eInvoicing: A Small Pilot for Accounting Firms

If your team still downloads an invoice, reads the PDF and types its details into another system, there is a useful workflow to examine. The opportunity is not just faster entry. It is a clearer path from receipt to review, with fewer places for information to be copied incorrectly.

Peppol eInvoicing exchanges structured invoice data between connected business systems. It is different from sending a PDF by email. The ATO's eInvoicing Ready product register explains the distinction and identifies products that support the network.

For an accounting practice, a sensible starting point is one willing client, one cooperative trading partner and one agreed invoice process. Treat it as a workflow trial, not a reason to replace the client's entire software stack.

Confirm the practical fit

Check the client's actual product and subscription with the software provider. Confirm whether it supports sending, receiving or both, how the business registers, and what setup or ongoing charges apply. Do the same with the trading partner.

Ask where received invoices appear and who can see them. Find out how staff recognise delivery failures, rejected invoices and items waiting for approval. A feature listed on a product website does not explain how your client's team will use it each day.

Choose a narrow scope: one business entity, a small number of agreed invoices and a named person responsible for exceptions. Keep the existing process available for cases outside the trial, but define when each route is used.

Do not promise a payment speed or cost saving before measuring it. The benefit depends partly on what happens after the invoice arrives.

Map the approval process before testing

Sketch the path from receipt to payment. Who checks the supplier and the purchase? Who resolves a missing purchase order or reference? Who decides the accounting treatment? Who approves payment?

Make these responsibilities explicit even if the invoice data arrives automatically. Receiving a structured invoice does not establish that the purchase was authorised or that every field is correct.

For example, a fictional client receives an invoice for three laptops, but only two were ordered. The trial should show who holds the invoice, who contacts the supplier and how the corrected document is handled. Successful delivery is only the first part of that test.

Keep your existing supplier verification and bank-detail change controls. A new invoice channel should not become a shortcut around them.

Test exceptions as well as the simple invoice

Agree a short set of cases with the software provider and trading partner. Use their supported test process where available. Do not send invented invoices into live accounts without explicit agreement and controls.

Useful cases include a normal invoice, a missing reference, a disputed amount, and a correction or credit note where supported. Check what the product does in each case rather than assuming all products behave alike.

Plan for duplicates. If the supplier sends both an eInvoice and a PDF, staff need to know that they may be two representations of the same invoice. Agree how the team identifies and holds a possible duplicate before it is processed twice.

Keep a trial log of what arrived, where it appeared, which checks were required and who resolved any issue. Avoid placing unnecessary client information in the log.

Measure the whole workflow

Compare handling time, exceptions, duplicate checks and the number of invoices needing manual correction. Include the time spent setting up and supporting the trial. Ask both the client and the processing team whether the process was easier to follow.

Expand only after the team can explain the normal path and the exception path. A small, well-understood process is a stronger basis for adoption than switching every supplier at once.

For other places to reduce repetitive work, read our guide to small-business automation. If your practice wants help mapping the technology and handoffs around an invoice process, contact SuperStack IT. Your accountant and software provider should remain involved in accounting treatment and product-specific setup decisions.