Paperless Billing Is Cheaper than Paper. Right?

According to a study done by a Danish company Natur-Energi A/S, paperless billing may be more expensive than paper.

Natur-Energi is a utility company which produces all of its electricity from renewable sources. They conducted a study to see how sending invoices via paper vs. via email would impact on-time payments. They tracked how the invoice was sent, and if and how a first and a second reminder were sent.

The result was that 59% of customers that received the invoice via email had to be reminded compared to only 29% of those who received it on paper. In addition, helpline calls increased significantly from those who were sent email invoices, putting a strain on the customer service department. A common response was that they hadn’t seen the email invoice. “Maybe it’s in the SPAM folder.”

Bottom line, the study found that it cost Natur-Energi $3.25 per customer for paper vs $5.75 per customer for email.

Source: Can paper bills be more cost-effective than e-bills?