A brief intro: e-invoicing and PEPPOL in the Netherlands and Belgium

Electronic invoicing or e-invoicing makes many people think of invoices sent and received in PDF by mail. While that is already much more efficient than invoicing by mail, it does not offer all the benefits of electronic invoicing. That, in fact, is about automated processing.

An e-invoice is an xml file type and has the structured UBL format. This type of file is automatically recognized and processed by (most) accounting packages. And that saves a lot of manual work. The benefits of electronic invoicing:

• Faster: both creating and sending invoices, and getting paid.
• Cheaper: e-invoicing is 75% cheaper than invoicing on paper.
• More sustainable: less paper consumption and lower CO2 emissions.
• Safer: less susceptible to fraud.
• More accurate: less manual work so fewer human errors.
• Easier: immediate processing, so current figures.

What is PEPPOL?

PEPPOL is an open exchange network for exchanging e-invoices. It is the international standard for e-invoicing and e-ordering. Using standardized information fields, it is possible to automatically recognize and populate. This allows you to easily and globally link your business records to those of other companies and government organizations. PEPPOL offers a fast and secure network, in which the identity of users is established.

Electronic invoicing: the upcoming standard for b2b transactions

The Dutch PEPPOL Authority (NPa) is the supervisor of the PEPPOL agreement system in the Netherlands. Sometimes e-invoicing through PEPPOL is already a hard requirement. For example, there is already an active obligation for the public and (to a greater or lesser extent) private sector in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain. Countries outside Europe are also in the process of making e-invoicing via PEPPOL mandatory, such as Australia, Singapore, Japan and New Zealand.

The European Commission is working on a legislative proposal, VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA), which would mandate e-invoicing for B2B transactions:

• By 2024, European member states may mandate e-invoicing without the consent of the European Parliament. Poland and Italy are already doing this.
• By 2028, e-invoicing should be the norm within the EU. Digital reporting of transactional data will also become a requirement.

E-invoicing in Belgium

The Belgian government wants to start a phased rollout for the B2B market in July 2024, where entrepreneurs should be able to receive invoices via e-invoicing. The expected impact is large, as 60% of invoices in Belgium are now sent via e-mail. Some 25% of invoices already have a structured format. The Flemish government is playing a pioneering role in this and already introduced the system starting in 2017.

E-invoicing in the Netherlands

The Dutch government has chosen PEPPOL as the standard for e-invoicing because it meets the European standard. In addition, the scope of PEPPOL is wider than just the EU; countries outside of the EU also make e-invoicing via PEPPOL central to their business.

How can you invoice electronically?

You probably already have the right tools. This is what you need:

• ERP package or billing tool
• To create an invoice in ubl or xml format (for example, LiemarX).
• Access to the PEPPOL network.
• Sending and receiving is done through an access point.
• Document processing tool
• To read and process your invoices in the accounting system.

How can you get started with e-invoicing?

As a LiemarX user, it is very easy to get started. You don't get there yourself? Then of course we are happy to assist you. Are you not yet using our ERP software? Then there is much more to gain for you than just e-invoicing ???? Contact us for more information!

Website: www.liemar.nl
Phone: +31 (0) 40 24 84 041
E-mail: info@liemar.nl
Sources: www.peppol.eu, www.rvo.nl, www.peppolautoriteit.nl