Read, what your billing maturity level tells you about your business and why the e-invoicing regulation is a wakeup call for many companies in Europe.
Creating invoices sounds like administrative work but has long changed scope and impact on your business. How mature your billing processes are informs your scalability, reliable forecasting and whether e-invoicing regulations are seen as a hurdle or as a chance to reach a new level.
Why billing is a decision maker #
With the growth of subscription-based products and services, billing has turned from a purely operational finance functionality into a strategic success factor. Modern billing processes are the foundation for data-based decision-making, flexible business models and sustainable growth that go beyond simple invoice creation.
98% of surveyed SaaS companies saw positive results after adapting their pricing strategy (source: onebill). However, pricing flexibility requires a billing infrastructure that can grow and adapt easily. Traditional systems that are dictating what you can and can’t do slow down progress.
The 4 maturity levels of your billing processes #
Whether you’re a startup/scaleup or a company with tradition, your billing setup can be described with one of four maturity levels: from manual invoicing to a fully automated and integrated revenue architecture.
| Level 1 – Manual | Level 2 – Basic Automation | Level 3 – Fully automated billing | Level 4 – Recurring Billing & Revenue Analytics | |
| Typical setup | * Excel, Word, manual invoice creation * High resource and time effort * High error rates | * First tools to automate billing processes * Faster than manual *Monetization plans are partially limited | * Recurring billing is fully automated * Significant time savings * Higher monetization potential | * Billing is integrated with revenue data * Reliable forecasting * Growth across different business models and markets |
| Business impact | * Highly limited scalability * External disruption can heavily impact your business | * More scalability * Disruptions can still impact your business * Roadmap planning is difficult | * Simple roadmap planning due to more flexibility * External disruptions have a much lower impact | * Forecasting of challenges and market changes * Full agility for your business strategy and growth |
For most businesses, moving from level one to level two is the easiest step to take since only small automation efforts can reduce time spent on invoice management and error rates significantly.
However, the strategic difference can be felt more clearly between level two and four. A fully automated recurring billing that is fully integrated with your business intelligence provides the data required for reliable forecasting. This can help you define and recognize potential risks and opportunities and decide more confidently to change pricing and business models or expand to new markets.
The cost of a low billing maturity level #
The cost impact of a low billing maturity level can be quite invisible, specifically because manual processes often create data silos and keep important metrics (time spent, error rates, success rate) hidden.
According to a report from Ardent Partners, companies with processes that are below the average pay four times more than companies that perform above average. Additionally, it takes them three times longer to manage invoices. Â
A similar study looking at German SME showed similar results: processing a paper invoice takes around nine minutes. A digital invoice is on average processed in seven minutes. And a structured e-invoice only takes six minutes. Scaled up to the overall number of invoices that are being processed every day in Germany, the savings potential is probably in the billions.
Even your revenue can be impacted by a low billing maturity level: Analysts MGI Research and EY suspect that companies without seamless billing processes are losing 1 – 5% of their overall EBIT due to revenue leaks (mostly due to billing errors for add-ons, price increases or discounts).
Our own customers have told us that a higher maturity level has cut manual labor by 50%, and data accuracy has been optimized by 70%.
Stress test 2027/2028: E-invoicing regulation acts as maturity check #
The practical importance of a high maturity level is currently evident in the example of the mandatory e-invoicing requirement in Germany. Under the Growth Opportunities Act (*Wachstumschancengesetz*) and the associated circulars from the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), a staggered, mandatory timeline applies in Germany:
- Since January 1, 2025: All domestic B2B companies must be able to receive and process structured e-invoices compliant with the European standard EN 16931—recipient consent is no longer required for this.
- From January 1, 2027: Companies with prior-year revenue exceeding €800,000 must issue e-invoices for domestic B2B transactions.
- From January 1, 2028: The obligation to issue e-invoices applies to all domestic B2B companies, regardless of size.
Important in this context: in the future, a standard PDF invoice does not count as an e-invoice anymore. Accepted formats are exclusively structured or hybrid formats such
as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD (version 2.0.1 or later), that contain machine-readable data in accordance with EN 16931.
But despite regulation dates creeping closer, in reality, many companies are still not ready for e-invoicing. In 2024, only 45% of German companies were able to accept e-invoices (source: Bitkom). If you’re still managing your invoices with no or limited automation, any migration to e-invoicing by 2027/2028 will the harder the longer you wait.
From regulatory mandates to strategic chance #
E-invoicing regulations can be seen as annoying compliance tasks, but you can also see it as a needed push to optimize your own billing infrastructure. Companies that are already operating on level three or four have it much easier to include e-invoicing requirements since their invoice data is structured, centralized and machine-readable.
And the effort is worth it, not just for compliance’s sake: According to Zuora, companies with recurring revenue business models grow faster and were able to grow their subscribers by 25%. Companies with hybrid revenue models (e.g. fixed subscriptions and usage-based functionalities) outgrew other companies when it came to their revenue per customer. A high billing maturity level is not just required for compliance; it allows you to adapt pricing and billing models easily to expand to new markets.
A short self-check for your maturity level #
Before you invest in new billing processes and systems, it’s a good idea to take inventory and ask yourself:
- How many manual steps are currently required from contract conclusion to receipt of payment?
- Are you currently able to receive and process e-invoices in structured formats such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD?
- How reliable are your revenue forecasts—whether based on real-time data or estimates?
- Does your current solution support new pricing models, such as usage-based or hybrid billing?
- What is the rate of invoicing errors or late payments within your team?
If you notice a big gap between your current billing setup and the requirements needed for e-invoicing (and strategic flexibility), you should think about changing your setup.
The billing maturity level is not just a vanity check #
A higher maturity level reduces manual efforts, errors and ensures reliable reports, audits and forecasts. It helps you align with regulatory requirements without re-structuring your entire billing process and provides more transparency and access for your sales, service and finance teams.
Frisbii is your end-to-end platform for recurring billing, subscription management and payments as well as revenue insights. Manage your invoices fully EU-compliant, grow and scale your business and experiment with different pricing and billing models to expand to new markets and new audiences.
You’re not sure what’s needed to reach the next level? Book a meeting with our experts and they will help you evaluate your status quo and your goal to define a clear roadmap.
