You work in an office? Look around to see if you can find the company’s oldest piece of technology: the fax machine. Even if it’s one of the oldest devices in the office, chances are you don’t know how to use it and it’s older than most of your peers.

However, this situation illustrates the complex issue of digitalization that affects most businesses in the UK and Europe. Although the pandemic provided a boost for digitization, the old ways persisted. And now that things are back to normal, there is a risk that both people and companies will go back to paper.

If we talk about Europe and digitalization in general, the digital competitiveness of the bloc is still far away, with Spain, France, Germany and the UK being outside the top 10. But when we talk about e-invoicing, the line is even bigger.

To remedy this situation and accelerate our efforts to go digital, we must look to our Scandinavian neighbors – Finland, Denmark and Sweden – who lead the Digital Economy and Society Index 2022 as the most digital countries in the world, as well as being the most advanced in Europe in development. electronic invoice. In fact, Finland, Denmark and Sweden along with Norway were among the first countries to incorporate electronic invoicing, anticipating a European lead in this regard.

A pioneer in the use of electronic invoicing in the B2G field, each country has different policies regarding the B2B sector. In Sweden, for example, companies can voluntarily exchange invoices. In Norway, although there is no mandatory policy, electronic invoicing is widely adopted by companies. In Denmark, companies are free to invoice electronically as long as they agree among themselves. And finally, in Finland, since 2020, the government recognizes the right to accept electronic invoices to any public or private company that charges more than €10,000,-, as long as it is requested from your provider. In all other cases, this right is subject to agreement between the parties.

And in Spain? What happened? Well, despite legislative efforts to realize electronic invoicing between professionals and companies, we are still a long way from implementing it. According to our data, in Spain, 55% of employers claim to pay and manage invoices manually, even though the Create and Grow Act, approved in September, requires the generation of electronic invoices in all commercial operations carried out between companies and freelancers. Although it is true that there is an adaptation period, no time is wasted. On June 15, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, following established procedures, released the draft Royal Decree Project in which the Act was developed, so it is very important to address this issue as soon as possible in advance. Implementing the right tools can lead to changes in business culture, so tackling these issues early will help avoid problems when the deadline arrives.

Spanish companies need more control over their finances with a comprehensive view of all their expenses. However, currently many are still struggling with invoice management processes that are outdated, depend on manual processes, and are prone to errors. At a time when the digitalization of the invoice management process has become a central issue in the company’s strategy, simplifying the process and managing invoices received more effectively and efficiently is an important task in the transformation of our company.

To catch up with their Scandinavian neighbours, EU countries, including Spain, need a higher level of pragmatism when it comes to digitization. It starts with decision makers, from the smallest companies to governments, and must be small but bold steps, constantly reassessing progress and sharing responsibility.

If we achieve this, we will set ourselves up for success. In fact, who knows? One day let’s say goodbye to faxes.

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