Category Archives: e-invoicing

Upcoming Webinar: Harnessing the Power of AR Optimization

Accounts Receivable (AR) organizations are increasingly faced with the challenge of doing more with less as resources shrink and financial processes speed up. There are more clients to manage, more invoices to transmit, and more payments to process—all at faster speeds and lower costs than ever before. In an upcoming live webinar featuring VersaPay on Thursday, February 12th, Henry Ijams will discuss some of the latest capabilities in AR automation solutions and how they can give your organization a competitive edge.

As PayStream has found time and again in previous research, paper invoicing is expensive. Processing a paper invoice costs approximately one and a half times as much as an electronic bill. For small organizations that don’t have the advantage of scale, the potential for savings can be even greater. Electronic invoice delivery eliminates printing and paper costs, and changing postage rates become a non-issue. Beyond mere processing cost savings, the elimination of paper ripples out to benefit each segment of the invoice and payment process, not the least of which is customer service.

Today’s AR department serves a customer service function as much as an accounting function, so it makes sense that credit managers should be concerned with this aspect of the workflow. By implementing AR automation, companies simplify the payment process for their customers by providing collectors with the necessary tools and information they need to serve customers quickly and effectively, resulting in improved customer service. The reconciliation process is also optimized with AR automation, eliminating much of the time it would usually take an agent to manually match payments and partial payments to the correct invoices.

Join the conversation on Friday, February 12th at 2pm EST, 11am EST as Henry Ijams discusses new solutions that allow suppliers to automate labor intensive tasks related to reconciliation while giving customers a simpler way to pay. A few of the many benefits of automation include the ability to help agents:

Accurately match payments to invoices
Reduce days sales outstanding (DSO)
Eliminate printing and postage costs
Reduce customer phone calls and efficiently manage disputes
Optimize working capital

This event is designed for AR and finance professionals on the leading edge of the industry, ready to create change within their own departments and redefine their own roles in the process. Interested in learning how your company can capitalize on the benefits of AR automation?

Upcoming Webinar: New Trends in P2P Automation

As the purchase-to-pay automation landscape continues to evolve, so too does the behavior of the decision makers who purchase P2P software solutions. Over the past year, our analysts have noticed significant shifts in terms of what they want and how much they are willing to pay for it. In our upcoming webinar on Friday, January 16, Henry Ijams will review the top 5 drivers of P2P automation purchasing in 2015. Derived from hundreds of RFP’s, surveys and consulting assignments for purchasing, finance and IT managers, these findings will shed light on how to provide the most relevant services in the current market.

Many P2P automation solution providers excel in needs-based selling based on strong, long-term relationships that benefit both parties. But there is significant room for improvement, especially when it comes to emerging factors. Providers may be underestimating the impact these new drivers are having on purchasing behavior in 2015.

Our latest findings suggest that mobile approval is in the top 5 criteria for P2P automation buyers. It’s no surprise that mobile capabilities have skyrocketed in popularity as P2P professionals demand more functionality while on-the-go, all while protecting company data from security risks. We’ve also found that ROI assumptions and payment integration are important considerations for buyers.

These capabilities are not yet fully mature and definitely not standard across solutions, and they are often not explicitly spelled out by P2P decision makers during the sales process. The resulting disconnect can lead to lost revenue. Have you ever lost a prospect at the last moment due to previously undisclosed criteria? In this session you’ll learn how to:

Bullet-proof business case; position your solution to withstand your assumption attacks
Discover and prevent these sneaky deal-killers
Understand your gaps, know when to partner

Additionally, we will review the results of PayStream’s Solution Navigator scoring model to let you self-benchmark your solution.

The session is designed to give you the tools to evaluate your solution and marketing strategies from a finance and procurement buyer’s perspective. Learn how to leverage the buyer’s emerging needs to focus your product energy on the areas that will drive the most significant sales.

Ready to learn more?

PayStream 2014 Recap

It’s been an impressive year at PayStream Advisors. Among our 2014 developments and achievements, we published 22 research reports—many of which explore new territory that includes Human Resource Management, VAT compliance in Latin America, Budgeting and Forecasting solutions, and more. We welcomed 125 business professionals to this year’s summit, INNOVATE 2014. We saw our Senior Analysts attend over 25 industry conferences from London to San Diego. We launched the exciting P2P Academy, which is now offered online via a self-study course.

