Paul Turner attempted to summarize the key reasons quoted by the various governments for mandating (or encouraging) electronic invoicing:
External compliance pressures
For instance the European Union cross-border trade efficiency agreements, and other pressures such as trading partners demanding e-invoicing).
Internal constituency efficiency pressures
For instance a law or policy notice that demands governments to ‘do more with less’.
The “clean and green” economy
Internal, external and compliance pressures to cut down paper usage and a reduction in Co2 emissions.
Increase the speed of transactions
In line with just-in-time (JIT) methodologies.
Reduce fraud and increase financial transparency and openness
For instance e-invoicing’s inherent ability to provide greater transparency and more complete audit trail of transaction approvals and other workflow milestones);
Improve and ensure tax compliance among constituents
24x7x365
The need for self-service portals for transactions on a ‘always on’ 24x7x365 basis
More effective financial capabilities
1. Improve the ability of government to manage cash flow, treasury and budgeting functions: e-invoicing provides the ability to give real-time or near-real-time reporting of cash flow.
2. Gaining better visibility into cash flow and accounts payable enables government (and industry) to avoid late payment penalties and gain early payment discounts.
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