To mandate, or not to mandate: that is the question.

How do you get customers to sign-up to your e-invoicing project?  It’s perhaps the golden question and certainly the one that needs to be tackled head on.  And more and more companies seem to be doing exactly that by mandating that their customers get onboard.  In Europe especially, companies are taking this “opt-out” approach to onboarding to ensure quick success.  In some cases, customers who don’t sign-up are charged for their paper invoices.

Of course, mandating adoption is easier for large corporates who have the weight to encourage smaller customers to take part. A bit harsh maybe, but perhaps it’s a case of being cruel to be kind.  E-invoicing is beneficial for all involved (time and cost savings, reduced DSO etc) so giving invoice recipients a gentle push to do it can only be a good thing, can’t it?  In most cases, signing up to e-invoicing is as simple as clicking on a link to view invoice online – a process that takes just few moments….and with the added bonus of adopting a more environmentally friendly technology, why on *saving the* earth would anyone object anyway?

So, to mandate or not to mandate, that is the question? Well, if you want quick uptake and maximum return on investment it certainly seems to make more business sense.