Ako City to implement BtoB digital invoicing in 2026

Ako City in Hyogo Prefecture will implement the ‘BtoB Platform Invoice’ service starting in October 2026 to promote regional digital transformation (DX). The move aims to address significant administrative burdens caused by manual processes. Currently, the city's accounting department handles approximately 35,000 paper invoices annually, requiring about 3,500 hours of labor for tasks such as sorting, opening, and manual data entry.

By adopting Infomart, Inc.’s cloud-based service, the city intends to automate the link between its financial accounting system and invoice processing. This transition is expected to reduce manual errors, ensure compliance with the invoice system and Electronic Bookkeeping Act, and lower costs for both the municipality and its business partners by eliminating printing and postage expenses.

City officials noted that while transitioning to electronic workflows presents a learning curve for staff, a complete shift to digital is preferable to a long-term hybrid system of paper and electronic documents. The initiative is also intended to help local businesses improve their competitiveness through increased digitalization.