E - Invoicing & Blockchain for Enterprise Performance & Security

E invoicing is an emerging technical phenomena in Australia and across the globe. There is a significant benefit for merchants in using such an approach as it facilitates greater automation of the accounting function. Supplier invoices can be dynamically loaded into accounting software, replacing the tedious requirement for manually keying the data.

The technical approach Australia has adopted https://www.ato.gov.au/business/e-invoicing/ is based on the international Peppol standard – https://peppol.eu/what-is-peppol/peppol-profiles-specifications/ .

While the Peppol approach requires that server architecture be deployed with the core trust root based on some central authorities, there is a standard that can be used to record invoice information in blockchains. This approach does not depend on a core trust root or any digital intermediaries. This is the approach China has taken for their financial systems blockchain infrastructure. The standard is P2142.1.

A Blockchain approach with e-invoicing data may well complement the Peppol system. Peppol transports accounting data between buyer and vendor accounting software while Blockchain data can assist in the audit process.

See the attachment for discussion on about the two different systems – Peppol & P2142.1.

An enterprise might use the P2142.1 standard along with https://docs.baseline-protocol.org/ as the blockchain solution.

The Baseline Protocol is the emerging standard for synchronizing state across different systems of record over the internet, using a public blockchain as a common frame of reference. This applies to traditional corporate systems of record, any kind of database or state machine, and even different blockchains or DLTs. It is particularly promising as a way to reduce capital expense and other overheads while increasing operational integrity when automating business processes across multiple companies.
The approach is designed to appeal to security and performance-minded technology officers.

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Andrew Noble

Accountant, Technologist & Futurist