Every year, over 250,000 public authorities across the European Union spend approximately 14% of their GDP on procurement. This spending covers a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, infrastructure, energy, education, and public services. As these sectors digitize, the EU has made it a strategic priority to modernize the management and processing of these purchases, starting with electronic invoicing (e-invoicing).
Why E-Invoicing is Central to EU Public Procurement Strategy
E-invoicing isn’t just a matter of convenience; it’s about transparency, cost efficiency, and accessibility. By transitioning away from paper-based and PDF invoices, the EU is streamlining financial workflows, reducing fraud, and expanding access to government contracts to a broader range of European suppliers, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
To support this initiative, the EU implemented a legal framework known as the E-Invoicing Directive (2014/55/EU), which mandates the use of structured electronic invoices for all public procurement transactions.
Understanding EU E-Invoicing Directive 2014/55/EU
Passed on April 16, 2014, the directive requires all European public sector organizations to be capable of receiving and processing structured electronic invoices in a standardized format. The goal is to facilitate interoperability, transparency, and automation in public sector financial operations.
Compliance Deadlines:
-
April 18, 2019 – Central and federal administration authorities
-
April 18, 2020 – Regional and local authorities
❌ What It’s Not:
A structured e-invoice is not a PDF, Word doc, or image.
It is a machine-readable file (e.g., XML, UBL, EDIFACT) that can be automatically imported into accounting and ERP systems without manual intervention.
Structured E-Invoices: The Foundation of Interoperability
Structured electronic invoices contain standardized data fields—such as invoice number, buyer/seller info, tax rates, and item descriptions—formatted in compliance with country-specific regulations. These fields allow seamless cross-border trade and system interoperability, which is critical for suppliers working across the EU.
What is PEPPOL?
PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) is the infrastructure enabling secure and standardized electronic document exchange across Europe—and increasingly, the world.
🌍 Global Reach:
While initially developed for the EU, PEPPOL is now adopted in 34+ countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, and the U.S.. India and Malaysia are also moving toward PEPPOL adoption.
🤝 Managed by:
OpenPEPPOL, a non-profit organization, maintains the PEPPOL specifications and network rules. Their goal is to ensure consistent, scalable, and secure digital trade across borders.
🔄 How the PEPPOL Network Operates: The Four-Corner Communication Model
The PEPPOL network facilitates secure and standardized electronic document exchange using a four-corner model. This model ensures that data flows through certified channels, maintaining integrity and interoperability throughout the process.
Here’s how it works:
-
The sender (typically a supplier) initiates the process by connecting to a certified PEPPOL Access Point (AP).
-
This Access Point checks the structure and format of the document, ensuring it meets PEPPOL standards.
-
The validated document is then transmitted across the PEPPOL infrastructure to the recipient’s Access Point.
-
The receiver—usually a buyer or a government authority—retrieves the structured document through their chosen Access Point and processes it automatically in their system.
This architecture eliminates the need for custom point-to-point integrations, offering a neutral, secure, and scalable solution for cross-border and domestic electronic transactions.
What Are PEPPOL Access Points?
PEPPOL Access Points act as certified digital gateways that connect businesses to the PEPPOL network. Providers like HubBroker offer Access Point services, enabling seamless exchange of structured electronic documents—such as invoices, orders, and shipping notes—with any other entity in the network.
To maintain interoperability and security, Access Points must adhere to strict PEPPOL protocols, including:
-
Validation of document formats to ensure compliance
-
Data encryption and authentication for secure transmission
-
Consistent performance and availability
-
Reliable routing to deliver documents accurately and promptly
By partnering with a certified provider like HubBroker, organizations gain rapid access to PEPPOL, allowing for fast onboarding, legal compliance, and full integration with both public and private sector partners.
The Power of EDI Combined with PEPPOL
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has long been used to automate business transactions. When integrated with the PEPPOL framework, EDI becomes even more effective, enabling organizations to handle a wide variety of structured documents through a single, unified platform.
Supported document types include:
-
Electronic Orders (E-orders)
-
Electronic Invoices (E-invoices)
-
Dispatch and delivery notes
-
Credit memos
-
Product catalogues
-
Delivery confirmations
HubBroker’s PEPPOL-compliant EDI solution, powered by its iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service), merges these capabilities to offer end-to-end automation, real-time monitoring, and secure document exchange across all trading partners within the PEPPOL ecosystem.
Example of a PEPPOL-Based E-Invoicing Workflow
To understand the practical application of this system, here’s how a typical procurement transaction would look using PEPPOL:
-
A public sector organization issues an electronic purchase order.
-
The supplier acknowledges the order and sends a dispatch note.
-
Upon delivery, the buyer confirm
-
s receipt with a digital acknowledgment.
-
The supplier generates and submits a structured e-invoice.
-
If any discrepancies are found, the invoice is revised and resubmitted.
-
Once approved, the buyer issues a payment notification or accounting note.
This fully digital process eliminates paperwork, reduces processing time, and increases accuracy throughout the transaction lifecycle.
Three Core Elements of the PEPPOL Framework
To ensure consistency and global applicability, PEPPOL is built on three foundational pillars:
1. Legal Framework
A cross-border agreement that provides clear legal enforceability for e-invoicing standards, ensuring all parties operate within the same regulatory environment.
