Australian-founded eInvoicing provider Link4 is marking 10 years in business, reflecting on a decade of industry change that began with a goal of removing unnecessary manual work from the exchange and processing of invoices.
Co-founders Robin Sands and Sam Hassan established Link4 in 2016 to address a gap between cloud accounting systems and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms.
Their vision was to enable businesses of different sizes, using different financial systems, to exchange invoice information electronically without fundamentally changing how they operated.
From the outset, Link4 connected widely used cloud accounting platforms, including Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB, with enterprise environments. Its first significant customer was an enterprise organisation using SAP, demonstrating early on that its technology could support more than small-business accounting systems.
“Link4 was created to address a practical gap between the cloud accounting systems used by many suppliers and the ERP platforms used by larger organisations,” said Link4 Co-founder and CEO Robin Sands. “We wanted to make it easier for businesses to trade electronically, regardless of the financial system on either side of the transaction.”
Building connections as eInvoicing emerged
When Link4 was established, eInvoicing was still an emerging concept, and gaining support from established accounting software providers was not always straightforward.
Although many providers did not initially view eInvoicing as a significant market, access to their application programming interfaces (APIs) allowed Link4 to build the necessary connections and demonstrate their commercial value.
An important early validation came from a global enterprise that recognised how Link4’s approach could make it easier for customers to trade with the company while reducing the manual handling of invoices.
“A global enterprise told us that what we were building was exactly what they were looking for,” said Link4 Co-founder and CTO Sam Hassan. “They wanted to make it easier for their customers to trade with them instead of continuing to handle invoices manually. That confirmed there was a genuine enterprise need for the connection we were creating.”
Evolving with digital invoicing requirements
As eInvoicing became increasingly embedded within financial systems and government frameworks, Link4 evolved alongside the market.
The company supported the development of digital economies in an advisory capacity while also receiving fintech, entrepreneurial and technology startup awards across the Asia-Pacific region.
The changing eInvoicing landscape also altered the role of providers such as Link4. As eInvoicing frameworks developed, companies increasingly required comprehensive technology partners capable of addressing invoice exchange, system integration and market-specific compliance requirements.
This experience shaped Link4’s approach of turning complex eInvoicing, integration and regulatory requirements into practical solutions that work within customers’ existing environments.
Connecting businesses to the global Peppol network
Today, Link4 helps organisations connect to the global Peppol eInvoicing network while supporting compliance with market-specific digital invoicing and reporting requirements.
Its work increasingly sits at the intersection of enterprise software, government compliance infrastructure and international digital trade.
The company’s development has also been supported by the complementary expertise of its two co-founders.
As CEO, Sands leads Link4’s commercial strategy, international business development and strategic partnerships, drawing on more than two decades of experience in enterprise software and market development.
As CTO, Hassan leads the company’s technology strategy, architecture and product delivery, applying more than 25 years of technology experience to the compliance and interoperability requirements faced by governments and enterprises.
Preparing for the next stage of digital trade
Reflecting on Link4’s first decade, Sands said the company had helped demonstrate the potential of eInvoicing to connect businesses operating across different financial systems.
“Looking back after 10 years in business, we believe Link4 helped change the industry,” Sands said. “We demonstrated early that eInvoicing could connect the accounting systems used by suppliers with the enterprise platforms used by their customers. The industry has moved a long way since then, and so have we.”
Link4’s next phase will build on the experience, technology and relationships developed during its first decade, while extending its international capabilities as eInvoicing mandates, digital compliance requirements and connected trade accelerate across the Asia-Pacific region.
After 10 years in business, Link4 enters its next chapter with an established technology foundation, an experienced leadership team and a clear understanding of its role as digital trade becomes increasingly connected, regulated and global.