In all, we’ve been working hard to broaden and enhance our educational offerings for our readers. The amazing AP, Procurement, and P2P automation trends that have been evident in businesses and industries throughout the world have inspired much of these improvements.

Among these trends, there has been a great increase in global eInvoicing and eProcurement initiatives. While Latin America has been the leader in national eInvoicing adoption for several years now, much of the rest of the world is starting to catch up in back-office automation. For example, Kenya adopted a national eProcurement system in an effort to bring the use of public money under greater transparency and accountability. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, among other Middle Eastern countries, are moving towards more uniform eInvoicing initiatives. The EU has been identifying issues with their current tax and trade systems, and is moving to make eInvoicing more appealing and accessible in order to correct these problems.

This past year has also seen more global movement to provide small to medium-sized enterprises with access to eInvoicing and working capital optimization programs. President Obama passed the second version of the Supplier Pay Initiative to promote expedited payments from large corporations to their smaller vendors. The UK launched several initiatives to spur small business growth, including revamped VAT tax returns and more releases of educational market material on small business financing. GT Nexus, IFC, and Levi Strauss & Co (LS&Co) have partnered to create a new supply chain finance program that provides financial incentives for garment suppliers in developing countries.

Other vendors have taken note of SME initiatives and the widening middle market—in response they have also been creating unique financing programs and solutions. To complement SupplierPay, Taulia Inc. launched the Early Payment Quick Start Initiative, a program that encourages and simplifies early payment financing. TradeShift has also taken a stand to help the small and big business connection with their expansive supplier onboarding techniques. PayPal’s new Working Capital will offer cash-advances for smaller companies who cannot as easily utilize bank loans and lending services.

There were many other instances when software providers, organizations, and governments took great steps towards better understanding automation possibilities this year, and towards making room for more widespread and optimized adoption (readers are encouraged to browse 2014 posts from our blog, PayStream Voices, for more). We are looking forward to 2015, and we are confident that it will bring us even greater and more inspirational P2P innovation.

Upcoming Webinar: PayStream and Basware on Global eInvoicing

This Thursday (December 11^th), we’ve got an exciting webinar planned for AP and P2P professionals—especially those from companies that are looking to expand their B2B scope past their national borders. For our recent 2014 Global eInvoicing report, PayStream spent quite some time investigating the current trends and recent developments in eInvoicing around the world. Our main goal with this research (and this webinar!) is to provide North American companies with the proper insight and tools to join a global business arena.

For this webinar, we will team up with the global eInvoicing provider, Basware, and their Vice President of North American operations, Bob Cohen, to discuss the findings of the PayStream’s 2014 Global eInvoicing Report. In the report, research reveals differing adoption rates in different regions and countries, as well as how North American eInvoicing stands up next to its neighbors, near and far. We’ve found that Europe and Latin America show the most advanced eInvoicing networks and the most widespread B2B eInvoicing usage, although interest in eInvoicing network participation is growing among North American businesses. In addition, we’ve identified some major drivers for global eInvoicing adoption initiatives that include the Public Sector, SME involvement, and Supply Chain Financing.

We believe this information is very important for companies interested in gearing their business operations towards international activity. Globalization is expanding, speeding up, and dramatically changing trade all around the world, and in response, eInvoicing solution providers are focusing their development strategies on cross-border B2B functionalities. With this shifting attitude toward global business, it is important for North American companies to learn from successful international organizations, and rise to meet the changing B2B world. Webinar attendees will be given valuable tools for choosing a globally focused solution that will bring security and competency to international trade activity.

This webinar is for companies that are tired of sitting on the sidelines as the rest of the world expands their business operations and advances their business technology. Together, PayStream and Basware will provide the information and incentives necessary to push these companies across their borders and into global innovation. Join us this Thursday, December 11^th, for the Global eInvoicing webinar, and learn how to prepare your organization for a broader business future.

