Expect exponential growth for EIPP in 2011

By Michael Lane of Data Impact

In 2010, only 57 percent of business-to-business (B2B) payments were made by check, which is down from 63 percent in 2009 and 74 percent in 2008 (according to the Association for Finance Professionals 2010 Electronic Payment Survey).

This steady decline indicates that businesses are not only looking for, but are finding a more streamlined approach for managing the financial supply chain. As companies become more attuned to the needs of the B2B transaction set, 2011 is expected to be a record breaking year for electronic invoice presentment and payment (EIPP) growth.

Solution providers now recognize that traditional business to consumer models for electronic invoicing and payment cannot accommodate the complex needs of a B2B environment. As a result, the leaders in the EIPP space are providing more robust supporting information at the invoice and payment levels. Documents necessary to support the invoice review and approval process are made available within the platform. Invoice uploads into the customer’s accounts payable platform allow for cost savings and process efficiencies which fosters adoption. More importantly, the lack of remittance details and complexity of reconciliation have been addressed by decoupling the ACH and accounts receivable file information. Auto reconciliation can be achieved with a separate remittance file that is mapped directly into the billing parties accounts receivable platform.

With the past barriers removed, companies of all sizes will more aggressively pursue EIPP platforms in 2011 in order to drive cost savings, accelerate cash and confidently control receivables.

What do you think?