DIGITAL Penang is set to organise a free workshop on e-invoicing to raise awareness among small businesses, especially those run by hawkers, freelancers, and micro enterprises this month.
Its SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) and community development director, Khooi Chu Boon, shared that the organisation has been conducting workshops on e-invoicing since June last year.
Khooi shared that the workshop consists of two programmes. The first one focuses on raising awareness about e-invoicing, including its importance in business operations.
“Meanwhile, the second programme covers the technical aspects of implementing e-invoicing.
“The workshop will be held on July 24 at Digital Penang’s office in the Yeap Chor Ee building. It is open to all, including those running or planning to start a business.
“Currently, some 60 participants have registered for this upcoming programme. We are collaborating with BigPos to conduct this workshop,” Khooi told Buletin Mutiara yesterday (July 14).
Khooi added that Digital Penang has been conducting a series of e-invoicing workshops, mainly targeting general businesses. However, the upcoming session is specially aimed at small-time businesses.
“The majority of e-invoice solution providers available today are more suited for businesses that operate from shops. For example, in a sundry shop, the number of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) can range from 100 to 1,000.
“However, for hawkers, the number of items is usually fewer than 10.
“Their operations are simpler, so we have asked our partner solution providers to design a more user-friendly system tailored to their needs which can be setup by a non-technical person.
“The solution is easy to use, with all information stored in the cloud. At the end of the month, users can simply print the data and submit them to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN),” he added.
It is learned that, the LHDN has announced that businesses with an annual revenue or sales below RM500,000 are temporarily exempt from adopting e-invoices.
Apart from that, Khooi said that Digital Penang had also previously organised a financial literacy programme for hawkers in partnership with Allianz Bank.
“However, the response was not encouraging. The purpose of the financial literacy programme was to help participants understand basic accounting rules, tax planning, and savings.
“As a state government agency, we do not wait for instructions from the government to organise programmes like these. Instead, we take the initiative and act proactively.
“Following the upcoming workshop, the organisation will continue to hold sessions to share the latest updates from LHDN,” he said.
Khooi also shared that Digital Penang does not recommend any particular solution providers, but works with them to showcase available options. After the workshop, participants can engage directly with the vendors.
“From Digital Penang’s perspective, what we ask our partners is about the impact, specifically, how many participants have signed up for the service. So that, we do a report based on the numbers,” he added.
Touching on other initiatives, Khooi said Digital Penang is also organising free workshops (SME Level Up) for SMEs to strengthen their web presence, having already conducted sessions for 180 companies.
“We teach these companies, business model canvas, content creation, digital marketing, branding, copy writing, videography and photography.
“I believe that in today’s era, if someone is running a business, people should at least be able to find it online with basic information and a way to get in touch,” he said.
Khooi also shared that one of Digital Penang’s popular programmes is the DahDigital classes for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the community
“The classes are free and open to all, and we have received good response, especially from senior citizens. These classes are held across Penang.
“We also get strong support from NGOs and the public. In these sessions, we teach participants how to use e-wallets, create email accounts, use Canva, and more.
“Our requirement from the NGOs is that if there are around 25 to 30 participants and a venue is provided, we can organise the DahDigital classes on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis,” Khooi said.
Another major event by Digital Penang is the ‘Penang Digital Economy Summit’, which will be held on Aug 9 at Gurney Hotel. The summit will focus on the future of the digital economy.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Alissala Thian