E-invoicing industry finds its voice

The e-invoicing industry is finally finding
its voice as the long overdue European e-Invoicing Service
Providers Association (EESPA) is expected to become a fully
functioning legal body by the end of summer 2011.

Over 30 firms providing e-invoicing services
met on 5 May 2011 in Brussels to kick-start the new representative
organisation.

According to the E-invoicing blog the
EESPA’s purpose will be to represent the supply side of the
e-invoicing industry and their customer interests in the area of
increasing public policy advocacy and the roll-out of European-led
initiatives designed to increase adoption of e-invoicing
services.

Transaction banking solutions provider Fundtech says there is a
broad consensus on the key objectives of EESPA, including being a “pro-active pan-European
interest representation body on behalf of its members”.

“There is undoubtedly a lack of representation of the service
providers on various initiatives on the European level and
EESPA hopes to provides an effective
instrument for the industry to ensure public policy and regulation
is sensible and drives the mass adoption of e-invoicing,” said a
Fundtech statement.

The creation of the EESPA comes at the right
time as the European Commission’s European Multi-Stakeholder Forum
is about to be formed. There was an absence of representation of
the e-invoicing service provider industry when the Commission
drafted the rules for the new Forum but the announcement of the
EESPA signals a move to readdress the balance.