Author: Danilo SanchesTheo Carnier

Source: DCI - São Paulo / SP - SERVICES - 09/03/2010

SAO PAULO - The electronic invoice (NF-e) has already moved around R $ 13,4 trillion in the Brazilian market, more than four times the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with a tendency to continue rising at an accelerated pace, in the forecast by Marco Antonio Zanini, general director of the company NFe do Brasil. He says that a large number of small companies are having difficulties adapting to electronic invoices, but he believes that these companies have an option in “cloud computing” (cloud computing, in a free translation, technology that makes software available via the internet) .

Large investments, however, can end up costing small companies. For José Maria Chapina Alcazar, president of the Union of Accounting Service Companies of São Paulo (Sescon-SP), the NF-e can increase spending mainly for small companies. "For small companies it is an investment with no return," says Chapina.

The difficulty of micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, as well as the convenience and security for large companies, is a market opportunity observed by the Central for Custody of Electronic Documents (CCDE). Motivated by the demand of large companies in the sectors that already suffer the mandatory issuance of NF-e, CCDE appears on the market as a visionary company of a scenario that must suffer with the “hidden costs of NF-e”, according to Flávio Richieri, director-general of CCDE.

"Some companies needed to expand their tax area by more than 10% just to correct errors and validate notes with bank managers," says Richieri. This activity, observed for now among large companies, could be fatal for micro and small companies, for example.

The company, which provides services for the storage and distribution of electronic documents, is currently carrying out the last phase of its pre-operational project serving a large client that demands the management of more than 1 million monthly invoices. For Richieri, this is the final proof that the company will be able to handle large volumes and reach the established goal of earning R $ 50 million by 2012.

“For small and medium-sized companies, the most important thing is the offer of custody and availability of documents”, explains Richieri, who calls attention to the fact that the major problem of NF-e in companies is in the rework it generates, a time it is sent via email to customers. The management of these documents internally and the resending of these notes has been the great trap of this resource that aims to optimize tax processes in the country.

“Usually those who emit a lot have a lot of recipients”, explains Richieri. The executive points out that there are already savings identified from the service of custody of invoices. "Avoiding additional hiring to serve stakeholders" is one, according to Richieri.

According to Marco Zanini, from NFe do Brasil, the Cloud NF-e solution will represent 30% of the company's revenue this year, and the plan is to reach 70% of the revenue in two years. "Cloud computing is revolutionary because it allows the user to choose the best and most appropriate solution for their needs," he commented.

TI

In the Information Technology (IT) sector, companies also feed expectations with NF-e. Alexandre Trevisan, president of Trevisan Tecnologia, a company management software company, says that 80% of its customer base has already joined the NF-e and expects a 15% revenue increase this year. "The main gain was in customer loyalty," he says. The invoice management module was incorporated into the products of its customer base, which took priority over winning new customers with the product.

The executive who serves companies such as operator TIM and Braspress, says that the scope of the NF-e module has grown more among small and medium-sized companies.

An initiative aimed at micro and small companies makes Intelecta, a company that provides management software, expected to grow by 35% this year, also due to the wide implementation of NF-e. “The accounting offices are generalists and fall short of the companies' demand,” says Francisco Fernandes, director of Relationship and New Business at the company. Intelecta has revenues of more than R $ 8 million and for 15 years it has a history based on its relationship with micro and small companies.

The implementation of the electronic invoice in the country should extend to more than 2 million companies. Of these, 1,88 million have fewer than 100 employees. Taking the last month of December, about 2,5 million documents, on average, are issued daily - more than 32% of this volume in the state of São Paulo.

With a goal of billing R $ 50 million in its second year of existence, in 2012, the Electronic Document Custody Center (CCDE) enters the electronic invoice (NF-e) market, responsible for R $ 13,4 trillion in the middle of last year here. The company plans to guarantee availability of these documents, which are now sent by email, and follows the information technology market, which also celebrates advances in the implementation of the NF-e, in which some companies are expected to grow 35% in the year.

On the other hand, large investments to adapt to the new banknote system can burden small companies, according to José Maria Chapina, president of the Union of Accounting Services Companies of São Paulo (Sescon-SP).

For Flávio Richieri, director general of CCDE, some companies have already had to expand the tax area by more than 10%, “just to validate notes with bank managers.” These changes, observed by the executive in large networks, can be fatal to micro and small.