Process Optimisation
What is E-Invoicing & Why Should NZ Small Businesses Care?
Streamline Your Business with e-Invoicing: Faster Payments and Less Admin
Process Optimisation
eInvoicing: Smarter, & Fully Automated Billing
e-Invoicing enables invoices and the invoice information to be sent electronically between a buyers and suppliers accounting systems, even if they use different systems. Using e-invoicing means you can send invoices to your customers and receive bills/supplier invoices directly from your suppliers into your accounting system. This reduces manual data entry, improves accuracy and security, and can lead to faster payments.
If you are currently sending invoices as PDFs by email, printing supplier invoices, or manually entering bills into your accounting software, then e-Invoicing could save your business a significant amount of time. MYOB believes eInvoicing can save small businesses 3.4 hours every month.
The good news is both XERO and MYOB accounting software systems support e-Invoicing, you just need to set it up to get started.
process optimisation
What is e-Invoicing?
e-Invoicing is the direct exchange of invoice data between two accounting systems.
Instead of creating a PDF invoice, attaching it to an email, and hoping it reaches the right person, the invoice is sent securely from one accounting system directly into another accounting system using the Peppol network.
Peppol is a global standardised framework that enables businesses to exchange procurement documents electronically.
Think of it as “email for invoices” — but faster, safer, and far more accurate.
You can read more about the Peppol network here: New Zealand – OpenPeppol.
Process Optimisation
Why is e-Invoicing better than PDF invoices?
Traditional invoicing can lead to problems:
- invoices get lost in inboxes
- supplier bills need to be manually entered
- data entry mistakes happen
- payment delays can occur
- invoice fraud risk increases
With e-Invoicing:
- invoices go directly into the customer’s accounting system
- supplier bills can automatically appear as draft bills ready for approval or with most data pre-populated ready to create a bill
- less manual data entry is needed
- fewer human errors occur
- payments are often faster
- security improves because invoices are not sent by email
How e-Invoicing works in Xero
If your business uses Xero, e-Invoicing is a built-in service at no extra cost. To get started, you need to register your business in Xero using your NZBN and connect to the Peppol network.
Xero is automatically enrolling all customers for e-Invoicing with the Peppol network in early May 2026, making adoption even simpler for businesses already using Xero.
Receiving supplier invoices
When a supplier sends you an eInvoice:
- it arrives directly inside Xero
- it appears as a draft bill automatically prepopulated
- you or your team simply review, approve, and pay
This removes the need to manually enter supplier invoices and helps speed up accounts payable processing.
Sending customer invoices
You can send eInvoices directly from Xero to customers who are registered for e-Invoicing regardless of what accounting system they use.
When you send an eInvoice to a business customer who is registered for e-Invoicing:
- the invoice goes straight into their accounting system
- there is less chance of delay or lost emails
- approvals happen faster
- payment can happen sooner
Xero will notify you of any issues, if it is sent successfully, you will see this in the history and notes section.
How e-Invoicing works in MYOB
If your business uses MYOB, e-Invoicing is also available as a built-in service at no extra cost. Registration is completed inside MYOB using your business details and NZBN.
Receiving supplier invoices
When a supplier sends you an eInvoice:
- it arrives directly in the MYOB uploads
- you can create a bill from uploads and most information will be automatically prepopulated
- you or your team simply review, approve, and pay
This removes the need to manually enter supplier invoices and helps speed up accounts payable processing.
Sending customer invoices
You can send eInvoices directly from MYOB to customers who are registered for e-Invoicing regardless of what accounting system they use.
When you send an eInvoice to a business customer who is registered for e-Invoicing:
- the invoice goes straight into their accounting system
- there is less chance of delay or lost emails
- approvals happen faster
- payment can happen sooner
MYOB also allows you to track invoice status, helping you see when invoices have been received, approved, or if there is an issue.
process optimisation
Our Advice: Get Started Now!
With Xero automatically enrolling their software users to the e-Invoicing platform there will likely be an increase in the number of businesses using the platform, so now is the ideal time to review your system to get setup for eInvoicing and make sure your processes are ready whether you use MYOB or XERO.
The earlier your business adopts eInvoicing, the sooner you gain the benefits:
- fewer processing errors
- less admin
- stronger internal controls
- improved supplier and customer relationships
- better cash flow
- faster approvals
Process Optimisation
We’re here to help
Setting up e-Invoicing properly is not just about switching it on. To get the real benefit you need to work with your customers and suppliers to adopt eInvoicing effectively, review your approval workflows and internal processes to ensure they work efficiently with the change to eInvoicing. That’s where we can help.
As your accounting partner, we work with NZ small and medium businesses to:
- set up e-Invoicing in Xero or MYOB
- review your accounts payable and receivable workflows
- improve invoice approvals and payment processes
- reduce admin time for your team
- help you get the maximum value from automation
If you would like help getting started with e-Invoicing or want to make sure your current process is working as efficiently as possible, we’d be happy to assist.
Sometimes a few small changes can save hours every single month, and that’s time better spent running your business.
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