Argentinian software consultancy APG Consulting enters Bolivia

Argentinian professional services firm APG Consulting has expanded into Bolivia, growing its presence in Latin America to six countries. 

Founded in 2003, APG Consulting is a software consultancy that supports its clients with digitizing procurement and finance, and with document management. The firm’s Comfiar solution allows organizations to generate, send and store invoices in a robust and safe environment, while supporting procurement, finance and regulatory processes. APG Consulting’s AFM solution is a document management system (DMS) that helps companies with organizing, managing and securing documents in a standardized environment.

Across Latin America, APG Consulting currently over 1,000 customers, with Bolivia the next market targeted as part of the firm’s strategy to lift its client base to over 1,500 in the coming years. The expansion follows on previous forays into Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru. Headquartered in Buenos Aires, the IT consulting firm has around 80 employees. 

The move comes at a time when electronic invoicing is a major theme in Bolivia. In March of this year, the country’s National Tax Service (SIN – Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales) is implementing new regulation that advocates electronic invoicing. For companies, this means that they need to adopt e-invoicing of not already in place, and for those that currently do use the feature, changes may be required in system setup, processes, data management or governance. 

APG Consulting is aiming at implementing its Comfiar solution, which has been tailored to meet SIN’s requirements, at both private and public sector organizations in Bolivia. Meanwhile, companies that already have a system in place can tap the Argentinian-origin consultancy for software services and change management support. According to Matías Cherepinsky, commercial manager of APG Consulting, organizations must not only look at the technical side of electronic invoicing, but also keep the cultural side of change in mind. Employees in procurement and finance will need to adopt new ways of working, meaning that they need to receive training and coaching in order to successfully complete their new tasks.

According to Daniel Ayoroa, a legal manager at Agentax, electronic invoicing still is in its infancy in Bolivia. Organizations therefore are open to bringing in the expertise of experts that have an established track record gained abroad, where e-invoicing is more mature. He added that he believes the approach can lead to a major modernization of procurement and tax functions throughout the country.

Earlier this month, accounting and consulting firm BDO also entered the Bolivian market with the addition of KPI Auditores y Consultores to its global member firm network. In December last year, Tufiño Villegas, which has offices in La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, joined Andersen Global’s international association.