Invoice Payment App AirINVOICE Launches Features to Comply With the revised Act on Book and Record Keeping through Electronic Methods

This document is a translation of a press release issued by Recruit Co., Ltd. on August 28th, 2023 (JST) and is provided as a reference material. If there is any discrepancy between this translated version and the original Japanese version, the original Japanese version prevails.

Starting from August 28, AirINVOICE, an invoice payment app that simplifies bank transfers and invoice management, will launch features to comply with the revised Act on Book and Record Keeping through Electronic Methods (E-Preservation Act), which is set to come into effect on January 2024. New features include the Upload History Display, which stores and displays records of invoices that have been photographed, uploaded, or deleted. The new Search function allows users to search by invoice date, transaction amount, and vendor name. Using these features, users can preserve and search through their records in compliance with the E-Preservation Act.^*1

On July 11, 2023, AirINVOICE was selected as a supporting business for the IT Introduction Subsidy (project to support the introduction of IT to improve productivity in services and other areas) by the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation (SME Support, JAPAN).

Screen image of Upload History Display

Image of the Search screen

Overview

In accordance with requirements stipulated by the E-Preservation Act, AirINVOICE has added a Upload History Display feature, which stores and displays records of invoices that have been photographed, uploaded, or deleted, as well as a Search feature, which allows users to search by invoice date, transaction amount, and vendor name.
Since its launch on July 27, 2022, AirINVOICE has provided features that allow users to automatically digitize invoices by photographing them with a smartphone, reserve transfers for multiple invoices at once^*2, receive alerts to remind them to pay invoices, and share invoice and transfer data with accountants via cloud.
Now, with the addition of new features, businesses will be able to comply with the E-Preservation Act with minimal effort by photographing and uploading invoices. AirINVOICE supports both digital and scanned data, allowing businesses to centrally manage all invoices. This enables stores to manage operations paperlessly and easily check past data.

Background

Businesses in Japan will be required to preserve transaction records digitally from January 2024. They must have a procedure in place to create searchable file names that contain the vendor's name, transaction amount, and date. Failure to comply with the E-Preservation Act could result in penalties.
According to a survey Recruit conducted in 2020, PDFs and other digital data make up 48% — about half — of the invoices received by small and medium-sized businesses.^*3 In addition, when we asked businesses that use our Air BusinessTools management and support services about how they will respond to the E-Preservation Act, we found that they harbored vague concerns and doubts, with comments such as, “We are aware that we need to comply with these requirements, but we don’t know how to go about it,” and “It seems like such a hassle.” By providing features that comply with the act, AirINVOICE can assuage concerns about invoice management.

Through Air BusinessTools, Recruit has been helping businesses comply with legal requirements. For instance, AirREGI supports reduced consumption tax rates, and AirPAY endorses the government’s cashless rebate program. We will continue to take steps to ensure seamless compliance with legal systems.

About AirINVOICE

AirINVOICE is an invoice payment app that simplifies bank transfers and invoice management.^*4 When users take a photo of an invoice with their smartphone, the app automatically converts the information necessary for the bank transfer into digital data, even allowing for immediate payments. Transfer fees are the lowest in the industry.*
With AirINVOICE, the app checks the number of transfers and payment due dates and notifies users, freeing them from the worry of forgotten or late payments.
The service launched on July 27, 2022. Comments from users include, “I take a photo of the invoice with my smartphone the moment it arrives, so now I no longer forget to process invoices and bank transfers” and “It cut down on the time spent on paperwork — now I spend more time focusing on the store itself.”
Air BusinessTools, including AirINVOICE, reduces the time, effort, and costs associated with laborious business tasks, from accepting and processing reservations, accounting, and handling payments to staffing, shift management, fundraising, and invoice processing.
We will continue to support business owners in operating their businesses as they envision them and creating stores that are uniquely their own.

Check AirINVOICE’s website (https://airregi.jp/invoice/) for more details. (Japanese only)

Click here to read the original press release.