The Institute of Technology Sligo has launched an online e-Invoicing course to train companies in time for the EU’s compliance deadline of April 2019.
The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is the first of its kind and will enable companies and organisations across the European Union to prepare for the compulsory electronic invoicing procedure from next year. The MOOC requires no formal entry qualifications, trains companies both from the public and private sector and is funded but the Connecting European Facility(CEF).
Speaking at the launch, President of IT Sligo Dr Brendan McCormack said: “IT Sligo has made significant strides in developing a strong research base and our staffs are actively engaging in research across many fields.
“This CEF funded project is a classic example of this research and engagement combining public and private sector innovation and knowledge with the research skills and acumen of IT Sligo personnel and is a credit to the team who developed it.”
Public bodies must become compliant with the European Directive on e-Invoicing by next April. The directive dictates that it will become mandatory for all contracting authorities and contracting entities to receive and process e-invoices complying with the European standard. It is hoped that this will bring significant savings to the governments and to the thousands of businesses active in the Internal Market with some estimates suggesting companies will save €17 per invoice.
Compared to paper invoices, e-invoices are easier to process, they reach the customer faster and can be stored centrally at very low cost. A report by the EU predicts potential annual benefits of up to €40 billion across Europe in the business-to-business field alone.
