SURREY County Council has joined forces with East Sussex to launch a paperless billing service designed to save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

The new electronic system due to be introduced next month will cut costs by automating most of the invoicing and payment process.

It is estimated using the technology should save the councils around £180,000 annually within three years by slashing time spent on completing and processing around 125,000 invoices annually.

It should also benefit businesses by cutting their invoicing costs by up to 40 percent, according to research by the National e-Invoicing Forum.

Surrey and Sussex plan to introduce the online e-invoicing system provided by Taulia in phases through their joint Orbis venture, starting with the 2,400 top suppliers.

Denise Le Gal, Surrey’s cabinet member for business services, said: “With our budgets under pressure, this is another great example of technology helping us work more efficiently while also saving businesses time and money.”