All companies and freelancers that have economic activity in the Basque Country will be obliged to use the digital billing system, TicketBAI. Each Provincial Treasury has established different implementation calendars, and although it will not be mandatory until between 2022 and 2024, depending on the Provincial Council, prior periods of voluntary adherence have been foreseen, as well as aid and tax incentives to implement a technological solution adapted to this new system.
One of the software companies most involved in this project is Wolters Kluwer. To clear doubts about TicketBAI, from MuyPymes we have spoken with Francesc Núñez, ERP and Management Product Manager at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting in Spain.
Very SMEs: Wolters Kluwer has participated in the TicketBAI pilot project, what has this collaboration consisted of and how did it develop?
Francesc Núñez: Since the TicketBAI project was announced, Wolters Kluwer began to work together with the three Provincial Councils of the Basque Country to provide, as a technological provider, our technical and functional vision of this system and the software necessary to carry it out. We have also participated in the pilot test to go detecting strengths and improvement points in its implementation. In parallel, from the first moment we began to work to adapt our different software solutions to this regulation, since it is one of our main challenges, to always offer our clients the best solutions adapted to legal change. For months we have been part of the list of guarantor software with which the Basque Government certifies compliance with TicketBAI regulations.
In all these months of work, the real difficulty of the project has become evident, which has largely caused the delay in the mandatory implementation recently announced by Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa. The business fabric of the Basque Country is very broad and diverse, and the great challenge that still lies ahead for everyone (Administration and suppliers) is to guarantee that all those who are obliged to comply with the regulations do so.
Apart from having to equip themselves with software, the most complicated aspect is that TicketBAI will require that all companies have a digital certificate for signing your invoices, a requirement that will affect large companies, SMEs and the self-employed alike.
MuyPymes: The different councils have established different calendars for the mandatory implementation of TicketBAI, but all of them have given an adaptation period. Do you notice that Basque companies are taking advantage to test this system or are they somewhat more relaxed?
Francesc Núñez: The different delays on the part of the Provincial Treasuries in the obligatory nature of TicketBAI has meant a relaxation in the urgency and concern of the companies to implement it. It is true that all have a voluntary adaptation period with tax incentives. It is still too early to assess this voluntariness, but in the coming months we will see if the incentives finally help to speed up this process, because it really is key to arriving on time.
Companies cannot relax In the implementation of TicketBAI, now it is necessary to take advantage of this extra time to be better prepared. In addition, we also have European Funds, which will become the opportunity and stimulus that small and medium Spanish companies need to channel their necessary digital transformation and from which the project to adapt to TicketBAI can also benefit.
Very SMEs: There are SMEs and freelancers that still do invoices by hand, could they take advantage of this system to start digitizing?
Francesc Núñez: Without a doubt, today digitization is mandatory. Companies have no alternative but to look for software that manages invoicing digitally and automatically. But from Wolters Kluwer We recommend that you do not stay there, that you go further to comply with the norm and take the opportunity to implement a software that gives them a plus of digitization and added value in the management of their company, since it will mean a competitive improvement that can mean many future benefits.
We are talking, for example, of having a cloud software, to have all the information in the cloud and to be able to carry out a more agile management, but also of the POS, the electronic store or a CRM, among many others. It is also important to mention that the majority of SMEs and freelancers delegate part of the management of their businesses to consultancies and professional offices, so a software that allows them to work in an integrated way would also be of enormous value to exchange information in an automated, immediate way. and without errors.
MuyPymes: What is the most appropriate method for companies to comply with this regulation correctly?
Francesc Núñez: The first, to be very well informed and look for a software that complies with the regulations without interfering with the business, that has all the information in the cloud, that is updated automatically, make it safe and with technical support. But then, they would have to go a step further, as I mentioned, and think about what other needs or improvements a software could bring to the company, at the sales or customer relationship level, for example. Throughout this process, the professional office can be an important help to advance in the process, both of digitization and improvement of the relationship with it.
MuyPymes: What advantages will this process provide the Basque industrial fabric?
Francesc Núñez: The objective of TicketBAI is to fight against tax fraud, controlling the issuance of invoices in a transparent way, as well as the traceability of all sales movements issued by natural and legal persons with tax headquarters in the Basque Country. The main advantage of its implementation is that promotes equal competition between companies and, in addition, it will allow a part of the economy that was not under control to emerge, increasing free competition between companies.
But it will go further. The implementation of TicketBAI is a process that will help digitize the Basque business fabric and thereby undoubtedly increase its competitiveness compared to other regions that are further behind in this regard. In the not too distant future, electronic invoicing will be mandatory throughout Spain, as is already the case in other European countries, and in this sense the companies of the Basque Country will already be ahead.
