Intake is steerable, not fate
Many treat invoice intake as something that just happens. Yet you largely determine where and how suppliers send — if you tell them clearly.
The model process does not start with technology but with a decision: one address, one route, one clear announcement.
Step 1: define one address
As long as invoices come to info@, to personal mailboxes and on paper, every process is leaky. Define a single, dedicated invoice address.
This address is from now on the only official channel. Everything else is gradually redirected there. Sounds banal but is half the battle.
Step 2: inform suppliers — with a cut-off date
A friendly, clear notice to suppliers works wonders: “Please send invoices from [date] exclusively to [address], preferably as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD.” A cut-off date turns a request into a changeover.
What matters is prioritization: start with the suppliers causing the most volume. Twenty percent of suppliers often make eighty percent of the invoices.
Step 3: gradually close old channels
A hard cut mostly fails. Better: the new address goes live immediately, the old routes run along for a transition period and are then consistently closed.
Whoever stays on the old channel gets a friendly reminder pointing to the new address. After the transition period the old route is finally closed. Consistency beats strictness.
The model process in five lines
To take away:
- Define a dedicated invoice address.
- Prioritize suppliers by volume (the big ones first).
- Send a written notice with cut-off date and preferred format.
- New address live immediately, old channels run for a limited time.
- After the transition, close old channels consistently.