Frequently asked questions about Peppol

You simply submit an invoice using an accounting program, service provider or Peppol portal. Do you have questions about how exactly this works? If so, please contact the software supplier of your accounting package or your service provider, or your service provider of an invoice portal.  

Do you want to connect to Peppol to send or receive e-invoices or e-orders? This process can be carried out in various ways. For example, via your existing administration software, via a service provider or via a portal. On this page, we will help you make the right choice. 

Costs vary, depending on the ERP or accounting package and/or service provider you choose. You can read more about costs in this article.

The NPA oversees the various service providers, software suppliers and connection options. For direct and/or practical support, contact your chosen service provider or software supplier.

There are several tools available to find out which organisations use Peppol. In the international Peppol Directory, you can search by name for organisations that can receive documents, such as invoices, via the Peppol network. However, this tool does not indicate whether the organisation can also send documents via Peppol network.

In the Peppol Participant Lookup Tool, you can look up whether an organisation can receive documents through the Peppol network using a Chamber of Commerce, OIN, or VAT number. It lists all receiving parties within the Peppol network. It is not possible to search by organisation name in this tool.

There are several tools available to find out which organisations use Peppol. In the international Peppol Directory, you can search by name for organisations that can receive documents, such as invoices, via the Peppol network. However, this tool does not indicate whether the organisation can also send documents via Peppol network.

In the Peppol Participant Lookup Tool, you can look up whether an organisation can receive documents through the Peppol network using a Chamber of Commerce, OIN, or VAT number. It lists all receiving parties within the Peppol network. It is not possible to search by organisation name in this tool.

Through the Peppol network, basically all types of e-procurement messages can be sent, including e-orders and timecards.

This page lists the various service providers, software suppliers and connection options that meet the requirements of the Dutch Peppol Authority. In doubt? Contact your software supplier to determine whether your specific accounting package can send an invoice via Peppol.

Peppol makes this functionality technically possible in the software package. Whether the functionality is actually available in the software package depends on the software supplier and/or service provider. Therefore, always check with your software supplier (and possibly service provider) whether this functionality is supported.

Peppol is an international messaging standard. In the Peppol Directory, you can search by name for governments, service providers and companies that can receive documents (such as invoices) via the international Peppol network. 

All suppliers can send e-invoices to the central government, from large to small. And so also smaller SMEs that only send a few invoices a year to (part of) the central government.

However, receiving e-invoices from the government is not yet possible at most government agencies.

Peppol makes the exchange of electronic messages (such as invoices) technically possible in any software package. Whether the functionality is actually available in your software supplier's accounting package depends on your software supplier.

This page lists the various software suppliers, service providers and connection options that meet the requirements of the Dutch Peppol Authority. In doubt? Contact your software supplier to determine whether your specific accounting package can send an invoice via Peppol.

Many of these industry-specific fields and identifiers are already in the Peppol standard. In that case, the use of these specific requirements depends on the implementation by the software supplier and service provider. If there are new industry-specific requirements, they can potentially be included in the Peppol standard through the NPA via a 'change request'. As a Peppol member, it is also possible to submit a 'change request' directly to OpenPeppol.

In addition, NPa continuously strives to improve interoperability with other standards. Interoperability within Peppol means that companies can easily send e-invoices, orders or timecards to each other, regardless of the computer system used. Peppol ensures that all systems speak 'the same language' so that information is exchanged smoothly and without problems. This helps companies collaborate faster and more efficiently.

Feedback technology is available, but is not yet fully supported throughout the Peppol chain. In some cases, service providers send an e-mail if an invoice cannot be delivered, provided the sender's e-mail address is included. We hope that this will be fully supported across the chain in the coming period and are working hard on this.

The short answer to this question is “Yes.” Yes, it is technically possible to use different service providers for both sending and receiving documents within the Peppol network. Please consider the following important points:

