Thursday 30th July, 2015

According to a recent survey by The European E-Invoicing Service Providers Association (EESPA), 986 million electronic invoices were processed and delivered to invoice receivers in 2014. This represents a significant growth of 17 per cent over 2013 volumes of 840 million.

The survey conducted among EESPA’s members found, the majority of invoices processed were B2B (Business-to-Business) or B2G (Business-to-Government) invoices (621 million invoices in total in 2014), although B2C (Business-to-Consumer) invoices made up a total of 365 million invoices in 2014.

In 2014, the figures reveal a rather less buoyant growth in B2B and B2G transactions processed than in the previous year, although the association is confident that underlying growth rates in these segments are understated.

EESPA service providers are making a very significant contribution to the adoption of electronic invoicing across both Europe and more widely. Service provider networks and services to buyers and suppliers contribute a growing and sizeable element of total electronic invoice volume and these services are more often than not preferred to direct connections between suppliers and buyers, which can be cumbersome to manage and do not take advantage of ‘network’ effects.

Commenting on the latest figures EESPA Co-Chairs Esa Tihilä and Charles Bryant, said, "The service provider community continues to make a strong contribution to the development of electronic invoicing and is committed to supporting the growing number of adopters on their journey to realising the massive efficiency gains and cost savings available.

Our total figures are still impacted by the reluctance of some of our members to participate in our annual survey- we will work harder in the years ahead to encourage greater participation."

EESPA was formed in 2011 as an international not-for-profit association. It acts as a trade association at a European level for a large and dynamic community of e-invoicing service providers.