The electronic bill for the entire professional market
Belgacom, in cooperation with Certipost, has decided to offer the electronic bill to its professional customers, free of charge. The e-invoice service known as Belgacom ELISE was formerly only available to Belgacom’s most important corporate customers. From now on, all professional customer who request the new electronic bill can obtain it free of charge (provided they give up the paper bill within three months). This service is not only aimed at large companies and SMEs but also the self-employed and public services.
The electronic bills are sent via a secure e-mail. Customers can choose between four bill formats :
- Edifact and BMF100, already widely used in the retail sector
- XML, which allows easy integration into the customer’s computer systems
- and Excel, the standard format
Other formats will soon be added to the basic offer, and what’s more, customers also have access to the CertiONE platform, which allows them to view files in PDF format.
Why electronic billing?
Belgacom, conscious of the impact that a company can have on the environment, is taking an increasing number of measures to save energy and paper. Thus, as a member of ETNO (the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association), Belgacom has signed an agreement to adopt a series of measures aimed at protecting the environment, including activities to save paper, limit carbon-dioxide emissions, save energy, etc. Belgacom also supports the International Polar Foundation, which, at the initiative of Belgian polar explorer Alain Hubert, studies the exact impact of human activities on climate change. A study carried out at Certipost’s request shows that replacing the 900 million paper bills sent every year in Belgium with electronic bills would contribute as much as 0.7% to Belgium’s efforts to achieve the Kyoto Protocol targets.
The electronic bill also has many advantages for companies. A study by Deloitte & Key shows that electronic bills greatly reduce the cost of processing an incoming bill within a company: you no longer have to sort any incoming mail, enter the data manually (which also eliminates the risk of errors and legal disputes during payment), manage a physical archive, etc.
Why Certipost?
Certipost, a subsidiary of the Belgian Post and Belgacom, is commonly known as being the supplier of the Belgian electronic ID cards. But it also has extensive experience in the professional market: to date, more then 20,000 sales partners are already connected to the legal and secure platform of CertiONE’s electronic billing.
For more information go to : www.belgacom.be/e-invoice.
Journalists requiring more information should contact the Belgacom Press Relations department :
Haroun Fenaux, Belgacom: +32 2 202 48 67 of +32 476 60 03 33
Jan Margot, Belgacom: +32 2 202 85 01 of +32 475 58 50 37
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