Protect yourself from invoice fraud by using e-invoicing

20 June 2024

Invoice scams are becoming increasingly more common (even in New Zealand), and are becoming so sophisticated they can be hard to spot, even for the most tech savvy among us. A common scam is to alter the bank account number on an invoice. An email with your invoice gets intercepted and the bank account details changed to that of the scammers. Your customer pays the invoice and thinks they’ve paid you, but instead it’s gone straight to the scammer, never to be seen again. Now you’re both out of pocket while the scammer scams the next unsuspecting person.


You can protect yourself from these types of scams by using e-invoicing. E-invoices replace emailed invoices by instead delivering an e-invoice directly into your customers accounting software, even if they’re using a different accounting system to you. By directly connecting suppliers with their clients, there’s no opportunity for scammers to intercept the invoices.


Government-backed e-invoicing framework

In 2019, the governments of New Zealand and Australia set up a framework for e-invoicing in both countries, designed to make it easier to trade across the Tasman. The system uses a New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) as a global ID for every business, and has been adopted by software providers including Xero. If your business uses a platform like Xero, you can e-invoice your customers, or receive e-invoices from suppliers, even if they don’t use the same platform.


Start sending and receiving e-invoices

You can set up e-invoicing in MYOB or we can help you set this up - just get in touch and we can help. It only takes a little bit of preparation to use e-invoicing, and once you have the hang of it, you’re protected from invoice fraud, and so are your customers! 

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