Why you can no longer do without automated customer and supplier invoicing

Invoicing, whether to customers or suppliers, poses a number of challenges for any business. And this becomes even more true as the business, and therefore the administrative workload, intensifies.

Organizations spend far too much time on certain invoice-related tasks. Yet these tasks add little value, even though they weigh heavily on management costs.

There's only one solution to this problem: automation.

Thanks to new technologies, certain operations can now be carried out by machines or software, without direct human intervention. Isn't that interesting?

And there are many other advantages to invoice automation, presented in this article co-written with Charlène Serayet, managing director of Dasmind and an expert in administrative management. You'll also discover a few examples of tools to help you take the plunge.

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What is invoice automation?

Invoice automation refers to the mechanism by which many steps in the invoicing process are digitized and executed by technology.

The aim? To save time in accounting operations and avoid time-consuming handling.

This process necessarily goes hand in hand with the use of dedicated technology, usually software, whether for :

• invoicing;
• accounting;
• invoice dematerialization, etc.

☝️ Invoice automation concerns both customer and supplier invoices, and is therefore integrated into the procure-to-pay and order-to-cash cycles.

How does invoice automation work?

Automation mechanisms can operate at many stages of the process, depending on the solution you install.

In short, almost everything can be automated 🤖.

For supplier invoicing

The supplier invoicing process traditionally consists of the following stages:

• invoice receipt ;
• data entry in the accounting system;
• reconciliation of the document with purchase orders or contracts;
• approval ;
• supplier payment.

Thanks to automation, machines do the work for you for each of the above operations.

💡 F or example:

• receiving invoices electronically, via email, supplier portal, EDI integration, etc. ;
• configuration of rules to check that the document includes all mandatory information;
• data capture using optical character recognition (OCR) technology, which extracts key information and transfers it directly to the accounting system;
• comparison of invoice details with purchase order and delivery note data, and reporting of discrepancies for human review if necessary;
• set up workflows to forward the document to the appropriate people for approval, according to predefined rules;
• configuration of electronic payment authorizations for approved invoices, with options such as automatic bank transfers or credit card payments;
• electronic archiving of documents.

For customer invoicing

On the customer side, it's equally possible to entrust your tasks to software, which will then adapt to the specific stages of the process:

• issuing the invoice ;
• sending the document to the customer
• monitoring and reconciliation of payments;
• reminders in the event of late payment;
• recording of payments received;
• updating customer files.

Here too, technology will prove beneficial in a variety of ways.

💡 F or example:

• generate invoices in a few clicks from order or customer information, applying predefined templates;
• document transmission by email or via online customer portals, according to a specific schedule;
• identification of pending or overdue payments;
• comparison of payments received with invoices issued;
• automated reminders by email or SMS, according to your own rules and scenarios (software is able to adapt the tone to the type of customer);
• record payments received and update customer accounts.

Why automate invoicing? The 5 main advantages

#1 Time savings

Invoicing processes, whether customer or supplier invoicing, are extremely time-consuming for employees. However, it's impossible to ignore them, as they involve enormous financial, legal and relational stakes.

Thanks to automation, the hours spent performing manual tasks such as :

• producing invoices by hand ;
• various checks and validations
• customer follow-up ;
• accounting entries, etc.

Software takes care of it for you! And that, in turn, reduces HR costs and frees up bandwidth to devote to more strategic activities.

😀 Greater efficiency also means shorter processing times. This will improve your external relations, especially with your suppliers, who will be delighted to get paid faster!

#2 Reduce the risk of errors

Sorry to say, but your brain is more fallible than a machine 🤯!

In other words, managing invoices a la mano is a source of errors, all the more so if you're dealing with a high volume of documents: typos, miscalculations, etc.

With automation, all data circulates between systems and is used to perform data entry, verification, calculation (VAT, for example), etc., without human intervention.

☝️ Another problem that often arises in invoicing processes is the loss of documents between different departments or during archiving. But this problem is now a thing of the past, since it is now possible to automate the dematerialized storage of invoices.

A word from the expert

As well as saving time, reducing human error and enabling smoother cash flow management, it's important to emphasize that the implementation of automation tools is not just limited to technical processes, but can also foster better customer relations.

Indeed, invoices sent quickly and consistently build trust and avoid late payment. The same is true of supplier relations, where automation enables efforts to be concentrated on higher value-added tasks, such as financial analysis and expansion strategy.

Charlène Serayet,

#3 Compliance

Using an invoicing solution makes it easier to comply with the various rules in force.

For example, when you draw up an invoice, you make sure :

• you don't forget any legal information ;
• number the document correctly;
• you don't make any VAT errors, etc.

Automation also guarantees compliant accounting records, which do not compromise your financial statements, or even lead to allegations of fraud.

Finally, thanks to technology, all operations become traceable. We know precisely who did what at what point in the process, so we can more easily rectify the situation if necessary.

💡 To wit : legislation is constantly evolving, and it seems increasingly difficult to do without software. And it's not the reform of electronic invoicing, to which we'll return later in the article, that suggests otherwise.

#4 Cost reduction

The less time you spend on time-consuming tasks, the lower your labor costs. And the resources freed up from these tedious operations can then be devoted to missions that generate far more value (and therefore money 🤑 ) for the company, such as analyzing financial data or implementing strategies.

