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An invoice, which may be a sales or a
purchase invoice depending on whose perspective it is viewed, is an
issued document indicating that money is owed by the buyer for
products or services that the seller has rendered. Traditionally,
Invoices are paper-based to maintain paper records. But electronic
form of billing, or electronic billing, is already gaining
acceptance in industries, mainly as a response to the incessant
chorus on becoming more environment-friendly and the growing concern
over climate change.
Electronic billing allows invoices to be transmitted electronically
over the Internet. An electronic billing system usually sends out an
email to a client directing him to a secure website. Using his
password, the client will be able to access and download, control
and archive his company's electronic invoices. Invoice data are
current and may be available in several formats. TNT, the global
express service provider, offers e-invoices in PDF and CSV among
others; XML format will also be available in March 2008.
TNT has been offering secured electronic invoicing service to TNT
clients worldwide since January 2006. In the Philippines,
e-invoicing has been in use since October of 2006.
But while electronic billing saves time and gives a high-level of
efficiency, increasing incidents of fraud over the Internet pose a
serious challenge. Says Jose Luis Romero-Salas, TNT Express
Philippines Country General Manager, "With Internet fraud on
the rise, customers ask for legally recognized techniques that
authenticate the source of invoices and protect the integrity of
documents." Thus, the introduction of the digital signature to
TNT's e-invoicing.
With "Express Invoicing," TNT Express takes electronic
invoicing a step further through the addition of the digital
signature feature. Beginning March 2008, the service becomes
available, free of charge, to TNT clients in more than 30 countries.
This includes most of Europe, Australia, Singapore, Hong-Kong, South
Africa, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. TNT Philippines will
immediately follow suit for the local implementation of the digital
signature.
E-invoicing allows TNT clients to efficiently receive their invoice
data on time, thereby shortening the invoice-to-payment time.
"When clients can immediately get hold of their invoice data,
they are able to accomplish their accounting before the monthly
cut-off. This saves time and invoicing costs. It also reduces manual
efforts in recording, checking and archiving large volume of
transactions," Romero-Salas stresses.
The benefits of e-invoicing go beyond efficiency in the management
of accounts-payable. Reduction in the use of paper in invoice
issuance means more trees are saved. Romero-Salas explained that
e-invoicing is already in use in 37 countries around the world,
including the Philippines, and that ten other countries are
preparing to introduce the paperless invoice in 2008. With the
numbers, TNT estimates that it could eventually eliminate up to one
million paper invoices a month.
TNT's e-invoicing effectively addresses clients' need for efficiency
in invoicing operations, while pitching in to the endeavor of caring
for the environment. With the addition of the digital signature
through Express Invoicing, TNT addresses another client need: the
need for greater security and protection. "Our plan to
introduce digital signature through our Express Invoicing offers the
convenience and efficiency of electronic billing with a high level
of security," says Romero-Salas. For more information on
Express Invoicing or on TNT Express Philippines, visit their website
at www.tnt.com.
 --Tech
Times Online
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