Invoiceware Prepares Multinationals for Changing Tax Mandates

PayStream likes to keep on eye on the global AP and P2P automation arena, especially since we devote a lot of our study to global eInvoicing trends. In our recent research, we’ve seen that there are increasing eInvoicing initiatives around the world as both public and private sectors and buyers and suppliers push for easier electronic communication and more efficient trade. Much of electronic invoice adoption is inspired by tax systems: in Europe and Latin America especially, eInvoicing networks are valued for the control they bring to VAT compliance. However, tax mandates in relation to eInvoicing are constantly shifting as technology and government policies change. Businesses of all sizes are forced to stay on their toes to keep up with rapidly changing regulations.

Mexico’s tax authority—the Sevicio de Administracion Tributaria (SAT)—has recently released new tax declaration requirements for multinational corporations operating in the country. This system will mandate them to file accounting information through SAT’s “mailbox” system by January 25, 2015, for financial records from July through December 2014. This tricky requirement is just one more of the many regulations for businesses operating in Mexico—and most other Latin American countries—and failing to comply can mean millions of dollars in fines.

However, despite the e Invoiceware-International-225x225 ver-changing waters of eInvoicing technology and adoption standards, the
software innovators of the world are rising to the challenge. Invoiceware International has developed and released their answer to the Mexican mandate: a new solution, eContabilidad (eAccounting).

This eInvoicing and tax declaration support solution not only brings security and efficiency to multinationals cross-border trading, but it is tailored specifically for those companies operating the SAP ERP for their Mexico subsidiaries and divisions. eAccounting gives customers the ability to maintain SAP ERP as the system of record, extract matching transaction eInvoicing data for reporting, and manage local requirements while protecting the global ERP template. Navigating SAP and other large ERP systems is difficult enough without the added complications of Latin American tax regulations—this solution is a valuable asset for global organizations.

PayStream has found that it is important for global companies or companies interested in expanding their operations to educate themselves on the current eInvoicing climate throughout the world. Not only that, but they should familiarize themselves with global-focused solution providers like Invoiceware so that when the time comes to cross their national trade borders, they are able to make the right choice for software. For more insight into current electronic invoicing conditions and participation around the world, look out for our upcoming 2014 Global eInvoicing report.

Upcoming Webinar: Curing ERP Challenges with Datamatics and La Quinta

Next week, PayStream Advisors will be teaming up with Datamatics in a webinar entitled“How a Cloud-Based P2P Solution Cured Our ERP Challenges”. The main purpose of this webinar is to tell a story about a very innovative company that strategically used technology to bring AP transformation. This company’s journey shows the correlation between strong goals and lasting success, and it also relevant to some of our recent research on how today’s cloud-based technology is curing ERP challenges. We think it is very important that AP and finance professionals learn from that success.

The story that PayStream’s Henry Ijams and Datamatics’ Roshan Halwai will be telling is centered on La Quinta Inns & Suites. One of the leading franchises of select-service hotels, La Quinta operates more than 800 locations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Their company culture is based upon excellence, and they strive to “do ordinary things extraordinarily well”—and challenge the status quo along the way.

This mentality seeps into La Quinta’s accounting goals as well: the company’s AP focus is to make all their processes better, faster, and cheaper and to structure their activity in a way that will consistently support corporate goals. A few years ago, they looked at their AP condition and compared it with their standards for excellence—they saw a lot of room for improvement. They were losing time, money, and security due to their dependence on their existing ERP and its inadequate native business process solutions.

The first step La Quinta took towards change was structuring a plan. Next, they began a search for an appropriate solution provider that could help them migrate from their current in-house applications to versatile cloud-based software. La Quinta eventually turned to Datamatics for a holistic AP solution.

Of course, our readers can probably guess where this story is going. A company with clear goals and a strong desire for change combined with an innovative financial software company—it’s a recipe for success, and success was what it produced.

Attendees of next week’s webinar will hear the full story of how Datamatics was able to ultimately reduce costs, raise visibility, and implement highly customized, cloud-based applications. We will tell you now, however: a great determinant in La Quinta and Datamatics’ success was their careful planning and calculated execution. Join us on November 13^th to find out the specific strategies La Quinta took to formulate and follow an automation plan, and to fill the gaps between process efficiency and inadequate ERP business applications.

DataServ and Triumphant SaaS

PayStream has recently learned of some interesting research from the SaaS provider, DataServ. Much of their material on the current market for financial process automation—specifically cloud-based technology—is in line with our own, and we consider them a valuable voice in today’s software industry. They also released a new ECM platform for AP, AR, and HR automation earlier this year, giving more creditability to their opinions on SaaS software.

