Peppol
About Peppol
Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) is an international framework designed to simplify and standardize the electronic exchange of business documents such as invoices, orders, despatch advices (ASNs), and credit notes between companies and public authorities.
Originally developed under an EU initiative, Peppol now operates under the OpenPeppol Association, which maintains global standards for e-invoicing and e-procurement interoperability. It ensures that any participant connected to the Peppol network can securely send and receive structured business documents, regardless of their country, system, or service provider.
🌍 Why Peppol Matters
Peppol eliminates the complexity of managing multiple EDI connections and national e-invoice formats. Instead, businesses connect once to the Peppol network through an Access Point Provider and can immediately exchange documents with all other Peppol participants.
This unified approach promotes:
- Standardized data formats (e.g., Peppol BIS 3.0 compliant UBL/XML)
- Cross-border interoperability across Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore
- Secure, encrypted data transfer via certified channels (AS4 protocol)
- Compliance with national e-invoicing mandates and procurement regulations
🧩 Peppol Document Types
Peppol supports a wide range of standardized BIS documents, including:
- Order (BIS Order 3.0)
- Invoice (BIS Billing 3.0)
- Credit Note (BIS Billing 3.0)
- Despatch Advice / ASN (BIS Despatch Advice 3.0)
- Catalogue (BIS Catalogue 3.0)
- Order Response, Message Level Response, PunchOut Catalogue, etc.
Each document follows strict validation rules defined by BIS (Business Interoperability Specifications) to ensure data quality and consistency.
To start using Peppol BIS 3.0, connect through any certified Peppol Access Point. Once registered, you can exchange compliant e-invoices, credit notes, and other business documents securely across borders.
Peppol BIS simplifies digital trade across Europe and globally. It ensures compliance with government e-invoicing regulations, reduces manual data handling, and promotes long-term interoperability between trading partners.
Peppol supports several standardized document types, including electronic invoices, credit notes, orders, order responses, despatch advices (ASNs), and catalogues. Most organizations start with e-invoicing and expand to full order-to-cash automation.
No. Although Peppol began as a framework for public procurement, it is now widely used in the private sector. Thousands of B2B companies use Peppol to exchange invoices, orders, and shipping notices with domestic and international partners.
Yes. Peppol is expanding globally through the PINT (Peppol International) initiative, which adapts Peppol standards for countries like Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, and the US. This makes Peppol a truly international e-invoicing framework.
A Peppol Participant ID (also called a Peppol ID) uniquely identifies your company in the Peppol network. It’s used to route documents securely between senders and receivers, ensuring messages always reach the correct trading partner.
A negative acknowledgement indicates that a document failed validation—usually due to incorrect data, missing references, or formatting errors. Review the error details, correct the data in your ERP or source file, and resend the document through your Access Point.
Peppol uses certified Access Points and encrypted AS4 communication for all transmissions. Every participant is verified through the Peppol Authority, ensuring authenticity, data integrity, and full compliance with EU security standards.
Most businesses can go live within a few days once registration and testing are completed. The timeline depends on how quickly your internal systems can be mapped to Peppol formats (UBL / XML).
Peppol Validation
Peppol Validation is the process by which business documents (such as invoices, purchase orders, and credit notes) are checked for compliance with the specific format and content rules outlined in the Peppol standards. This validation step ensures that documents meet the technical and legal requirements for cross-border exchanges within the Peppol network.
What’s validated?
- Invoices (Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, ZUGFeRD, XRechnung)
- Purchase Orders (Peppol PO formats)
- Credit and Debit Notes
- E-Reports (where applicable)
Our system validates each document's structure, mandatory fields, and ensures compliance with applicable country regulations.
Why is validation important?
- Prevents Rejection: Without proper validation, documents may be rejected by the recipient or government authority. This leads to delays, penalties, and rework.
- Ensures Legal Compliance: Each country has specific e-invoicing mandates that require compliance with local standards (e.g., Germany’s XRechnung or Italy’s FatturaPA). Validation ensures that your documents meet these local requirements.
- Reduces Manual Interventions: Validating documents automatically ensures that errors are caught early in the process, reducing the need for manual corrections and follow-ups.
How does Peppol validation work?
- Document Submission: You submit an electronic document (invoice, purchase order, etc.) in the specified Peppol format.
- Format Check: Our system checks the document against the relevant Peppol format, ensuring it follows the correct XML structure, mandatory fields (like VAT number, supplier details), and regulatory content.
- Compliance Check: For countries with specific e-invoicing mandates (like XRechnung in Germany or FatturaPA in Italy), the system checks that all required fields and formats are aligned with local regulations.
