Rebecca Sperti, customer relationship director, Causeway Technologies, explains how Causeway Tradex e-invoicing software can ensure prompt payments within the construction industry
Prompt payment is the cash flow lifeline that keeps many businesses afloat in the construction supply chain. But our analysis of over 8 million invoices sent to the top 100 construction firms in the UK has revealed that around 10% are routinely being rejected. With 40 million invoices sent every year, the impact is huge.
Considering the process for receiving, reviewing and either approving an invoice for payment or rejecting it back to the supplier for amendment, can take weeks, it’s not surprising that supply chain relationships suffer.
Suppliers lose sleep wondering where their invoices are within the lengthy approval process and ultimately when they’ll get paid. Contractors become frustrated with wasting resources reviewing and rejecting invoices that don’t contain enough information for them to be processed.
Payment delays are hindering the financial recovery of construction
This culminates in serious payment delays which are hindering the financial recovery of construction product and service suppliers across the sector.
There is a lot of focus on what the main contractor can do to pay their suppliers on time, but the supply chain has a fundamental part to play.
If they are provided with insight on what a ‘good’ invoice looks like, they can ensure they are doing everything to avoid an invoice rejection and ultimately guarantee being paid without delay.
So, it’s time to change the narrative and think about prompt payment as a whole industry ‘problem’ and work together to solve it.
How to submit an invoice
To get started, here are the top 5 actions that suppliers should take when submitting an invoice:
- Include a Purchase Order Number – It sounds simple, but this is the number one reason for invoice rejections. The supplier should make sure they’ve included the valid and open purchase order number that they received from their customer on their invoice.
- Don’t exceed the Purchase Order Value – It’s important to ensure the value on the invoice being submitted doesn’t exceed the value of the purchase order provided by the customer. If it does, it’s best for the supplier to reach out for an updated Purchase Order with an increased value before they submit the invoice.
- Check the maths – The total value or total tax submitted in the invoice should match the line items on the invoice.
- Use the right Customer Name – The company name on the supplier’s invoice needs to accurately reflect the customer they did work for. This is especially important if they are working for a large contractor with different contracting divisions. If in doubt, check the Purchase Order.
- Use the right Product Code – The supplier should ensure the product code on the invoice matches the product code held in a catalogue where appropriate. Again, aim to match the information outlined in the Purchase Order.
Causeway Tradex e-invoicing software improves invoice submission
If we work together to improve invoice submission as well as the approval process and work towards a ‘right-first-time’ approach, we can continue to strengthen supply chain relationships from both directions. Notably, it is one of the simplest and fastest ways that the construction industry can support the financial strength and improvement of the supply chain in 2022.
E-invoicing with fully automated processes through solutions like Causeway Tradex supports and grows as the construction industry requires. Working closely with both sides of the payments process to ensure speed, accuracy and operational efficiencies.
Discover how Causeway Tradex can improve your payment processes today.
