08.05.2025
PostFinance provides companies with comprehensive support for introducing and implementing B2B e-invoicing – including round table discussions at which companies can share their experiences with the digital invoicing solution. Flavia Schmidlin-Buser, Head of Billing Solutions (as co-lead), explains in an interview why this is worthwhile for everyone involved.
Whether you’re sending or receiving invoices, PostFinance offers efficient solutions in the switch to digital invoicing processes.
Flavia Schmidlin-Buser: in our consultations, we have noticed that customers who work within the same industry often have similar challenges when handling B2B e-invoicing. We encourage cross-company discussions through our round tables. We provide an opportunity for those responsible for B2B e-invoicing in their companies to share best practices, learn from each other and work together to find solutions that are beneficial to all. And last but not least, as a B2B e-invoicing provider, we also benefit from the insights we gain from the round tables, as we can integrate them into our product development and communication.
An important issue is networking between invoice issuers and recipients. The more invoice issuers and recipients within an industry use B2B e-invoicing, the more individual companies can benefit from the advantages of B2B e-invoicing. The question for invoice recipients is therefore how to connect as many suppliers as possible to B2B e-invoicing. This networking is most difficult at the beginning. However, as soon as a critical mass is reached in a market, B2B e-invoicing become a matter of course within the industry.
We have held three round table discussions with representatives from different hospitals. The response from participants has been very positive. It quickly became clear in the discussions that we are all in the same boat, facing similar problems for which we may be able to find joint solutions. Many therefore see the round tables as an impetus for further dialogue and for tackling projects together. Experience-sharing is beneficial to all.
The latest point at which it becomes worthwhile is when the pressure in the company to make the invoicing processes more efficient starts to mount. This may be because the company wants to save costs or because the workload is too big. With B2B e-invoicing, invoicing processes can be automated easily. As the head of finance or purchasing for a company, the first thing I’d do is digitize the processes for invoicing and receiving invoices. There is great potential in this area for companies: thanks to the high efficiency of the processes, businesses save resources and get their money faster. In addition, the automation of invoicing processes often provides the impetus to digitize other business processes.
Let’s assume that invoices have been received in paper format until now. This requires great effort. The invoice has to be opened, assigned to an account and forwarded. With B2B e-invoicing, these invoices are processed automatically. The customer places an order, the supplier sends the goods and the customer receives the invoice, which can be linked to the order. B2B e-invoicing reduces workload massively, increases efficiency and lowers costs. This pays off.
B2B e-invoicing reduces workload massively, increases efficiency and lowers costs. This pays off.
It’s expected that e-bill will become a legal requirement in EU countries in the next few years. E-bills are also known as electronic invoices. It is my belief that this will also affect Swiss companies. Even if e-bill doesn’t become mandatory in this country, there’s going to be a push towards structured data exchange. Companies that are already familiar with e-bill will have an advantage. And we’ll be ready to help them with international invoicing, too.
We specialize in payment solutions and offer comprehensive advice in this area. Our B2B e-invoicing customers have customer advisors on hand to provide them with individual support. They can also rely on the expertise of our technical specialists to help them implement B2B e-invoicing, regardless of whether the customer is using a proprietary development or software for its invoicing processes, and regardless of whether the customer requires a simple process adaptation or has specific questions about the manual. In addition, we can support our customers with networking between invoice issuers and their suppliers. We take advantage of the fact that a large proportion of Swiss payment transactions go through us and that we can identify pairs of invoice issuers and recipients.
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