business case.
Importantly, knowing your cost-per-transaction is important for negotiating effectively with the supplier you finish up linguistic communication.
Step Two: recognize the vision of the company:
Process amendment is smart to stakeholders once it's contextualized against the overarching ambitions of the corporate.
This means it's value taking the time to grasp wherever the corporate needs to be in half-dozen, twelve or twenty four months' time, and you'll extrapolate that intention back to however e-invoicing may accelerate or bolster the conclusion of that goal.
Take the time to raise yourself from the 'day to day' and perceive wherever the corporate is headed. (Ask voluminous queries, and very hear the answers.) Then you can:
Understand and communicate the broader purpose of e-invoicing and position e-invoicing as a key enabler for realizing goals. Use the language of the senior management to gift e-invoicing back to them
Move e-invoicing up the priority list. This endeavor needs designing, Associate in Nursingd an investment of your time outside your day job, however it'll pay off down the road, once your chief financial officer and CPO and CTO (Chief Treasury Officer) see e-invoicing as their single purpose of failure.
Step Three: Get acquisition on board early
This is easier for a company wherever Finance and acquisition area unit already aligned, already share reportage lines and objectives, and operate joined team.But in organizations wherever this 'joined-upness' does not exist, it's normal for Finance to possess the project, as a result of they get the additional immediate gains, Associate in Nursingd involve acquisition virtually as an afterthought. this will kill the project on the spot.
This is for the most part as a result of e-invoicing could be a supplier-focused program, and even if Finance, or rather Accounts owed, pays suppliers, they're truly closely-held by acquisition. this implies suppliers can hear acquisition relating to the e-invoicing project 1st, and finance second.
therefore if acquisition aren't brought in, or area unit in the slightest degree dismissive of e-invoicing, your suppliers can feel this mood, and drag their heels in linguistic communication up. This is maybe the key to obtaining e-invoicing right, so simply unmarked as alittle detail. It's not. it'll build - or catastrophically break - your project.
When operating with acquisition, take into account the following:
Drivers - why area unit we have a tendency to doing e-invoicing?
Scope - all suppliers, invoice varieties, AP dealings varieties, countries?
Solution scope - simply e-invoicing or Associate in Nursing finish to finish solution?
Message - necessary or optional?
Quality of the information - can the comms 'land on the correct desk'?
Signatory - however senior can the signatories be? The CPO and also the CFO? (Ideally, yes.)
Targets - area unit Finance and acquisition KPI'd on a similar targets?
The non-compliant - WHO can reply to the suppliers that resist?
Who can own the project? maybe Finance and acquisition together?
Investing time in seeking out a partnership from acquisition ahead of time is prime to a winning project.
Step Four: provide the project a reputation
You will probably notice that the anon. comes keep in project standing for an extended time, and barely move to operational or 'go live'. this is often not a coincidence.
By giving your e-invoicing project each a pre- and post- contract name, you:
Give it Associate in Nursing identity that helps folks 'get it'
Create interest and curiosity ('what is that this Globe project everyone's talking about?')
Avoid confusion as a result of you are all talking regarding a similar factor.
Heighten engagement and encourage larger emotional attachment, especially, I find, if you keep one's distance from the apparent like Globe, Probe, e-Procurement Project - all tight names, however however regarding one thing additional fun, like names of characters from movies or fiction?
Or having a contest (with a very sensible prize) to return up with the foremost artistic name?
Step Five: recognize what you are buying
What does one want? Is it a best-of-breed e-invoicing solution? Is it e-invoicing with dynamic discounting? Is it e-invoicing with advancement and routing, or Associate in Nursing e-procurement practicality for your upstream acquisition process? does one would like it to be VAT compliant and language sensitive as a result of you're rolling out across multiple countries? And does one ought to use their onboarding capabilities? (This is usually better.)Knowing what you would like, and so capturing these needs during a document is vital.
