You've probably heard of it already. Even if you're not particularly interested in legal matters, if you work in or have to deal with accounting or finance, you've surely heard the term. And if you own an SME or manage the finance department of one of these companies, you'd better be familiar with it. Today we're talking about electronic invoicing for SMEs in Spain and regulations such as the popular Ley Crea y Crece (Create and Grow Law). This regulation is not without controversy for certain entrepreneurs, and because of what it establishes, it is essential that every financial or accounting manager of a small or medium-sized company be familiar with it. If this is your case, we will try to help you understand and comply with it.
Electronic invoicing in Spanish SMEs today
As we always say, today's world is digital. We interact through social media, shop online, get information from websites... Therefore, if you are a company, regardless of your size, you also want to be part of this new digital landscape. Even if you don't want to, you have to be. That is why you need to digitize your processes, and one of the areas where we can help you is electronic invoicing for SMEs.
The truth is that for years we have been seeing progress in favor of this digital transformation. Large companies and, above all, governments are promoting this process. The best reflection of this can be seen in policies and regulations such as the well-known Create and Grow Law, which we will discuss later, or in how the European funds recently approved by the EU.
Until recently, it was noticeable that electronic invoicing was less widespread among SMEs in Spain than among large companies. However, in recent times, thanks to this type of policy, the gap is narrowing. digitization of this process in many small and medium-sized enterprises. In fact, electronic invoicing, whether out of necessity or convenience is already becoming a reality.
In fact, recently the ONTSI (National Observatory of Technology and Society), which reports to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, published the "Report on the digitization of SMEs 2021." This report contains some very interesting data on the digitization of many companies in Spain in general and on specific processes such as electronic invoicing in SMEs. Here are some of them:
- The digitization of business fabric in Spain is above the EU average, with only Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Ireland having higher rates.
- The information and communication sectors are the ones that most promote the digitization of processes in our country. Sectors, by the way, in which easyap has carried out various projects.
- More and more small and medium-sized enterprises, for example, are providing mobile devices with Internet access for online work (77% of SMEs and 55% of micro-enterprises, which are increases of 6.5 and 11.5 percentage points compared to 2018, respectively).
At this point, it is worth highlighting another interesting conclusion. While large companies do have technology specialists on staff (67% of companies), the figure drops in the case of SMEs.
The importance of electronic invoicing in SMEs
The fact is that, as you have seen, most of this data refers to the implementation of digital technologies in general. So now, in our case, we are going to focus on a specific process. The process that easyap has been working on for many years and that we know in depth: electronic invoicing for SMEs and companies of any size.
Thanks to the projects we have been involved in for more than 20 years, we know the importance of electronic invoicing in any business. Taking advantage of the fact that there are still many companies, especially small ones, that do not have technology specialists on their team, we assure you that with a solution like easyap, it is not essential.
Our team is made up of specialists in finance and technology. That's why, by implementing a solution such as our billing program , you will be installing an electronic invoicing system for SMEs without the need for an in-house team of technology specialists. But that's not the only advantage we offer. With the easyap solution:
- You will have your own portal for issuing, receiving, and managing digital invoices with customers and suppliers with customers and suppliers, where your billing process will be conveniently and efficiently handled.
- You will have an invoicing program compatible with the accounting and ERP package you have implemented.
- You will have a system in which you can also you can record information related to other costs associated with your business, such as employee expenses.
- You will comply with the legislation and tax system that you are required to follow.
- Your suppliers and customers will be able to easily consult information regarding their invoice workflow easily.
As you can see, we offer an electronic invoicing management and control system for SMEs (and also for large companies) that will give you two main advantages:
- You will save hours and hours of work that conventional invoicing usually entails with pen and paper, in the past, or with spreadsheets and complex databases, more recently.
- Cost savings, as our system does not require special technological equipment (neither human nor technical) to be installed internally on your premises.
In addition, the invoicing program we implement at easyap is perfect for electronic invoicing for SMEs because it adapts to all types of companies and their operating volume. Our solution, which does not involve any initial setup costs, has a variable price. In other words, you pay for each invoice you process. Therefore, it adapts very comfortably to your business volume.
The role of the Crea y Crece Law in digital invoicing for SMEs
Aside from the benefits of implementing a solution like ours, the importance of electronic invoicing also also lies in legal aspects. As we indicated above, governments are already promoting the use of technology in companies through regulations. One such regulation is the recent bill that was passed in 2021 for the Create and Grow Act. This law aims to encourage the creation of companies. How? With measures such as reducing the minimum share capital required to set up a limited company from €3,000 to €1.
However, the Create and Grow Act also aims to to pursue late payments by small and medium-sized companies. To this end, digital invoicing systems such as easyap are ideal, as they allow for much better control of company taxation and prevent fraud. With invoicing programs such as ours, it is possible to keep much closer track of companies' commercial and tax operations. And not only for large organizations, but also for small and medium-sized companies that have traditionally been more elusive in these matters.
In turn, in addition to the laws cited in this article and the Crear y Crecer Law, policies such as allocating European funds to companies seeking to digitize, etc., governments are leading by example. It is now mandatory to be able to both receive and issue direct invoices in digital format in all transactions with the Public Administration. At the same time, systems are already being implemented in certain communities for electronic invoicing and taxation, such as TicketBAI in the Basque Country.
And, based on experience and knowledge of the sector, work is also being done at the international level to promote electronic invoicing for SMEs and companies of all kinds. A good example is the case of PEPPOL, which we explain in this article on our blog a few months ago. At the same time, at easyap we have been able to work on projects in various countries and areas of the world where this type of policy is also being promoted.
Therefore, and by way of conclusion, if you were wondering why electronic invoicing is important for your SME or large company, we believe that you will have found the answer in these lines. It is no longer just a question of adapting to the new times and the digital environment in which you will have to operate at a business level. It is a question of complying with the legal and tax requirements of the various political bodies.
At this point, why not go digital with a company that has over two decades of extensive experience in the online invoicing sector? Why not leave your process in the hands of a company that has a proven track record of working in a wide variety of sectors? Why not contact our team of finance and technology specialists? At easyap, we are waiting for you.
