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

Invoicing, whether it's customer invoicing or supplier invoicing, poses many challenges for a company. And this becomes even more apparent as the business, and therefore the administrative workload, increases.

Organisations spend far too much time on certain invoice-related tasks. And yet these tasks add little value, even though they are a heavy burden on management costs.

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

Thanks to technology, certain operations can now be carried out by machines or software, without direct human intervention. Interesting, isn't it?

And there are many other advantages to invoice automation, as outlined 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 whereby many stages in the invoicing process are digitised and carried out 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 a dedicated technology, usually software, whether it be :

• invoicing;
• accounting;
• electronic invoicing, etc.

☝️ Invoice automation concerns both customer and supplier invoices, and is therefore part of 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:

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

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 contains all the mandatory information;
• data capture using optical character recognition (OCR) technology, which extracts key information and then transfers it directly to the accounts;
• 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;
• setting up electronic payment authorisations 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 is 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 reconciling payments
• reminders in the event of late payment
• recording payments received;
• updating customer files.

Here too, technology will prove beneficial in different ways.

💡 F or example:

• generating invoices in a few clicks from order or customer information, by applying predefined templates;
• transmission of the document 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 (the 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 benefits

#1 Saves time

Invoicing processes, whether for customers or suppliers, take up a huge amount of employees' time. However, it's impossible to ignore them, because they involve huge financial, legal and relational stakes.

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

• producing invoices by hand
• various checks and validations
• dunning customers
• accounting entries, etc.

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

😀 Greater efficiency also means shorter processing times. All the more reason to 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 by hand is a source of errors, all the more so if you're dealing with a large volume of documents: typos, miscalculations, etc.

With automation, all the data circulates between the systems and is used to carry out data entry, verification and calculation tasks (e.g. VAT) 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, as it is now possible to automate the dematerialised storage of invoices.

A word from the expert

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

Invoices sent quickly and consistently build trust and avoid late payment. The same is true of relations with suppliers, where automation allows 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. You know precisely who did what at what point in the process, so you can more easily rectify the situation if necessary.

💡 Good to know : 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 labour costs. And the resources freed up from these tedious operations can then devote themselves to missions that generate far more value (and therefore money 🤑 ) for the company, such as analysing financial data or implementing strategies.

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

👍 Other financial benefits of automation:

• compliance with legal requirements, mentioned above, avoids the expense of resolving disputes ;
• the risk of non-payment, which is a major drain on a company's cash flow, is reduced by streamlining dunning procedures;
• savings are also made 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 discounts for prompt payment or trade discounts.

#5 Enhanced analytical vision

Most invoice automation tools include analytical functions, with reporting, dashboards, etc.

This consolidated view of up-to-date data gives you a detailed picture of your organisation's real situation. So you can :

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

In short, invoice automation helps you to react more quickly to any problems that may arise, and also to build a winning strategy.

Invoice automation: legal issues and the 2026 e-invoicing reform

After reading all these advantages, you'll understand why it's so important to equip yourself with software to automate, and therefore speed up, and make your processes more reliable...

... and meet a host of legal challenges effectively!

You've no doubt seen the news, but electronic invoicing is about to become compulsory for BtoB transactions, according to the following timetable 📆 :

• 1 September 2026: receipt of invoices in electronic format for all businesses ;
• 1 September 2026: invoices issued in electronic format for large companies and ETIs;
• 1 September 2027: issue of invoices 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 organisations, in order to improve their competitiveness.

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

You should also note that these documents will be received and sent either via a public invoicing portal or via a partner dematerialisation platform (PDP). So it's best to opt for compatible software!

What solutions are there for automating your customer and supplier invoices?

Expected features

At this stage of your reading, you already have an idea of the functions expected of a good invoice automation software package... the spectrum is pretty broad!

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

• The presence of several channels for transmitting and receiving documents, whether email, customer or supplier portals, etc. ;
• Completion of customer invoices using the data available in the solution (product and service catalogue, 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 matching, i.e. the reconciliation of invoices with purchase orders and goods receipts;
• 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 other dashboards;
• Interfacing with your other business software, such as your ERP or accounting solution;
• Data security and compliance with regulations on confidentiality and the protection of personal information (access and authorisation management functions, for example).

👉 Finally, when choosing your platform, ask yourself what your real needs are. Some software packages focus on processing customer invoicing, others on supplier invoicing, and still others on both. What's more, some tools go further, offering complete support for the 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'll still lend you a hand by giving you some examples of solutions tailored to different needs and types of business 😉.

• Compleo Invoice Platform is a cross-functional document management software package designed for SMEs, ETIs and large groups, dematerialising your supplier invoicing process from start to finish. This technologically powerful solution automates data recognition, 3-way matching and validation via customisable workflows. As a dematerialisation 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 incorporates all the functions needed to automate key operations: creating compliant documents, converting quotes into invoices with a single click, managing recurring invoicing, automatic reminders, online payment... Sellsy will also be able to support you in the reform process, as it is Factur-X compatible and will be offering dematerialisation operator services as soon as possible.
  
  
• Yooz is a comprehensive software package that can handle the dematerialisation of both supplier and customer invoicing processes. Thanks to advanced AI and deep learning technologies and 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 customised workflows, accounting entries, supplier payments, 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 dematerialisation platform.

See all software Billing and Invoicing

Invoice automation in a nutshell

As you will have realised, it's hard to stay competitive these days without automating your customer or supplier invoicing processes. Between the savings in time, money and reliability, the real benefits are unquestionable. Not to mention the fact that the reform of electronic invoicing is just around the corner!

With this in mind, you're probably giving serious thought to equipping yourself with the right software, if you haven't already done so.

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