UK Post Strike Threatens Invoice Delivery Again

Once again, the threat of postal strike action is looming for UK businesses. If it happens, it will inevitably lead to frustrating delays for both invoice and cheque delivery. Bacs reported only last week that late payments are huge problem for UK businesses, and a postal strike isn’t going to help. We have written many times about the benefits of electronic delivery over post, but let’s directly compare the two by looking at it from a Supplier’s point of view:

The paper invoicing process:     

• Invoice delivery: You print out a paper invoice and send it by post. It’s delayed and takes longer to arrive than normal. Your customer’s AP clerk is inundated late invoices, so your invoice is placed at the bottom of a very large pile. Delivery time estimate: 5 days (at least).
• Payment: After processing your invoice late, the AP clerk writes a cheque and posts it to you by hand. It is also delayed, so you receive that late too. You then have to physically take it to the bank for processing.

The electronic invoicing process:

• Invoice delivery: You send your invoice electronically and it is delivered in an instant. The AP clerk clicks on a link to view it online where it can be approved and downloaded into an accounting package. Delivery time estimate: Instant.
• Payment: After viewing your invoice online, your customer can click on the “pay now” button to send an electronic payment by credit/debit card, PayPal or direct debit, for example. Payment is made directly into your bank account and is usually cleared within 3 days (or in near-real time with the Faster Payments service).

This example is just a simple scenario. In many cases, there are purchase order, copy invoice and statement requests – all sent by post - that further slow down the purchase to pay process. The electronic invoicing process is faster, more efficient and has been proven to reduce Days Sales outstanding (DSO) for both large and small businesses alike.