- Error Reporting: If the document fails validation, our system provides a detailed error report, specifying which parts of the document are incorrect or missing.
- Approval & Submission: Once validated, your document is ready to be transmitted to the intended recipient or public authority, securely and without errors.
Peppol Validation Layers
2. Business-Rule Validation (Schematron) — Verifies that values make sense logically (e.g., totals match line sums, invoice date is valid).
3. EN 16931 Validation — Ensures your invoice includes all mandatory fields required by EU e-invoicing standards.
4. Country-Specific Rules — Applies national or sector-specific rules (for example, XRechnung requirements in Germany).
Key Validation Rules
Peppol BIS 3.0 defines business rules that all e-invoices must follow. Some of the most common include:
- Every invoice must have an Invoice ID and Issue Date.
- All currency and country codes must follow ISO 4217 and ISO 3166 standards.
- Totals at the invoice level must match the sum of all line items.
- Each trading party must include a valid identifier (e.g., GLN or VAT ID using ISO 6523).
- Tax lines require the correct VAT category code and percentage.
- Invoices without VAT must specify an Exemption Reason.
Helpful Resources and links
The 5-Corner Model
The 5-Corner Model is an advanced framework that describes the interactions between the multiple parties involved in a Peppol document exchange. It is a more secure and comprehensive model compared to traditional models and ensures efficient, transparent, and compliant cross-border document exchanges.
What is the 5-Corner Model?
The 5-Corner Model outlines the roles of the following five key participants:
- Sender: The business initiating the document exchange, such as an invoicing company.
- Receiver: The business or government entity receiving the document.
- Access Point (AP): The certified service provider responsible for transmitting and receiving Peppol documents.
- Clearing House (CH): A trusted intermediary or service that ensures compliance and auditing of the document exchange.
- Certification Authority (CA): An independent body responsible for certifying Access Points and ensuring the security and compliance of the Peppol network.
Why is it important?
- Enhanced Security: The involvement of multiple trusted parties (AP, CH, CA) ensures the integrity and security of documents exchanged across borders.
- Regulatory Compliance: Each party in the model is responsible for ensuring compliance with the relevant regulatory frameworks, reducing risks and enhancing trust.
- Smooth and Transparent Transactions: The 5-Corner Model ensures transparency in the exchange of documents, providing clear roles and responsibilities for each participant.
How does it work?
- Sender to Access Point: The sender sends a document (like an invoice) to the Access Point, which validates the document and ensures it complies with Peppol standards.
- Access Point to Clearing House: The Access Point sends the validated document to the Clearing House for further auditing and compliance checks.
- Clearing House to Certification Authority: The Clearing House may interact with Certification Authorities to confirm that the document meets all regulatory standards.
- Receiver: After successful validation, the document is transmitted to the Receiver, ensuring that it is compliant and can be processed further.
Peppol Directory
The Peppol Directory is an essential directory service within the Peppol network that provides a comprehensive list of certified Peppol Access Points and service providers. This directory acts as a central point for businesses to identify and verify their trading partners’ Peppol identifiers and other relevant details necessary for secure and compliant document exchange.
What’s in the Peppol Directory?
- Access Point Providers: Lists all certified Peppol Access Points, such as HubBroker, allowing businesses to connect and exchange documents within the Peppol network.
- Service Providers: Information about third-party service providers that can assist with Peppol network integration, such as e-invoicing software solutions or ERP integrations.
- Trading Partner Information: Details of the businesses, including their Peppol identifiers (Peppol id), which are essential for sending documents securely to the right destination.
Why is the Directory important?
- Business Connectivity: The directory ensures that businesses can easily identify their trading partners on the Peppol network, ensuring that documents are exchanged securely and with full compliance.
- Compliance Assurance: The directory includes only certified Access Points and service providers. This ensures that businesses are connecting to trusted, compliant entities, reducing the risk of fraud or non-compliance.
- Easy Integration: With access to the Peppol Directory, you can quickly integrate your system with the right trading partners, speeding up the onboarding process and enabling faster, smoother transactions.
How does it work?
- Find Trading Partners: Businesses can use the directory to search for their Peppol trading partners by company name, Peppol ID, or Access Point.
- Verify Details: Once a trading partner is identified, businesses can verify the required details, including their Peppol ID and contact information, to ensure that documents are routed correctly.
- Secure Document Exchange: Once the trading partner is identified, businesses can exchange documents like invoices, purchase orders, and shipping notices securely, knowing that they are following the correct procedures and working with verified partners.
