World leader in automation solutions for the Procure-to-Pay and Order-to-Cash management cycle, the Lyon nugget Esker publishes expert software configured to integrate all regulatory obligations imposed on companies in the context of billing reform electronics.
With this experience and its international presence, the company present in 15 countries is preparing to receive the Partner Dematerialization Platform (PDP) registration.
To take the pulse of companies and assess their degree of preparedness, Esker publishes, in collaboration with OpinionWay, the results of an extensive study carried out among 302 CFOs of companies with 50 or more employees. Meeting with Thomas Honegger, Director of Operations Esker France
What changes on July 1, 2024?
To take the measure of the reform that is coming, first of all it is worth remembering that 4 million companies in France are affected by an annual volume of more than two thousand five hundred million invoices. Yet almost one in four companies (23%) exchange less than a quarter of invoices electronically and 15% do not exchange customer invoices digitally*.
Electronic invoicing represents a major change in the operations and transmission of invoices between companies and requires compliance of these invoices with future regulations.
This reform concentrates many objectives such as improving the traceability of transactions, the fight against tax evasion and VAT fraud and will strengthen the competitiveness of companies thanks to better compliance with payment terms.
Electronic invoicing will also produce a considerable volume of data that will make it possible to refine the management of public policies by analyzing the activity of companies by sector, territory or job market.
The reform provides for an implementation schedule with a first stage on July 1, 2024. On this date, large companies must be able to issue compliant electronic invoices, which implies, for all companies, the ability to receive them.
The issuance obligation will be implemented gradually from January 1, 2025 for ETIs to January 1, 2026 for VSEs and SMEs.
These invoices must be transmitted in the 3 authorized formats to the public billing portal (PPF).
An entire ecosystem is being structured to enable the implementation of this reform.
To comply with their obligations, companies will be free to choose to use a partner dematerialization platform (PDP), a dematerialization operator (OD) or go directly through the public billing portal (PPF), the Chorus Pro platform.
The PDPs will be responsible for receiving the invoices, verifying them, extracting the data and transmitting it to the PPF or PDP and ensuring the electronic VAT declaration of the companies.
ESKER, an expert company in solutions for the dematerialization of customer and supplier cycles, is positioned to be a PDP registered with the Treasury and thus expand its support for the digital transition of companies, integrating into its solution all upcoming regulatory obligations and the transmission of information about the PPF.
In what way is ESKER’s experience an asset to face the challenge of electronic invoicing?
ESKER is a French company and one of the world leaders in the automation of payment cycle management.
We develop solutions that simplify these flows both throughout the supplier’s cycle from listing to invoice payment and throughout the customer’s cycle, from order to payment.
These solutions make it possible to produce qualified data to facilitate the management of company activities and cash management from an intelligent interface.
Our clients are companies of all sizes with a strong international presence since more than 2/3 of our turnover is generated internationally.
ESKER’s experience in all financial flows of the company is a great asset in the implementation of the reform in companies. Customers using ESKER solutions will already be prepared so that their solutions can receive the necessary updates for compliance when the state platform becomes available.
For other companies, choosing a dematerialization solution such as ESKER will also allow them to integrate the management of all customer and supplier flows in a single solution on an approved PDP platform.
ESKER’s innovative and pioneering position in the digital transition of companies and the development of simplified flow management solutions therefore finds a natural complement in its evolution as PDP.
Are French companies ready?
Depending on their size and degree of maturity, French companies are unevenly prepared for the impacts of this reform on their activity.
The study carried out reveals strong concerns about the complexity of compliance and its cost (53% and 55%), about the security of the data (47%), in an estimated period too short for 34% of the respondents*.
ESKER is currently carrying out important training work with companies and their advisers to help them prepare for the implementation of the reform without running the risk of suffering the sanctions associated with it. It is in this capacity that he joined the Relay Commission created by the DGFiP.
A first piece of advice is to anticipate the reform by mapping the company’s flows, updating customer and supplier databases or integrating all the data that will be necessary into invoices, especially in the context of VAT tax audits.
In fact, there is a recurring discrepancy between the data present on the invoices and the thirty mandatory data that will have to appear there to ensure compliance from 2024. In 2026, all French companies will have to transmit the detail lines as commercial discounts.
The digital invoicing reform, good news for companies?
89% of the CFOs interviewed predict that electronic invoicing will accelerate the digital transformation of their company and 55% anticipate a gain in competitiveness*.
The digitization of the data generated by financial flows was already generating significant time savings in low-value-added tasks.
The billing reform will make it possible to further reduce bill transmission and payment times and optimize treasury management. Most companies believe it will improve cash management (56%) and reduce payment times (53%)*.
Prepared, accompanied, integrated into a reliable and robust software solution, electronic invoicing is an opportunity to seize to improve business performance.
With its technological leadership, ESKER is already preparing for the next world by enriching its offer with new complementary services such as payment solutions or financing solutions.
ESKER already has more than 1,500 clients and is present in 15 countries.
The market is extremely dynamic and ESKER anticipates a strong acceleration of its growth while structuring its development by reinforcing its local presence to preserve the proximity of its teams to client companies.
* Esker Study / OpinionWay – February 2023
This content was produced in association with SCP. The BFM Business editorial team was not involved in the production of this content.
Source: BFM TV
