Intercompany Service Charging

Why you should automate your service charging now

Many companies, especially in the SME sector, still use manual processes for charging intercompany services. These methods often involve extensive Excel spreadsheets and manual data collection and consolidation, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Small changes within the company can cause an enormous amount of work and often there is a lack of transparency, which makes end-2-end traceability difficult or impossible. In addition, these processes are heavily dependent on the people involved and their specific expertise, which poses additional risks if these key employees are absent or leave the company.

Technological solutions

Modern software solutions offer an effective answer to these challenges. By automating intercompany service charging, companies can score points in the following areas:

• Data integration: Automated solutions integrate data from different sources and consolidate it centrally, reducing manual data entry and significantly minimizing errors.
• Standardization: Processes are standardized, which improves the consistency and comparability of charging. Standardized documents and reports facilitate understanding and traceability.
• Time savings: Routine tasks that used to take days can now be completed in minutes, freeing up employees to focus on other value-adding activities.
• Reduction of person-specific dependencies: Automated systems reduce the dependency on specific individuals and their expertise by storing knowledge and processes in the software. This ensures continuity and consistency, even when key employees leave.

Success stories based on real-life experience

The experience of leading companies such as Hannover Re and ElringKlinger impressively demonstrates the benefits of automating intercompany service charging. By introducing modern software solutions, companies have been able to drastically reduce their manual workload and significantly increase efficiency.

In practice, the implementation of such solutions led to centralized data storage and standardized, automated charging processes. This enabled a considerable reduction in effort and an increase in process accuracy. The companies reported significant time savings, as routine tasks can now be completed in just a few minutes at the touch of a button.

Another significant advantage is the increased transparency and end-to-end traceability. Automated systems make it possible to seamlessly integrate and automatically consolidate data from different sources. No manual editing and conversion. This creates consistency and continuity with regard to the database, which simplifies both internal and external audits.

The companies also benefited from the flexibility of the solutions, which allowed them to quickly adapt to new legal framework conditions and changing corporate structures. The ability to map changes in the organizational structure and the accounting rules at any time in historical form helped to ensure that the accounting processes always met the current requirements and that compliance was guaranteed at all times.

Compliance and tax risks

Compliance with legal regulations in the area of transfer pricing is essential for multinational companies. Manual accounting processes make end-2-end traceability difficult, which increases the risk of compliance violations. Tax authorities around the world are increasingly checking compliance with transfer pricing requirements and imposing severe penalties for violations.

Automated solutions also offer a clear advantage here. The standardization and automation of processes ensures compliance with legal requirements and drastically minimizes the likelihood of errors. Automated systems provide a clear and comprehensible basis for documentation. This significantly reduces the risk of penalties.

Conclusion

The digitalization of intercompany service charging is a crucial step towards increasing efficiency, accuracy and transparency in this important process. By integrating modern software solutions, companies can not only optimize their internal processes, but also ensure compliance with legal regulations. Automation is the key to more efficient and transparent billing of intercompany services, which can ultimately lead to significant time and cost savings. The success stories clearly demonstrate how companies benefit from implementing such solutions while minimizing compliance risks and reducing personal dependencies.