1. Send & receive via multiple service providers without MLR (technical response messages/return messages):
   1. For sending documents, you can use as many service providers as you want. Since no publication in the SML (central address book) and SMP (decentralized address book) is required, there is no technical obstacle to setting up document sending via different service providers.
   2. To receive documents, publish your receiving options with your chosen service providers for receiving. In the SML (central address book) you can specify only 1 reference to an SMP (decentralized address book) per identification number (such as Chamber of Commerce number, VAT number and OIN number). In the SMP (decentralized address book) you can specify the receiving access point for each document type, but you could also include a referral to another SMP (decentralized address book) in the SMP (decentralized address book).
   3. While the technology allows it, there may be organizational challenges depending on how service providers handle data from other providers. If end users can manage and update their own SMP (decentralized address book) registrations, this provides more flexibility. But often end users rely on their service provider for this management. Service providers will need to work closely with each other to facilitate these arrangements.
2. Send & receive through multiple service providers with MLR (technical response messages/return messages):
   1. For business response messages/return messages, such as Invoice Response and Order Response, you can set them up in the same provider-specific way in an SMP (decentralized address book). The technical challenge is mainly with the MLR (Message Level Response). This technical response message/return message covers all document types and thus is not specific per sent document type. Therefore, only one service provider can be set up for the MLR. A solution is under consideration with OpenPeppol that discusses the following: Automatically pointing to the sending service provider and not to the end user's address.

Conclusion: It is technically possible to use multiple service providers, but choosing multiple service providers can present both technical and organizational challenges. Your choice in service providers and how they handle data from other providers can be a determining factor in this. 

The NPa ensures that the correct file formats are supported by recipients within the Peppol network, based on legal and fiscal requirements. This ensures the smooth running of, for example, invoicing processes, such as the requirement that contracting authorities can receive and process an NLCIUS invoice. In addition, based on reports from OpenPeppol, the NPA monitors how often certain formats are used. This data supports decision-making on introducing new formats and managing existing ones.

An ISO 27001 (or similar) certification is just one of the requirements set by the NPA. The NPA also imposes requirements that cannot be easily verified on the basis of a certificate. One of the tasks of the Peppol Authority is to check whether service providers comply with these agreements. The NPa uses the expertise of the National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate (former Telecom Agency) to carry out these audits (checks).

The State Inspectorate for Digital Infrastructure (formerly Agentschap Telecom) realises good, safe and reliable networks for telecommunications and IT and also implements laws and regulations in this area. The National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate ensures that everyone complies with the rules, requirements and conditions.

E-invoicing regulations are changing in many countries. In this help article, we provide an overview of some European and non-European countries where e-invoicing is already mandatory or will soon become mandatory. This provides an idea of the current state of play, without having to consult each country individually. However, this concerns a snapshot in time. 

No concrete agreements have yet been made to make e-invoicing via Peppol mandatory in the Netherlands.

Within Peppol, communication is entirely focused on standardisation and automation. Only via a standardised Peppol transaction is it possible to communicate with a supplier or customer, such as an invoice, order, order response or invoice response. It is therefore not possible to exchange chat and e-mail messages via Peppol.

To e-invoice through the Peppol network, you need a Peppol ID. With this number, you can be found in the network and receive and send electronic messages. A Peppol ID can be a Chamber of Commerce, VAT, or IBAN number, but also, for example, a GLN. For Dutch companies, it is common to use the KvK number so that they can be easily found by other users on the Peppol network. For government organisations, the OIN (Organisation Identification Number) is used.

Mandatory message formats are SI-UBL 2.0 (NLCIUS) and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0. SI-UBL 1.2 is obsolete and has not been in use since January 2023. SI-UBL 2.0 (NLCIUS) is mainly used for traffic within the Netherlands, while Peppol BIS 3.0 is more often used for international traffic. However, both formats are mandatory, and it is also possible to use Peppol BIS 3.0 within the Netherlands. More information can be found on this page.

Message-level response (MLR) is used to feedback technical validation errors when a received document does not comply with Peppol standards. These are form errors that really should not occur, as only valid messages should be sent over the network. The following error messages can be communicated via the MLR:

• XML schema errors
• Standard compliance errors, e.g. sending empty fields
• Business rule validation errors, e.g. failure to provide supplier address details, a purchase order number or customer reference.

Here is an overview of all business rule validations for Peppol BIS Billing 3.0

For content errors, such as an incorrect price or incorrect billing, there is the Invoice Response (IR). This message can be used by the receiving party to indicate at company level whether an invoice is accepted and why not. 

The Invoice Response (IR) message is a message that provides feedback on the functional correctness of an invoice. This message is created by a customer to indicate the status of the invoice processing. For example, this message can be used to indicate that the purchase order number supplied is incorrect, or that the invoice is ready to be paid. The IR message is not mandatory and is ideally suited to communicate from customer to supplier. 

OpenPeppol mandates the use of Peppol BIS Billing 3.0. NPa mandates the use of NLCIUS, with file type SI-UBL 2.0.