PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online)
What is PEPPOL?
PEPPOL is a European standard for E-invoicing, E-procurement and E-ordering. Using PEPPOL, you can do business throughout Europe, regardless of underlying software and without human interaction.
As of 1 January 2017, Dutch and Belgian suppliers are required to electronically send their invoices to public bodies, using PEPPOL. Other European countries will follow quickly. In short, for European B2B and B2G communication, access to PEPPOL is becoming more and more necessary.
How does PEPPOL Work?
PEPPOL does not change anything about existing technologies for electronic messaging. In order to communicate using PEPPOL, an access point is used. An access point is provided by a Billing Service Provider (BSP) that manages the registration of access point providers. Registration on the network is based on (unique) ID numbers such as Chamber of Commerce or VAT numbers, IBAN numbers and Governmental Organization numbers (OIN). Buyers and suppliers with an access point, national or international, can then contact one another.
PEPPOL access point
A PEPPOL access point is required to communicate via the PEPPOL network. A Billing Service Provider (BSP) provides an access point. They check the registration of PEPPOL access point providers.
PEPPOL automatically detects whether the recipient is able to receive electronic documents via the network. Your documents and invoices can be imported and sent completely automatically using your ERP system or bookkeeping software. An advantage is that additional information can also be sent, allowing you to include a catalogue with an order for instance.