According to studies by the Aberdeen Group, the cost of processing an invoice is between $13 and $15.60 for manual processing, but falls to between $8.60 and $9 for electronic processing.

👍 Other financial benefits of automation:

• compliance with legal requirements, mentioned above, avoids the expense of resolving disputes;
• risks of non-payment, which weigh heavily on a company's cash flow, are reduced by streamlining dunning procedures;
• savings are also achieved on the supplier invoicing side: if you speed up the processing and approval of their invoices, you can often take advantage of financial benefits such as early payment discounts or trade discounts.

#5 Enhanced analytical vision

Most invoice automation tools integrate analytical functions, with reporting, dashboards and more.

This consolidated visibility on up-to-date data gives you a fine-tuned grasp of your organization's real situation. So you can :

• make your financial forecasts more reliable
• effectively measure your profitability;
• stay alert on certain issues (such as unpaid invoices).

In short, invoice automation not only helps you to react quickly to any problems that may arise, but also to build a winning strategy.

Invoice automation: legal issues and reform of electronic invoicing 2026

After reading all these advantages, it's easy to see why you need software to automate your processes, speed them up and make them more reliable...

... and meet a host of legal challenges!

You've undoubtedly seen the news, but electronic invoicing is about to become mandatory for BtoB transactions, according to the following timetable 📆 :

• September 1, 2026: receipt of invoices in electronic format for all companies ;
• September 1, 2026: issue of invoices in electronic format for large companies and ETIs;
• September 1, 2027: invoices issued in electronic format for VSEs and SMEs.

In this way, the State intends to combat fraud (particularly that associated with VAT), but also to lighten the administrative burden on organizations, in order to improve their competitiveness.

💡Note : in this context, it's important to use a system capable of issuing and receiving documents in the right format (in particular the invoice-X format), and of carrying out mandatory e-reporting.

In addition, note that this reception and transmission will be carried out either via a public invoicing portal, or via a partner dematerialization platform (PDP). In that case, it's best to opt for compatible software!

Which solutions can automate your customer and supplier invoices?

Expected functionalities

At this stage of your reading, you already have an idea of the functionalities expected from a good invoice automation software... the spectrum is rather wide!

💡 Here's a quick summary of the most relevant:

• The presence of multiple channels for transmitting and receiving documents, whether email, customer or supplier portals, etc. ;
• Completion of customer invoices based on data available in the solution (product and service catalogs, as well as customer information);
• Management of various time-consuming processes linked to customer invoicing, such as recurring invoicing and reminders for unpaid invoices;
• OCR technology;
• Automated 3-way-match, i.e. reconciliation of invoices with purchase orders and goods receipt;
• Configurable workflows for validation processes, with notifications and reminders in the event of delays;
• Integration with customer or supplier invoice payment systems;
• Analytical tools and dashboards;
• Interfacing with your other business software, such as your ERP or accounting solution;
• Data security and compliance with regulations on confidentiality and protection of personal information (access and authorization management functions, for example).

👉 Finally, when choosing your platform, question your real needs. Some software packages focus on customer invoicing, others on supplier invoicing, and still others on both. What's more, some tools go even further, offering complete support for order-to-cash and procure-to-pay processes (with purchasing management or supplier sourcing, for example).

In short, the choice is yours!

Examples of invoice automation software

If you're spoilt for choice, we'd like to give you a hand with some examples of solutions adapted to different needs and types of company 😉.

• Aimed at SMEs, ETIs and large groups, Compleo Invoice Platform is a cross-functional document management software that dematerializes your end-to-end supplier invoicing process. Its technologically powerful features include automated data recognition, 3-way matching and validation via customizable workflows. As a dematerialization operator, Compleo Invoice Platform also prepares you for the reform of electronic invoicing: it connects with Chorus Pro and converts documents to the right formats (factur-X, UBL, CII, etc.).
  
  
• Sellsy Facturation is a customer invoicing solution for VSEs and SMEs. Its aim? To help small and medium-sized businesses save time with an easy-to-use tool that integrates all the functionalities needed to automate key operations: creation of compliant documents, one-click conversion of quotes to invoices, recurring invoice management, automatic reminders, online payment... Sellsy will also support you in the reform process, as it is factur-X compatible and will offer dematerialization operator services as soon as possible.
  
  
• Yooz is a complete software package for dematerializing both supplier and customer invoicing processes. Thanks to advanced AI and deep learning technologies, as well as the power of its Big Data database, it promises a very high level of automation in real time, at every stage: purchase requisition, document capture, various checks and validations using customized workflows, accounting entry, supplier payment, etc. In short, using Yooz means reducing your management costs by up to 80%. What's more, it guarantees total data security and does everything it can to become a partner dematerialization platform.

See all software Billing and Invoicing

Invoice automation in a nutshell

As you can imagine, it's hard to stay competitive today without automating your customer and supplier invoicing processes. Between saving time, money and reliability, the real benefits are unquestionable. Not to mention that the reform of electronic invoicing is just around the corner!

With this in mind, you're probably thinking seriously about getting the right software, if you haven't already.

The good news is that there's something to suit every need and every budget. It's up to you to find yours 😉.