The U.S. is falling behind on e-invoicing, and it’s costing billions

As a result, the e-invoicing landscape is highly fragmented: over 250 service providers, 15+ invoice formats, and dozens of format variants.

• Most large companies still rely on PDFs instead of structured formats like UBL or EDIFACT. This lack of standardization fuels inefficiencies across invoicing workflows.
• Paper and PDF invoices cause delays, errors, and poor liquidity.
• Only ~45% of paper invoices are paid on time. In contrast, 92% of electronic invoices are paid on time.

The cost of inaction is high. Avalara estimates that structured e‑invoicing could save U.S. businesses $5.4 billion per year, and contribute to a global productivity boost of $616 billion by 2030.

To address this, the Digital Business Networks Alliance has launched an e-invoicing network (similar to Peppol) for secure and efficient document exchange in North America.

Get the full picture: download Storecove’s E-invoicing in North America factsheet.