Hokkaido's First Municipality! Date City Digitizes Transactions with Businesses, Aiming for Cost Reduction by Abolishing Stamp Duty and Reducing Postage Fees
InforMart Corporation announced that Date City, Hokkaido, has become the first municipality in Hokkaido to introduce its 'BtoB Platform Invoice,' 'BtoB Platform Contract,' and 'BtoB Platform TRADE' services, starting April 1, 2026. This initiative targets approximately 300 frequent business partners and allows them to use the services free of charge, aiming to streamline administrative tasks and reduce costs for both the city and its business partners by eliminating paper-based processes.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 1, 2026 at 20:10
- 🔍 Collected: May 1, 2026 at 11:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 2, 2026 at 01:35 (14h 4m after Collected)
InforMart Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Shin Kimura; hereinafter 'the Company'), which streamlines all operations with the power of digital technology, announced that its 'BtoB Platform Invoice,' 'BtoB Platform Contract,' and 'BtoB Platform TRADE' services have been introduced in Date City, Hokkaido (Mayor: Keita Horii; hereinafter 'Date City'), becoming the first municipality in Hokkaido to do so, with usage starting from April 1, 2026. Approximately 300 companies with high transaction frequency are targeted, and businesses can use the services free of charge (*1).
(*1) Excludes cases where a paid plan has already been applied for or some optional services (extended functions) are being used.
Background of Introduction
In Date City, while the electronic approval process was being promoted with the replacement of the public accounting system as an opportunity, invoice and contract operations remained largely paper-based. This led to administrative burdens related to stamping, mailing, and storage, in addition to the newly increased workload of scanning. Businesses also expressed concerns about invisible, ongoing costs such as stamp duty for contracts, postage fees, and the effort required for original document management, which sometimes affected payment lead times.
Under these circumstances, the decision was made to introduce the 'BtoB Platform,' comprehensively evaluating its ability to use electronic invoicing and electronic contracts on a single platform, its capability for API integration with internal systems, and its track record of being utilized by many businesses.
Electronic invoicing eliminates the need for mailing and enables rapid rejections, while electronic contracts eliminate stamp duty, leading to direct cost reduction effects for businesses. Furthermore, by making its use optional, an environment has been created where small and medium-sized businesses can gradually participate without undue burden.
Key Factors for Introduction
1. Digitization of invoices and contracts completed on a single platform
The ability to manage all forms, such as invoices and contracts, within the 'BtoB Platform,' and to digitize ordering, contracting, and invoicing in a one-stop manner was highly evaluated.
2. API integration with public accounting systems
The 'BtoB Platform' can be integrated via API with various public accounting systems. The automatic digital data linkage of invoice information eliminates the effort and errors of transcribing to the public accounting system, which was a key point for expecting operational efficiency.
3. Utilization of the New Regional Economy and Living Environment Creation Grant
The 'BtoB Platform' is eligible for the digital implementation type of the 'New Regional Economy and Living Environment Creation Grant,' and the ability to suppress the cost burden during introduction was also a factor in the decision.
Expected Effects of Introduction
1. Cost reduction through digitization
Expected cost reductions include the abolition of stamp duty through electronic contracts and the reduction of postage fees. Furthermore, it will lead to the reduction of invisible costs such as original document management and reconciliation tasks that were previously performed manually.
2. Drastic efficiency improvement of staff's administrative work
By integrating the public accounting system used by Date City with 'BtoB Platform Invoice' via API, invoice information will be automatically reflected in the system. This will significantly shorten the time required for staff to manually create and confirm expenditure orders.
3. Reduction of burden on businesses
Since a series of transaction processes can be completed digitally, associated tasks such as printing and enclosing for invoice processing, original document storage, and resending due to rejections become unnecessary. Furthermore, the lead time until payment is expected to be shortened by 1 to 2 days within the city and 2 to 3 days for outside the city.
*Image: Date City staff using the 'BtoB Platform'*
Future Developments
Date City has sent invitations to use the 'BtoB Platform' to approximately 300 companies out of all about 1,000 business partners, targeting those with high transaction frequency. As of April 2026, 112 companies have completed registration. Moving forward, the city aims to progressively digitize forms for businesses that are proactive in DX, with the ultimate goal of completing all transactions with businesses digitally. Additionally, by continuously improving the operational efficiency of its staff, the city plans to allocate resources to higher value-added administrative services.
