The process of creating paperless offices has advanced enormously in most larger companies, but a major hurdle is still suppliers–often smaller concerns that have not developed electronic invoicing capabilities and still use old-fashioned paper catalogs to describe their products and services. Now Basware Corp., a leading purchase-to-pay software provider based in Finland, is launching Basware Connectivity that aims to remedy that problem.

The new product allows buyers to make purchases via a Basware portal, which suppliers can access free in exchange for sending electronic invoices, says Robert Cohen, Basware's director of marketing. Smaller suppliers still using paper invoices would be able to either key invoices in on a pay-to-use portal or have them scanned in by Basware and forwarded to the buyer.

The "pay as you go" system offers an advantage in the current era of tight budgets, says Esa Tihil?, Basware's senior vice president of global operations, who says that cost savings estimates for both suppliers and buyers range from "70% to 90% by switching from paper to electronic transactions."