2023 was a truly exciting year with significant growth on all fronts. It’s clear that there is a rapidly increasing need across the globe to be able to exchange business documents digitally with customers and suppliers.
Legal requirements are putting activities such as e-invoicing on the top of the agenda, but the need for improved operational efficiency is also driving this transformation. We’re delighted to be a central part of this digital shift and our reported growth during the first 9 months of the year reflects that leading position.
Pagero Network currently reaches more than 14 million companies and we’re constantly upgrading it to solidify its position as one of the world’s largest business networks. The latest improvements in 2023 included a new search function to make it even easier for users to find and connect with other businesses on the network. We also launched new features to allow users to build a visible business profile and invite customers and suppliers to join the network.
I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating. We want to become the hub through which you find and trade with customers and suppliers anywhere in the world and with the network’s growth rate and the continuous upgrades, we are soon there.
During 2023, we hit several milestones, many of which are mentioned below.
Getting ViDA ready for 2024
As of January, EU member states will no longer need EU approval to establish mandatory e-invoicing. This is according to the European Commission’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) proposal.
It’s just one of many changes due to take place in the EU based on the proposal. PDF invoicing is also due to be phased out eventually as e-invoicing becomes the new norm within the EU. And while there are negotiations continuing regarding the timing of the changes, Pagero has spent 2023 getting ViDA-ready.
In late 2023, we carried out a pilot together with the tax administrations from Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Iceland and Norway where we showcased a real-life application of the Peppol CTC model and how it complied with e-invoicing and digital reporting requirements (DRR) for intra-Community sales and purchases invoiced under ViDA. The tax administrations in question verified and confirmed compliance with the ViDA proposal requirements.
Not only are we ready, but we acknowledge the crucial steps within the proposal to adapt to VAT to the digital age.
Becoming big in Japan
Having been recognised as a Peppol Service Provider in Japan in 2022, we appointed Yukihiro Ieda as our Country Manager in 2023 and set up an office in Japan. With the introduction of Peppol in Japan, we are able to play a key role in helping the Japanese market on its rapid journey towards digital automation.
Our presence there now lets us help both local businesses but also international clients doing business there.
New partnerships pave the way
We announced several new partnerships in 2023 as we continue to improve efficiencies for organizations around the world that are embarking on the digitalization journey.
Early in the year, we established a go-to-market partnership with Thomson Reuters to help businesses simplify their e-invoicing processes. This lets existing and future Thomson Retuers customers manage global invoicing and tax reporting through a single solution.
We also established an alliance agreement with PwC with the aim of helping organizations make the switch to electronic invoicing via Pagero, using PwC’s project management skills and expert advice to ensure it’s done correctly and effectively.
And most recently, we saw the start of a partnership with the global tax technology supplier, Vertex. We are now offering a unified solution for electronic invoicing, Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC) and indirect tax compliance to customers around the world.
All these partnerships together with our own upgrades help us continuously improve the exchange of business documents between buyers, sellers and tax administrations.
Looking ahead
We are one of the few players on the global market that can help companies with both compliance with local legal requirements and a platform built for automation - two needs that we expect will be increasingly intertwined in the future.
The speed of digitalisation shows no signs of stopping either in 2024 and we are ready to establish new ground and help more organizations in the digital exchange of business documents and ensuring legal compliance while doing so.
I’m personally looking forward to driving this change in Pagero in 2024 and hope that you’ll join us in some form in the ever-expanding Pagero network.
Have a prosperous, healthy and productive year.
Bengt Nilsson, CEO, Pagero
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