The company recently touched on a topic that is very relevant among today’s businesses—SaaS vs. ERP-native applications. As the middle market opens up and companies’ software needs shift towards more affordability and versatility, there has been increased interest in cloud-base technology. However, there are still some doubts as to the accessibility and benefit of SaaS systems. DataServ says these “myths” are unfounded, and they work hard to debunk them.

One myth revolves around cost. While some consider increased internet connectivity and corresponding usage fees to be a hard sell, DataServ believes that this is not an accurate metric for comparing the SaaS price against that of an in-house system. A true total cost of ownership model will address the cost issue in a more holistic manner, and will help companies make a sound decision for their budget. PayStream agrees—focusing on one price-point of a system instead of the overall, long run cost will not give companies an accurate idea of the efficiency and optimization possible with the cloud.

Two other issues DataServ addressed were the complexity of managing multiple browsers used by a variety of SaaS providers, and data ownership, backup, and security. According to DataServ, success in these areas is more dependent on choosing the right SaaS provider rather than the efficiency of the platform. In the issue of data management especially, SaaS platforms offer plenty of tools to properly move and secure information through the system, ensuring accuracy and compliance in all processes. Whether web browsers or data are managed effectively depends largely on a companies’ collaboration with their provider, as well as the depth of their providers’ experience. Fortunately there are helpful guides to selecting the right service provider, many of them found in PayStream’s own research.

DataServ also points out that a compelling reason to use an SaaS platform for business processes is the fact that there are so many dynamic and successful services available. In contrast, many organizations are discovering that ERP’s native solutions are inaccessible and inflexible. Many times, companies can offset this immobility—and optimize their process—by leveraging 3^rdparty, cloud based solutions.

How does a company decide which of their functions should be ERP driven and which might benefit from a non-ERP solution? According to DataServ, they should ask themselves the following questions to determine if they are ready to migrate:

Is the function considered outside of your business’ core competency, and is it something that distinguishes your business from the competition?
Do you find it difficult to find resources (money, IT, priority) to install the functionality you need?
Do the enhancements deliver a positive ROI?

Businesses that decide to use the cloud for their back-office processes will gain the benefits of an overall enhanced experience. Many improvement are possible, including better collections performance on past due accounts, paper control in the payment process, and more business value through greater focus on core capabilities.

PayStream is impressed by DataServ’s knowledge in the field of cloud-based automation. We look forward to seeing what they have to offer the financial software industry in the years to come.

To learn more about the balance of cloud-based technology within existing ERPs, download PayStream’s latest research release, the 2014 P2P for SAP report.

PayStream Research Release: 2014 IWA Report

As PayStream Advisors enters its final quarter, it’s almost time to look back on the year’s research and evaluate what we’ve learned. However, before we pick out our favorite publications of 2014, we have another, very important entry into our body of work.

The latest PayStream release, The Invoice Workflow Automation (IWA) report, is a fundamental piece in our collection of business process software research. Our work consists of many different elements of AP and P2P technology, but IWA represents a crossroads for many back-office solutions. This guide explores the ways in which IWA software can create a fusion of efficiency in an organization’s system, one that results in advanced degrees of connection, transparency, and control.

Included in the report are current trends in the usage of IWA solutions, as well benefits from and barriers to adoption. Survey results have revealed that while most companies have low degrees of invoice workflow automation, many have recognized the need for better process integration. Those companies are seeking smoother business activity, better organizational communication, and increased revenues.

Because IWA is an important topic, this research guide offers more insight into financial process strategies and best practices than many of our other publications. AP and P2P professionals can gain valuable tools for properly identifying various aspects and tools of IWA, and employing those tools correctly. Also included are several profiles of today’s top providers of IWA software. In all, this report shows that with the implementation of IWA software, organizations will place themselves at a strategic advantage within their industries.

The 2014 IWA report should not be passed over—it is vital for readers who are looking for specific information into invoice workflow systems, or for those trying to build their knowledge of the entire P2P universe. PayStream encourages all P2P professionals to use this market guide as a tool to propel their companies forward in operational and market success. Download your free report today.

