The Cost Savings, Enablers and Barriers of Electronic Invoicing in Belgium

Abstract

Governments around the world identify the advancement of electronic invoicing in private sector companies as crucial for tackling administrative burdens. This paper examines, for the first time, the evolution of the e-invoicing adoption rates in Belgium as well as the total savings of electronic invoicing. In 2014 the total cost of invoicing in private sector companies amounts to €3,47 billion (0,96% GDP), which would be reduced to €1,46 billion (0,38% GDP) if all invoices were sent electronically. Almost 48% of all invoices in Belgium were sent electronically in 2014 (B2B). Furthermore, our analysis of both barriers and enablers of e-invoicing reveals that on the one hand a majority of private sector companies welcome the efficiency gains realised by e-invoicing, although uncertainty remains concerning the safety of e-invoicing.