Using Peppol for B2B invoicing and data exchange

Peppol stands for Pan-European Public Procurement Online. This is an international network operated by the non-profit organization OpenPeppol. Organizations use the network to exchange documents with each other as part of electronic procurement processes.

From the origins to the status quo

Peppol was originally developed from a desire to make public sector tenders more accessible for SMEs across borders in the European Union. Organizations such as public administrations, authorities and other companies in the B2G sector still use Peppol as their preferred network for exchanging documents. What’s more, since October 2023, public sector authorities in Germany have even been required by law to join the Peppol network.

Objectives and benefits of Peppol

The broad objective of Peppol is to provide a technical infrastructure that standardizes and harmonizes the exchange of documents in international e-procurement processes between companies and authorities. This has has some major benefits:

• Peppol transmits all documents as part of procurement processes and digitally manages all electronic correspondence online.
• Peppol standardizes the transmission channel for documents so that it complies with applicable regulations and standards in different countries.
• Peppol enables automated electronic transmission of documents from machine to machine (M2M), which in turn reduces operator errors.
• Peppol makes document exchange between organizations more efficient, for example, by supporting bulk exports of electronic invoices.

This makes Peppol the only transmission channel that exchanges data automatically from machine to machine and enables the bulk export of electronic invoices (eInvoices).

A good way to think of Peppol is as a network. This means that you can use Peppol to send procurement documents electronically, including invoices, supplier confirmations or catalogs between senders and recipients.

Both parties on this network have to be connected to the German federal ZRE and OZG-RE eInvoice portals:

• ZRE stands for central invoice submission portal [Zentrale Rechnungseingangsportal] -- sometimes referred to as CISP in English. Suppliers, service providers and other business parties forward eInvoices to the direct federal administration via ZRE.
  
• OZG-RE stands for OZG-compliant invoice entry platform [Onlinezugangsgesetz-konforme Rechnungseingangsplattform]. For this platform, the recipient is either an indirect federal administration or an institution of a cooperating federal state.

Technical principles and standards

Organizations exchange data through Peppol’s eDelivery network, accessing it via Peppol access points, primarily operated by private sector organizations. Each access point assigns a Peppol ID to a company, which is then used to register in the eDelivery network. Data exchange within this network follows a 4-corner model, which includes the following components:

• the sender,
• the Peppol access point of the sender,
• the recipient and
• the recipient's Peppol access point.

The Peppol process: from sender to recipient

In the 4-corner model, the process of sending an eInvoice between the invoice sender and invoice recipient might look like the following example:

1. The sender sends the eInvoice to their own access point, and provides the recipient's Peppol ID.
2. The eInvoice is then sent from the sender's access point to the recipient’s access point, based on the recipient’s Peppol ID.
3. The recipient's invoice receipt platform receives the eInvoice for inbound invoice processing.

Security and compliance on the Peppol network

Peppol transmits data in the B2B and B2G environments under the highest security standards. Data protection regulations are met at all times when sending documents – even to access points. You can identify authorized access points based on the Peppol certificate.

The Peppol network also complies with all data protection regulations. Buyers and businesses communicate securely and transparently, taking into account all legally required standards and regulations, sinceecause Peppol records every interaction. This makes procurement processes traceable, a prerequisite for making secure purchases, withrisks in e-procurement processes being detected immediately. Doing so both protects and optimizes your processes.

Participants in the Peppol network include private sector organizations and retail businesses, as well as public administrations and institutions in the e-government sector.  This seamless communication allows public administrations to easily connect with business partners, suppliers and other public institutions across different countries.

• Public administrations and e-government organizations use Peppol to meet legal requirements and standards for the exchange of procurement documents – for example, EU Directive 2014/55/EU, which requires electronic invoicing in public sector procurement.
• The private sector and retail businesses use Peppol to meet the regulatory requirements of different countries.

Legal and regulatory aspects

Legal requirements and regulations related to Peppol are related particularly to the exchange of electronic invoices. Via Peppol, senders and recipients exchange eInvoices in BIS Billing format, or business interoperability specification. It is a counterpart to the XRechnung format. XRechnung is a standardized invoice format that meets the requirements of mandatory eInvoicing. With XRechnung, organizations exchange data using XML. This means the eInvoices are coded and therefore machine-readable.

As part of mandatory eInvoicing, the Peppol BIS Billing format has been adapted to XRechnung so that the invoice formats are almost identical. Since BIS Billing is a specific application (CIUS) of the European standard EN 16931 for eInvoicing, it meets the requirements of mandatory eInvoicing similar to XRechnung.

You can handle inbound Peppol invoices directly in Doxis. Just use the Doxis interface to collect all incoming invoices, which come with structured metadata. This setup lets you process eInvoices right away, so there’s no delay.

How it works:

To wrap up, let’s quickly review what we’ve learnt. So, we know that companies and organizations use Peppol to exchange documents during procurement processes, which makes cross-border transactions smoother and more efficient. And with the standardization of data exchange, sending documents like eInvoices becomes effortless.

We’ve also discovered that we can submit eInvoices in Peppol using the BIS Billing format, which pairs perfectly with the eInvoice XRechnung format. To ensure a seamless process without interruptions, we also recommended picking up a modern, AI-powered DMS like Doxis to collect inbound eInvoices directly through the Peppol interface. This setup allows you to automate your inbox processing from start to finish.

Ready to see the full benefits of a modern DMS? Get in touch! Our experts will be happy to walk you through our platform’s powerful eInvoicing capabilities.

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