Tungsten Network Acquires DocuSphere

A leading global eInvoicing service provider, Tungsten Network, has recently announced the completed tung acquisition of one of PayStream’s own partners, DocuSphere. This dynamic move will significantly expand Tungsten’s invoice-automation technologies, and it has the potential to propel the company forward within the financial software market. With this acquisition, Tungsten users will now have more streamlined accounts payable functions, consistent adherence to tax and regulatory compliance, and greater transparency into the entire invoice-to-pay process.

Founded in 1993, DocuSphere provides a robust set of AP solutions that have a wide range of integration abilities, including with SAP, JD Edwards, and Oracle E-Business Suite. The DocuSphere All-in-One for Accounts Payable solution suite leverages ERP data, security model, and business rules in real-time without the need for one-off integration or offloading of ERP data into a separate system. According to Rick Hurwitz, CEO of Tungsten, Americas, the combination of DocuSphere’s complementary skills and technology will strengthen the Tungsten Network.

“As a result of this acquisition,” said Mr. Hurwitz, “DocuSphere customers will gain access to Tungsten’s eInvoicing network, Tungsten’s existing clients will benefit from an even more secure, smart and fast e-Invoicing solution, and all customers will enjoy greater flexibility while joining a wider community of blue-chip multinational organizations.”

Combining Tungsten’s global supplier portal and eInvoicing services with DocuSphere’s workflow and connectivity solutions will also bring reductions in invoice exceptions and increase straight-through processing for users. Apparently, the acquisition has also been a straight-through process so far. Bradley White, President of DocuSphere, has said the integration of products and people is moving smoothly, partly thanks to the experience they gained working together on a previous joint account.

PayStream hopes that things continue to move smoothly for Tungsten Corporation’s newest company. For more information on DocuSphere’s advanced AP solutions and how they will be enhanced by Tungsten’s offerings, look out for their solution profile featured in the upcoming Q4 report, P2P Automation Solutions for SAP.

Migrating from the 80′s with Cloud Technology: The 2014 P2P for Oracle Report

PayStream Advisors’ most recent research report tackles a subject in which many of our readers may have first-hand experience: Oracle ERP business applications. For organizations that have used Oracle for their financial and business processes, much of this experience has probably been bitter-sweet. As an ERP, Oracle is a reliable and trusted service for the security and management of accounting data; as a provider of P2P solutions however, the immobile nature of their design prohibits them from giving their customers true efficiency. The 2014 P2P for Oracle report shows readers that they don’t have to settle for the offerings of their ERP system, but instead, they can leverage the dynamic capabilities of today’s next generation, cloud-based technology.

Figure 1: Oracle Users Still Report Heavy Paper Use

This report explores the trends and opinions among today’s organizations that use Oracle. Research has found that while Oracle has been a leading figure in AP automation for a reason—their suite of offerings addresses almost every business need—the system has maintained its firm place in the market by the result of long-time use rather than long-time success. Studies show that while in some areas Oracle users have more integrated processes, including higher numbers of onboarded suppliers, this is more due to the fact that companies have been using the system for quite some time—in other words, integration is inevitable in the long-run. However, the results also show that integration is not necessarily optimization. Oracle users still report heavy degrees of processing pains through their procure-to-pay life-cycles, and the most fundamental sign of AP transformation—the elimination of paper—is not as evident among companies with Oracle, see Figure 1.

The true value of PayStream’s newest report is not only in its revealing research findings. This report provides insight into a real solution for professionals who wish to end their reliance on Oracle: today’s cloud-based business process technology. These cloud platforms are highly configurable, built to adapt to many kinds of businesses and to change to those businesses’ growth and needs quickly. Much of the dilemma of companies using Oracle’s applications is found in the immobility of its applications suite, but organizations can replace these with the flexibility of newer, leverage-able cloud solutions—while still holding onto the reliability of the Oracle ERP.

In all, the P2P for Oracle report is a vital transformation road-map, offering Best Practices and strategies for companies wanting to migrate from Oracle stagnation to process optimization. There are also included several profiles on leading solution providers who show particular efficiency with the Oracle ERP. These providers are prime examples of the innovation and collaboration possible with cloud-based financial automation software. Don’t wait in an inflexible, outdated business process. Download the free 2014 P2P for Oracle Report today.

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