Comment from Date City's Representative
The expectation for the introduction of this service is not only the efficiency of administrative work but also the reduction of burden on businesses and the improvement of operational speed through the utilization of electronic invoicing and electronic contracts. Electronic invoicing enables the entire process from document creation to submission to be completed online, reducing mailing costs and the risk of delayed submissions. Electronic contracts eliminate stamp duty and are expected to shorten the period until contract conclusion. We believe these are significant practical benefits, especially for local small and medium-sized businesses.
As for future prospects, we will first steadily expand the use in the invoicing and contract fields, accumulate successful cases, and eventually include purchase orders and delivery notes.
(*1) Excludes cases where a paid plan has already been applied for or some optional services (extended functions) are being used.
Background of Introduction
In Date City, while the electronic approval process was being promoted with the replacement of the public accounting system as an opportunity, invoice and contract operations remained largely paper-based. This led to administrative burdens related to stamping, mailing, and storage, in addition to the newly increased workload of scanning. Businesses also expressed concerns about invisible, ongoing costs such as stamp duty for contracts, postage fees, and the effort required for original document management, which sometimes affected payment lead times.
Under these circumstances, the decision was made to introduce the 'BtoB Platform,' comprehensively evaluating its ability to use electronic invoicing and electronic contracts on a single platform, its capability for API integration with internal systems, and its track record of being utilized by many businesses.
Electronic invoicing eliminates the need for mailing and enables rapid rejections, while electronic contracts eliminate stamp duty, leading to direct cost reduction effects for businesses. Furthermore, by making its use optional, an environment has been created where small and medium-sized businesses can gradually participate without undue burden.
Key Factors for Introduction
1. Digitization of invoices and contracts completed on a single platform
The ability to manage all forms, such as invoices and contracts, within the 'BtoB Platform,' and to digitize ordering, contracting, and invoicing in a one-stop manner was highly evaluated.
2. API integration with public accounting systems
The 'BtoB Platform' can be integrated via API with various public accounting systems. The automatic digital data linkage of invoice information eliminates the effort and errors of transcribing to the public accounting system, which was a key point for expecting operational efficiency.
3. Utilization of the New Regional Economy and Living Environment Creation Grant
The 'BtoB Platform' is eligible for the digital implementation type of the 'New Regional Economy and Living Environment Creation Grant,' and the ability to suppress the cost burden during introduction was also a factor in the decision.
Expected Effects of Introduction
1. Cost reduction through digitization
Expected cost reductions include the abolition of stamp duty through electronic contracts and the reduction of postage fees. Furthermore, it will lead to the reduction of invisible costs such as original document management and reconciliation tasks that were previously performed manually.
2. Drastic efficiency improvement of staff's administrative work
By integrating the public accounting system used by Date City with 'BtoB Platform Invoice' via API, invoice information will be automatically reflected in the system. This will significantly shorten the time required for staff to manually create and confirm expenditure orders.
3. Reduction of burden on businesses
Since a series of transaction processes can be completed digitally, associated tasks such as printing and enclosing for invoice processing, original document storage, and resending due to rejections become unnecessary. Furthermore, the lead time until payment is expected to be shortened by 1 to 2 days within the city and 2 to 3 days for outside the city.
*Image: Date City staff using the 'BtoB Platform'*
Future Developments
Date City has sent invitations to use the 'BtoB Platform' to approximately 300 companies out of all about 1,000 business partners, targeting those with high transaction frequency. As of April 2026, 112 companies have completed registration. Moving forward, the city aims to progressively digitize forms for businesses that are proactive in DX, with the ultimate goal of completing all transactions with businesses digitally. Additionally, by continuously improving the operational efficiency of its staff, the city plans to allocate resources to higher value-added administrative services.
Comment from Date City's Representative
The expectation for the introduction of this service is not only the efficiency of administrative work but also the reduction of burden on businesses and the improvement of operational speed through the utilization of electronic invoicing and electronic contracts. Electronic invoicing enables the entire process from document creation to submission to be completed online, reducing mailing costs and the risk of delayed submissions. Electronic contracts eliminate stamp duty and are expected to shorten the period until contract conclusion. We believe these are significant practical benefits, especially for local small and medium-sized businesses.
As for future prospects, we will first steadily expand the use in the invoicing and contract fields, accumulate successful cases, and eventually include purchase orders and delivery notes.