Sending an e-invoice over Peppol: the steps in general

To send an e-invoice over Peppol, your software connects through a Peppol service provider, you add the customer's Peppol ID, and you fill in the fields the rules require. The provider checks the invoice, finds the customer's provider and delivers it.

Whatever software you use, and whether you invoice from a Mac or a phone, the steps behind the send button are the same. Knowing them helps you set things up once and understand what went wrong when an invoice does not arrive. For the network itself, see what Peppol is.

Step 1: get connected

Your invoicing software needs a connection to the network through a provider, often called an access point. Some software includes that connection; other software asks you to sign up with a certified PEPPOL access point yourself. Either way, you register your own Peppol ID, so your customers can reply and your suppliers can reach you too. Before you sign up, read what to look for in an access point.

Step 2: collect your customers' Peppol IDs

Before sending, your provider looks up the customer's Peppol ID to learn where to deliver and which documents they accept. Ask each business customer for theirs, store it on their record, and check it once. A customer who is not registered cannot receive over Peppol, so for them you keep your current method until they are.

Step 3: fill in what the rules require

A Peppol invoice follows Peppol BIS Billing, which builds on the European standard EN 16931. Many fields are the ones any invoice has. A few trip people up:

Field	Why it matters
Buyer reference or order reference	Peppol invoices need one of the two; ask the customer which they use
VAT numbers	Yours and the customer's, in the right format
Addresses with country codes	Receiving software checks them
VAT rate per line	Every line needs a VAT category, and usually a rate
Units and quantities	Quantities need a unit the standard recognizes
Payment details	So the customer can pay without asking

The invoice checklist covers the rest, and what EN 16931 requires lists the fields in detail.

Step 4: finalize and send

Send the invoice once it is final and numbered. Good software validates it against the rules before anything leaves, and the provider usually checks it again. If a check fails, the invoice is not delivered and you get a list of what to fix. That is the main difference from email: a broken e-invoice is stopped at the door instead of reaching the customer.

Step 5: follow up

• Delivered: the customer's provider has it.
• Accepted or rejected: some customers send back a response saying whether they accept the invoice. A rejection usually comes with a reason.
• Failed: delivery did not work, for example because the ID is wrong. Fix it and send again.

If the invoice itself was wrong, do not resend a changed copy under the same number. Issue a credit note and a new invoice; what a credit note is explains why. And remember the other side of the exchange: receiving e-invoices over Peppol walks through what your customers, and your own team, do when an invoice comes in.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know my e-invoice was delivered?

Your software or provider shows a delivery status once the customer's provider has received the invoice. If the customer also sends a response, you see whether they accepted or rejected it.

Why was my Peppol invoice stopped before delivery?

Usually a missing or malformed field: no buyer or order reference, a VAT number in the wrong format, or a line without a tax rate. Fix the field and send again.

What if my customer has no Peppol ID?

Then they cannot receive over Peppol yet. Keep invoicing them as before, and check your country's rules on whether they are required to register.