Success Story: Volz Luftfilter GmbH & Co KG, Horb

The enterprise in Horb develops, produces and markets filter media and filter products for air conditioning and ventilation, as well as for painting and drying technology. In this field of expertise, Volz is a leading provider with an international reputation for innovative products. Founded in 1966 by Manfred Volz together with his wife, the enterprise today employs over 380 staff on an approximately 45,000 sqm production floor with further expected growth.

Volz heard about e-Billing through a magazine article. Annually, the enterprise sends approximately 50,000 invoices, so electronic invoicing promised considerable savings potential. The entrepreneur was enthusiastic and immediately assigned the IT department with the procurement of an e-Billing solution.

Agreement with the tax office

Almost all medium-sized enterprises still send their invoices by post. However, hardly any enterprise can actually calculate the exact cost for each invoice. Besides postage, the high costs of processing also add up, both for the sender and the recipient. Why not simply send them by e-mail?

Since the first of January 2002, the value added tax law demands that the recipient of digital invoices is only entitled to the VAT deduction if the digital invoice contains a qualified digital signature. Through that, the unchangeability of contents and the identity of the signatory are documented. It is not sufficient, therefore, to attach a Word or a PDF document to an e-mail.

However, the legal situation is by no means so clear as it first seems. Volz: “The topic is still very new, that means nobody, not even the officials at the tax office, knows exactly what has to be considered. There are also regulations that contradict themselves.” Therefore, the introduction of the e-Billing solution took place in close co-operation with the tax office. Thus the financial officials became acquainted with the topic themselves, and the enterprise was sure to select a solution which would be accepted by the tax office later. “I am sure we are not the first enterprise that introduced e-Billing, but legally we are now on the safe side,” explains Volz.

Every Second Invoice Electronically

The establishment of the e-Billing-solution, in use since the middle of 2005, took six months at Volz. Approximately half of the annual 50,000 invoices are now sent electronically, to approximately 40 per cent of the customers. The proportion rises more slowly than expected but Volz explains, “we have not really advertised this solution to our customers.”
The philosophy of the Volz enterprise is to do as much as possible in-house; Manfred Volz is no fan of outsourcing. For this reason, the enterprise decided on the e-Billing-solution from the GSD software partner, yourIT, as the signature server is located in their own building. Additionally, only a one-time investment was necessary. Other providers operate with licensing models, with which the dispatch of each invoice is billed.

The Solution

Independently of the ERP system, the solution picks up the invoicing pool, analyses the data, and, on the basis of the analysed result, produces the desired PDF document as well as the necessary XML data and the index for the archive. The document is formatted, so that it loses its unstructured report format, and takes on the corporate look of Volz Luftfilter GmbH & Co. KG.

The legally-sound electronic invoice is produced, as the digital document is provided with a qualified electronic signature via the signature server. Here the invoice data is signed and attached, for example, as a XML file, for subsequent handling by the invoice recipient.

On the basis of defined rules, the integrated dispatch component decides how the document is to be dispatched: as e-mail or fax. Parallel to the dispatch, archiving with DOCUframe® takes place in the electronic folder of the customer, in the electronic process file and in the sales invoice file of the current year. The aim here is to electronically regain the documents just as quickly as they were created.

Every invoice is equipped with a rectangular code, similar to a bar code. While with some e-Billing-systems the invoice is stored as a picture, Volz Luftfilter GmbH & Co. KG invoices are saved only as data. Advantage: a once-printed invoice, which is input later, scanned in and added into the system, is always detected as the original invoice.

Considerable Cost Savings

The introduction of e-Billing offers numerous advantages. In the first place, the considerable lower materials, creation, dispatch and archiving costs. Annually, the enterprise had to spend about 90,000 Euros on postal invoice dispatch. The target is it to limit these costs to 20,000 Euros. This is of course only attainable if all invoices are dispatched electronically, which, at present, is not yet the case. The capital outlays amounted to 40,000 Euros and the GSD partner, yourIT, indicates the annual expenditures for maintenance and signatures as 6,000 Euros.

Also, the recipient can save costs through the faster handling of electronic invoices - a good argument, if it serves to convince him to accept electronic invoices. The automatic transfer of the invoice data into the customer’s own bookkeeping is possible. Discount payments can be better utilised through the faster handling of invoices. The electronic archiving of the electronic invoices saves time during rework and and costs of storage.

Summary:

Still only a few enterprises make use of e-Billing. However, electronic invoicing has the best prospect to become generally accepted. Enterprises that dispatch several thousand invoices annually and promptly introduce an e-Billing-solution can save considerable costs. Volz Luftfilter GmbH & Co. KG is seen in Germany as a pioneer for the introduction of e-Billing; however, they paid great attention to the legal requirements in order to avoid terrible surprises later on and the possibility of making a bad investment.

Observation:

Manfred Volz, Managing Director Volz GmbH & CO. Kg
“To optimise processes and thereby save costs, one must be persistent, pursue one’s aims and have the courage to carry out innovative investments even in economically bad times.”


Source: BestPractice-IT

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