When it comes to keeping up with invoicing compliance, operations are further complicated by their global nature. But there is one clear way to simplify compliance with worldwide requirements – automation.
The regulations around electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) and electronic archiving (e-archiving) vary vastly between countries. And regulatory guidance and practical interpretations are not always clear.
In practice, global organisations need to understand all the different local and cross-border requirements, design solutions for those requirements, and then continually manage change in the business environment as requirements change. It’s a full-time job (and then some) that most firms don’t necessarily have the bandwidth to do. These organisations should be able to focus all their energies on their day-to-day business operations, not sifting through the constant barrage of local mandates and finding out what the best ways are for their business to be compliant with its ever-changing requirements.
To put it lightly, global tax compliance is complex, fragmented, and constantly changing. And since these taxes are a significant source of revenue for many governments, the consequences of non-compliance can be very severe. These can range from fines and protracted audits to sanctions under criminal law. And global firms can’t afford to redistribute funds that are intended for research and development to pay for non-compliance fines.
What this means is compliance can no longer be an afterthought. In the 1990s, and even up to 2014 or 2015, organisations would define an electronic invoicing strategy and then maybe evaluate whether that strategy could also solve the compliance issues. Now that process has been flipped on its head. For any organisation operating globally, compliance has become a minimum condition of any procure-to-pay (P2P) automation strategy.
Invoice archiving is another critical area as it is a base requirement everywhere. It is the common denominator for tax compliance. E-invoicing rules vary from country to country, but almost all countries require the “original” of an invoice to be archived and stored away for later audits. And if you have a solid archiving compliance strategy, you’ve covered half the work of achieving tax compliance.
So, organisations have two options: manage the e-invoice and e-archive compliance completely on their own or have seasoned experts by their side for support.
Basware delivers a total e-invoicing solution, assisting you with your compliance challenges from identifying obligations and assessing requirements to designing and managing solutions.
In other words, we support you in many aspects of e-invoicing compliance.
For decades, Basware has been gathering regulatory and best practice knowledge from local markets, building new format conversions, connecting locally authorised compliance partners and tax authorities, and enabling the use of digital signatures and certificates. With this all under our belt, we can support your organisation through many parts of compliance, ensuring both B2B and B2G connectivity.
As a global market leader in e-invoicing, Basware has what it takes to support your global e-invoicing compliance requirements. No matter your needs, Basware helps you cover all e-invoice delivery channels.
We provide a single source for global compliance by providing support in over 60 countries through our 230+ interoperability partners. We deliver multi-channel coverage combined with localised knowledge and connectivity to third parties.
So, how is it that we can provide all this for multinational organisations worldwide? For starters, we’ve partnered up with various local partners, to ensure our business network supports our customers for compliant e-invoicing where it’s needed the most. On top of that, Basware’s in-house compliance management works together with our service management team as well as with external advisers and authorities to maintain and improve the compliance support provided by the Basware Network.
Our network and its country coverage are growing constantly, ensuring organisations like yours with the appropriate compliance support. This frees organisations from the burden and complexity of global compliance and lets you focus on what matters – innovating in your line of business and operations.
As we discussed earlier, complying with global invoicing and tax mandates is complex and the consequences of non-compliance can be severe. But with Basware, you can automate your compliance across B2G and B2B mandates that include different formats, processes, and archiving standards. Basware also supports you in your VAT compliance work in more than 50 countries and a certified PEPPOL access point.
At the end of the day, compliance isn’t easy. But when you let the experts support you, you gain efficiency, compliance, and control.
Efficiency
Reduce the costs associated with handling global tax compliance.
Free resources from a large part of the burden and complexity of compliance to focus on core business.
Compliance
Meet compliance requirements – a central business challenge
Reduce the risk of financial penalties and other sanctions associated with non-compliance with regulations.
Control
Comprehensive audit trails including original invoice image to provide control over the entire process.
Secure data transfer and additional security measures throughout the process.