InvoiceNow e-invoicing explained in one line: it lets your accounting software send an invoice straight into your customer's accounting software, with no email attachment, no paper and no retyping. Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) oversees the network. It runs on Peppol, an international standard that many countries use.
What InvoiceNow is
InvoiceNow is Singapore's nationwide e-invoicing network. IMDA's published timeline says the network launched as the Nationwide E-Invoicing Network on 9 January 2019, and it was later branded InvoiceNow. It moves invoices in a structured digital format from one finance system to another, so that people do not have to key the numbers in a second time.
Most firms today make an invoice, save it as a PDF and email it. The buyer then types the details into their own accounting system. IMDA's FAQ points out that a PDF sent by email is a one sided job, because the receiver still has to re-enter everything by hand. InvoiceNow sends the data from the supplier's system to the buyer's system without anyone touching it.
InvoiceNow is for business to business invoices. Invoices to ordinary consumers are not covered.
What Peppol is
Peppol is an international network and standard for sending business documents electronically. Companies on the network can trade digitally with other linked companies, including firms in other countries.
IMDA's FAQ says InvoiceNow is not different from Peppol e-invoicing. It is based on the Peppol business document standard and runs over the Peppol network. IMDA acts as the Peppol Authority for Singapore. In that role it writes the domestic rules, checks that standards are followed and approves the providers that serve Singapore businesses.
Because Singapore uses the open Peppol standard, you can send and receive InvoiceNow e-invoices with businesses in other countries, as long as they are on the Peppol network too.
How an invoice gets from seller to buyer
You do not email an InvoiceNow invoice. Your system hands it to a certified Access Point, which is a provider approved by IMDA to connect businesses to the network. The Access Point passes the invoice across the network to the buyer's side, and it lands in the buyer's accounting system.
Each business on the network has a Peppol business identity, a bit like an email address. In Singapore this identity is based on the company's Unique Entity Number, or UEN. The same UEN is used by PayNow, which is why IMDA says banks are working on ways to turn an InvoiceNow invoice into a payment in a few steps.
The key point is that you can only send to a business that is registered on the network. IMDA compares this with email: each side needs an address that the other can reach.
Why small firms care
IMDA lists several benefits. Here is what they can mean in a small office.
- Fewer mistakes, because nobody retypes the invoice. IMDA cites a study it commissioned that estimates errors affect about 3 percent of paper invoices and can cost as much as S$72 to fix.
- Less time on data entry. The same study estimates manual handling costs about S$8 per invoice.
- Faster payment. IMDA points to a 2017 Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis finding that about 45 percent of paper invoices were paid on time, against about 92 percent of e-invoices.
- Lower costs. IMDA quotes research that senders can save about 59 percent and recipients about 64 percent compared with paper.
These are IMDA's cited estimates, and your own results will differ. They are a reason to test the process, not a promise.
InvoiceNow also reaches the Singapore Government. IMDA's FAQ says you need to be on the Peppol network to send e-invoices to government agencies, and the Accountant-General's Department has a guide that explains how.
How to join
For most small firms the answer is simple. You do not build anything. You switch on a feature in software that is already connected. IMDA's FAQ lists these steps.
- If you use a provider's accounting or ERP software, check that it is certified as Peppol Ready. If it is, ask the provider how to sign up.
- You can also ask your bank whether it offers a solution.
- If you run your own finance system, work with an approved Access Point. IMDA keeps the list on its website.
- Register for your Peppol business identity. Your Access Point usually does this for you.
- Learn how to send and receive e-invoices in your solution.
- Put your Peppol identity on your purchase orders and tell your customers and suppliers that you are ready.
How long this takes depends on your setup. IMDA says many local accounting and ERP providers already have the ability and it can be switched on right away. Others need changes that take longer.
On cost, IMDA says most Access Points and software providers charge by the number of invoices sent and received. Some offer a limited number of free e-invoices that can be enough for a small business, and some bundle the fees into a larger package.
IRAS, the tax authority, has said it will accept InvoiceNow invoices as valid tax invoices for GST input tax claims, as long as all the other required details are on them.
A simple way to start
Pick your three biggest customers or suppliers and ask if they are on the network. IMDA's FAQ explains how to search for Peppol Ready businesses by name or by UEN. If they are on it, you have a clear reason to connect. If not, ask them, because many firms have software that can already do this and have never switched it on.
It also helps to write down how many invoices you send and receive each month, and how long each one takes to enter by hand. That number tells you whether the switch is worth the setup time. Even a small firm with a few dozen invoices a month can see the saving, because every invoice that skips retyping is one less chance for an error and one less phone call to sort it out.
This is general information about a business tool, so check with your software provider on cost and features before you sign up.
Sources
- IMDA, InvoiceNow FAQs (updated 28 March 2023): https://www.imda.gov.sg/-/media/Imda/Files/Programme/Nationwide-E-Invoicing-Framework/IMDAInvoiceNow-FAQs-Final.pdf
- Peppol.org, Peppol case study, IMDA Singapore: https://peppol.org/peppol-case-study-imda/