What is Peppol?

Do you know what is Peppol? By now, electronic invoicing is the future of commerce and fiscal management, and more and more countries around the world are adopting it as mandatory. As a matter of fact, the United States has finished the pilot project inspired in this environment. The objective of the Business Payment Coalition (BPC) is to promote the use of electronic means B2G and B2B by standardizing the process used to exchange electronic documents at a national and international level.

Therefore and given the latest law developments, all companies, regardless of their size, must have the tools to smooth the path towards a more automated way to process their data. Precisely thanks to Peppol, sending and receiving electronic invoices quickly, securely and standardized with companies around the world is now a reality.

Do you want to know more about this digital revolution? Read on and we’ll tell you all about it.

What is Peppol?

Peppol (Pan European Public Procurement) is an international network that allows companies around the world to exchange electronic documents securely, easily, and according to a common standard, adapted to the needs of each country. The European Commission launched it in 2008 as a pilot project.

Therefore and according to its website peppol.org, Peppol is not an e-procurement platform, but it provides a set of technical specifications that companies can implement in their existing e-procurement solutions and e-commerce exchange services. This implementation makes these solutions and services interoperable between disparate systems in Europe and around the world. Overall, the PEPPOL network facilitates the exchange of standards-based electronic documents between trading partners.

OpenPeppol initiative

OpenPeppol is a non-profit organisation made up of members from both the public and private sectors. The aim of this entity is to enable European public sector purchaser in their procurement processes, thereby increasing opportunities for greater competition for government contracts and providing better value for taxpayer’s money. To this end, it works by serving as a benchmark, ensuring the quality of standards and technologies.

This organisation works in collaboration with Peppol to promote and facilitate the adaptation of the standards of this network, as well as to manage the technical aspects.

How does Peppol work?

This is an interesting point, Peppol’s operation is based on the fact that any company registered in this secure network can communicate with any other company regardless of its location. This is achieved thanks to Peppol’s four corners model, which makes communications between all participants compatible, even if they are from different countries. Let’s see how it works:

Certified Peppol Access Point

For companies to be able to exchange electronic documents through this environment, they must be registered in a Peppol Access Point, which acts similarly to a mailbox. It is where documents are sent, received and registered:

  • Corner 1: Sender of the invoice.
  • Corner 2: This is the Peppol Access Point, where the issuer of the electronic invoices (or other documents) is registered.
  • Corner 3: This is the Peppol Access Point, where the receiver of the electronic invoices (or other documents) is registered.
  • Corner 4: This is the invoice receiver.

Other interesting points about how the Peppol network works:

  • Each Peppol Access Point ensures security and compliance with the internal rules of this network.
  • The sender and receiver can use the same Peppol Access Point or a different one at their convenience.

SML Peppol

The Peppol SML (Service Metadata Locator) is a part of the infrastructure where information about participants (already registered in a Peppol Access Point) and the capabilities they must have (documents and communications they can support) is stored.

Peppol BIS 3 format

The format used in Peppol is the UBL format, also known as Peppol BIS 3 (Business Interoperability Specifications). This format has been defined as a global standard, to make it easier for all companies from different countries to exchange their electronic documents.

What are the benefits of using this network?

Peppol has many benefits for companies and organisations using this network. This is evidenced by the growing number of countries adopting mandatory electronic invoicing with Peppol standards and processes. For example:

It is an open, secure and standardized environment (common use of the UBL format), which allows companies to exchange electronic documents such as invoices, orders, and delivery notes with any participant, both nationally and internationally, and with the public administration of countries in the European Union and others around the world. In addition, it avoids the risks of identity theft, document forgery to other digital scams, thanks to the standards and validations imposed by the Peppol network.

How to register on Peppol?

To use Peppol, a company must register with a certified Peppol Access Point. B2Brouter is one of them and allows you to send free electronic invoices, through Peppol, to other national companies.

Besides, it is important to note that to access the Peppol network, you must register at an Access Point with a service provider. You cannot access Peppol directly.

Once registered in an Access Point, you must inform your Peppol identifier. This identifier can be your company identifier (NIF) and acts as a document routing code, so that transactions reach the correct recipient.

How to send an electronic invoice through Peppol network?

After registering at a certified Peppol Access Point and registering your Peppol ID, you can start sending your electronic invoices. To do so, you have to consider the following:

  1. The format used in the Peppol network is UBL. This means that you must generate and send your electronic documents in this format.
  2. In the electronic documents you send, you must always include the Peppol ID of the recipient. This allows your electronic documents to be transferred correctly.

B2Brouter: Peppol Service Provider

At B2Brouter we are committed to progress and to offer quality technologies to our customers. Access Peppol easily, free (national shipments) and securely with B2Brouter, one of the first certified Peppol Access Points.

With our solution, you can manage your invoices and electronic documents from the online application, or you can also integrate your management system or ERP. Doing this, you are able to automate all the processes of issuing and receiving, as well as the exchange of status changes of your invoices and other documents.

Manage your electronic invoice for free through Peppol!