#Japan #BtoB Platform #Rifu #Rifu Town #Invoice Cloud Service

Rifu Town's Digital Transformation with 'BtoB Platform Invoice'

In a significant move towards digitizing administrative operations, Rifu Town in Miyagi Prefecture has implemented the 'BtoB Platform Invoice' cloud service, provided by Infomart Co., Ltd., based in Tokyo. This initiative aims to streamline invoicing processes, ultimately saving around 1,200 hours of processing time annually.

Background of the Implementation

As part of its digital transformation (DX) strategy, Rifu Town has been focused on enhancing resident services and increasing the efficiency of administrative tasks. With the objective of minimizing the burden on local businesses while promoting digital initiatives, the town recognized that adopting electronic invoicing and decision-making was crucial. Although they started enhancing their public accounting system's electronic decision-making functions in January 2024, they continued to face challenges by still needing to scan paper invoices. This hindered full digitalization. In fact, the process of digitizing documents often led to critical information such as amounts and dates being cut off. These challenges meant that the town invested approximately 3,300 hours annually in processing about 22,000 invoices.

In search of a robust solution, the decision was made to introduce the 'BtoB Platform Invoice'.

Key Reasons for Choosing the Platform

The 'BtoB Platform Invoice' has garnered a reputation with numerous users from both public and private sectors. One of the compelling reasons for selecting this service was the ability for local businesses to begin using electronic invoicing at no charge through invitations issued by the town. This aligned perfectly with Rifu’s goal of promoting comprehensive digital integration within the community.

Furthermore, there were existing examples of automated connections between the platform and Rifu's financial accounting system, bolstering the decision to adopt this solution.

Effects of Implementation

1. Streamlined Processing with Significant Time Savings

At the time of deployment, approximately 260 out of 700 local businesses were onboarded to the electronic invoicing system, exemplifying a robust engagement, contrary to initial expectations regarding local digital proficiency. This shift is expected to facilitate the handling of over 8,000 invoices through the 'BtoB Platform Invoice', ultimately saving an estimated 1,200 hours of work annually.

2. Accelerated Approval Workflows

The standardized format of electronic invoices enhances the reviewing process within the accounting section, contrasting sharply with the former method of manually checking various paper invoice formats. The platform's capacity to quickly identify discrepancies or missing information has led to a reduction in rejections and delayed payments, further optimizing the entire workflow from invoice receipt to payment processing.

Future Outlook

One of the remaining challenges is to achieve an API-enabled automatic integration between the financial accounting system and the 'BtoB Platform Invoice'. Rifu Town expects to complete this integration by the fiscal year 2025, which will further optimize the workflow from invoicing to payment. Given the remaining hurdles in the DX promotion, the town looks forward to continued support from Infomart as they advance their digital transformation objectives.

Service Overview

The 'BtoB Platform Invoice' is Japan's leading cloud invoicing service, capable of digitizing various invoicing tasks, including issuance, receipt, and payment notifications. Designed to alleviate the time-consuming processes associated with invoicing, it supports the move towards paperless operations and enables effective remote financial management. Over 120,000 businesses utilize the platform, showcasing its significant impact in the industry.

About Infomart

Founded in 1998, Infomart Co., Ltd. provides innovative cloud services for streamlining business transactions. The platform hosts transactions amounting to over ¥62 trillion annually and continues to grow rapidly. Infomart is a publicly traded company on the Tokyo Prime Market (Stock No. 2492).

To learn more, visit Infomart's overview site and read the case interview.