2. Technical Infrastructure (Four-Corner Model)
A scalable network model that enables secure and standardized document exchange between senders and receivers, regardless of their internal systems.
3. Document Specifications (BIS Standards)
Documents exchanged through PEPPOL follow specific formats, known as PEPPOL BIS (Business Interoperability Specifications). These specifications are based on the Universal Business Language (UBL) and aligned with EN16931, the European Norm for electronic invoicing.
PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0: The EU-Wide Standard
The PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 format is the current standard for structured e-invoices within the EU. It is:
-
Fully compliant with the EN16931 e-invoicing directive
-
Recognized and accepted by all EU public sector bodies
-
Designed for both B2B and B2G transactions
-
Built to support automation, validation, and legal compliance across member states
By adopting this standard, businesses can be confident that their invoices meet the highest levels of compatibility and legal reliability.
Top Benefits of E-Invoicing via PEPPOL
Significant Cost Reductions
By adopting e-invoicing through the PEPPOL network, businesses can cut invoice processing expenses by 50% to 60%, thanks to automation and digital workflows. According to official EU data, companies can also achieve 4% to 12% in net savings per invoice, making it a financially impactful upgrade from traditional paper-based or manual invoicing systems.
Rapid Return on Investment (ROI)
Implementing PEPPOL-compliant e-invoicing solutions allows organizations to quickly realize returns on their investment, typically within 6 to 18 months. This is largely due to the elimination of manual handling, faster transaction cycles, and a reduction in labor-intensive processes, which together improve operational efficiency and accelerate revenue recognition.
Unified Format Across Borders
One of PEPPOL’s biggest advantages is its standardized document format, which eliminates the need to adapt invoicing methods to each country’s requirements. This means you can use a single e-invoicing format to do business across all PEPPOL-connected markets, significantly simplifying compliance, integration, and communication with partners in different regions.
Reduced Human Errors
Manual data entry often leads to errors such as duplicate invoices, incorrect figures, or missing information. PEPPOL’s automation capabilities minimize these risks by enabling structured, validated, and system-generated documents, which ensure greater accuracy and reduce the time spent on error correction and dispute resolution.
Enhanced Financial Visibility and Control
With PEPPOL-based e-invoicing, organizations gain real-time access to invoice and order statuses, including submission confirmations, delivery receipts, rejections, and approvals. This end-to-end visibility improves financial planning, helps forecast cash flows more effectively, and enhances transparency across procurement and payment cycles.
HubBroker E-Invoicing Platform: Features & Capabilities
Automated Accounts Payable & Receivable Workflows
Optimize and automate the entire lifecycle of both incoming (payables) and outgoing (receivables) invoices. This ensures faster processing, fewer manual tasks, and improved accuracy, resulting in better cash flow visibility, timely payments, and more efficient vendor and customer relationship management.
Global Legal Compliance Across 60+ Jurisdictions
HubBroker’s e-invoicing platform adheres to international regulatory frameworks, including PEPPOL standards and country-specific mandates in regions like France, Italy, Hungary, Turkey, and Ukraine. This guarantees that your invoicing processes are always legally valid and audit-ready, no matter where you do business.
Self-Billing Functionality & Compliant e-Archiving
Enable automatic creation of self-billed invoices based on pre-approved transactions, removing the need for manual intervention. Coupled with secure, long-term digital archiving, HubBroker ensures invoices are stored in a legally compliant manner, meeting document retention laws across multiple countries.
Interactive Real-Time Monitoring and Smart Dashboard
Stay in control of your invoicing processes with a user-friendly dashboard that provides live updates on invoice status—such as sent, received, rejected, or approved—along with alerts for exceptions or delays. This empowers users with full process transparency and traceability at every stage.
Digital Signatures & Trusted Data Security Measures
Protect the authenticity and integrity of your invoices using electronic signatures, end-to-end encryption, and compliance with eIDAS (Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services) regulations. These features ensure that documents are tamper-proof and legally binding throughout their lifecycle.
Legal Compliance Built-In
With HubBroker, your business stays ahead of evolving regulations. The platform is designed to:
-
Preserve document authenticity and integrity
-
Ensure long-term legibility and retrievability
-
Support automatic updates for legal changes across regions
-
Provide full audit trails and logging for accountability
Whether you’re exchanging documents within the EU or across borders, HubBroker guarantees compliance, security, and control.
Final Thoughts
In a rapidly digitizing global economy, being PEPPOL-compliant and e-invoice-ready isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about gaining a competitive advantage. Whether you’re working with governments, corporations, or international partners, e-invoicing through HubBroker’s certified platform brings speed, accuracy, compliance, and efficiency to every transaction.
Get Started with HubBroker Today
Ready to modernize your invoicing processes, reduce costs, and meet EU compliance requirements?
✅ Connect to the PEPPOL network in days, not weeks
✅ Automate e-invoicing and order processing
✅ Ensure compliance across 60+ countries
✅ Boost efficiency while protecting sensitive data
👉 Request a free consultation or start your 14-day trial of HubBroker’s PEPPOL Access Point and e-invoicing solution.
- By HubBroker ApS
