The timely delivery of documents is vital to any business, be it an invoice so you are paid on time or an urgent purchase order to buy crucial stock. How many times have you asked the question: “Am I really delivering this document in the most efficient and cost effective way?” Post is a classic example. It’s expensive, slow and sometimes very unreliable. When delivered, it’s no better – post needs opening, distributing and filing, all of which cost money. We are amazed so many companies still persist in delivering business documents like statements and invoices by post. Let’s get your attention with an example:
The True Cost of Post If a company delivers, just 1000 invoices and 500 statements per month, that’s a cost of: 1500 x 0.5 x 12 = £9,000 per annum *This assumes a letter costs 50 pence – this covers the stamp, envelope, printing and paper cost but does not include the cost of lost post and the environmental impact.Will My Customer Accept an Electronic Invoice? Given the above example most companies recognise e-Billing is worth looking at but often dismiss the idea with the old nutshell, “Our customer simply won’t accept an electronic invoice”. It’s strange that your customers won’t agree to this when we all routinely use the internet and it’s very rare we receive a paper invoice. Have you actually spoken to your customers recently? In our experience, when companies ask the question they are surprised by the numbers agreeing to electronic invoicing; we would expect a typical uptake from 50 to 75%. Going back to our example calculation above, that equates to a cost saving of £5,400 per annum based on a 60% uptake rate. Just because you have a few die-hard customers, don’t hold your business back based on their reaction. Convert the proactive ones now and move the traditionalists later.