Digital Invoice
HAMASPI Corporation
Works Applications, Inc.
Transcending system barriers to send and receive invoices with Peppol Digital invoicing to improve overall business efficiency
Hamaspi Corporation is a company that provides consulting services such as sales strategy planning, execution support, and business planning support for IT companies offering SaaS services.
This article introduces the Digital Invoice initiative through a case study of Works Applications, Inc.
WAP utilizes its own cloud invoice sending and receiving service, HUE Digital Invoice, to receive monthly invoices from Hamaspi, Inc. via Peppol. HUE Digital Invoice, our own cloud invoice sending and receiving service. By utilizing Peppol, which can be interconnected with different systems, the burden of receiving invoices through manual work and file attachments is reduced. This enables us to both go paperless and improve the efficiency of our back-office operations.
Interview participants:
Mr. Morihiro Koyama, President of Hamaspi Corporation (right)
Mr. Yusuke Watanabe, General Manager of Finance Division, Works Applications Co.
Proposing the use of Peppol with the expectation of increased efficiency
-Please tell us how you started using Digital Invoice.
Mr. Koyama Hamaspi:
We started using Digital Invoice in November 2024. I had been interested in digital invoicing for some time because I had heard about it in the news, and I was interested in the efficiency and DX of back-office operations.
Digital Invoice
Digital invoice is a system for exchanging electronic documents such as invoices over a network, and is based on Peppol, a global standard used in more than 30 countries. Digital invoicing is a system that links invoicing, payment, and payment cancellation with digital data, streamlining not only overall accounting operations, but also encouraging the digitization of pre- and post-processes such as contracts and order receipt/placement. The introduction of digital invoicing is expected to lead not only to the digitization of paper-based business processes, but also to the digitization of business processes themselves, and to the digitization of business-to-business transactions as a whole. In Japan, the Digital Agency is taking the lead. In Japan, the Digital Invoice Promotion Association (EIPA), under the leadership of the Digital Agency, is working to promote the use of digital invoicing from a private-sector standpoint, and WAP serves as the executive committee of EIPA.
Mr. Koyama, Hamaspi:
One of our regular invoicing partners is WAP. WAP uses its own service, HUE Digital Invoice, to send and receive invoices to and from its business partners. Previously, we exchanged invoices by attaching PDF files to e-mails, but in October last year, we approached WAP's representative about using Digital Invoice.
WAP Watanabe:
WAP's cloud invoice sending/receiving service "HUE Digital Invoice" is not only available in PDF format, but also in digital format. invoice can also be sent and received.
We have started working together with Mr. Koyama's proposal as we believe it is a valuable opportunity to refine our products and a series of workflows, including those of our business partners, to make them even better.
HUE Digital Invoice
This intuitive invoice receipt and issuance service can be easily integrated with the HUE series and other accounting systems to support the digitization of billing and payment operations.
The service is compatible with standard Peppol as well as with hybrid operations where paper and electronic files are used together. You can also start a paperless invoicing process by utilizing an invoice receiving service.
Transmission with simple settings, saving the receiver the trouble of ID management
-How did you feel when you actually switched to Digital Invoice? How did you find the change to digital invoice?
WAP Watanabe：
The combination of teleworking due to the new Corona and the introduction of the invoice system has led to the appearance of many invoice sending and receiving services. Although paperless operations have progressed, many challenges still remain on the receiving end.
WAP receives and manages 300 invoices per month through 15 to 20 different services for each client, and the cumbersome process of logging into each service, downloading invoices, uploading them to the company system, posting and checking them into payment processing has become a major challenge. This is a cumbersome process that involves logging into each service, downloading the invoices, uploading them to the company's system, and posting and checking them for payment processing. Since multiple invoice sites must be accessed each time, it is a major hassle just to manage the invoices without omissions.
On the other hand, invoices received by Hamaspi via Digital Invoice can be directly received by HUE Digital Invoice as they are entered. The features of Digital Invoice, which allows for smooth data exchange between different services, have led to increased operational efficiency.
Mr. Koyama, Hamaspi:
Sending invoices is almost the same as sending PDF files by e-mail, and all we need to do is to obtain a Peppol ID and set up the system.
Aiming for further efficiency by linking with subsequent systems
-Please tell us about your future plans.
Mr. Koyama, Hamaspi:
I believe that Digital Invoice can eliminate waste in the world. I would like to use it with other business partners as well, but when I consult with them, I am often asked "What is Peppol? I would like to use it with my other business partners as well, but when I ask them about it, I am often asked back, "What is Peppol? First of all, I hope that Digital Invoice and Peppol will become better known.
WAP Watanabe：
The benefits of Digital Invoice are not limited to sending and receiving invoices. Various data on invoices can be used as is, making subsequent operations such as system input and calculations more efficient.
WAP also operates payment request operations with its own product, HUE, so by linking with HUE Digital Invoice, which is also part of the HUE series, By linking with HUE Digital Invoice, the contents of the received invoices can be directly reflected in the payment process. As the number of invoices received via digital invoice increases in the future, the amount of money and client information input in subsequent payment operations will be greatly reduced. At that time, I believe that EIPA's goal of "eliminating 'work' from invoicing" will be realized.
*This article is current as of April 2025.
*Click here for HUE Digital Invoice product page
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