Ready or not, here they come: E-invoices are expected to outnumber the paper versions by 2010. That’s according to a report by PayStream Advisors.

Although e-invoices are still far more common among larger companies, small and mid-sized companies are quickly piling onto the bandwagon.

E-invoices are mostly a benefit: They reduce your paper load, save time and can reduce the number of errors you find, since they usually eliminate several manual steps.

That doesn’t mean adapting to e-invoices is always a snap. Any change in procedures can cause headaches at first.

If you’re interested in dipping a toe in the waters — or you’re forced to by a key vendor — bear in mind these two key points:

1. Over-communicate with everyone involved. Without a good sense of what each party needs (purchasers, A/P, vendors, etc.) you can’t create an efficient and effective new procedure.
2. Test, test and test again before your system goes live. Not only does that give you a chance to work out any bugs, it builds everyone’s confidence in the new system.

Tags: A/P, Accounting trends, Communication, E-payments, Technology, Vendor relations